The year 2013 saw a number of significant automotive and racing milestones honored. Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary and the Corvette’s 60th, by themselves occupied much of the automotive world’s attention; but there was another anniversary in 2013 that came and went with nary a whisper. Once I realized this, I was actually a bit surprised because it could be argued that the subject of this anniversary was responsible for more cumulative racing wins than perhaps any other racing company. The company I speak of is Weber Carburetors, which turned 90 years old in 2013.
Edoardo Weber was born in Torino, Italy, to Swiss parents, on November 29, 1889. In 1913, he received a mechanical engineering degree from the Universita degli Studi di Torino and subsequently went to work for Fiat in Bologna. Scarcely a year later, in 1914, Weber took up a position as a service manager for a local Fiat dealer. Because gasoline prices were extremely high in Italy during this time period, Weber soon turned his engineer’s mind to the task of wrestling better fuel economy out of engines, in particular those powering Fiat’s trucks. Weber soon devised a kerosene conversion kit for trucks, and by 1920 began producing these for sale. While his fledgling business enterprise was devoted to economy, he also fostered a passion for motorsport, which he actively pursued, highlighted by a 3rd place finish in the 1920 Circuito di Mugello Formula Libre race at the wheel of a Fiat 501.
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