Osi 20m Ts

[henk4]

One of more interesting coupes of the sixties was the OSI 20M TS, based on a Ford Taunus 20M chassis, which had the distinction of using a small V6 engine, rather than a conventional 4 pot or inline six. Only Lancia was really into small V engines at that time. The Ford engine for the Taunus came in a 2.0 and 2.3 version.

OSI (Officine Stampaggi Industriale) was set up in 1960 as a subsidiary for the Ghia design studios, to be able to produce cars of the same design in greater number, like the Innocenti Spider. The OSI Taunus was presented in 1966 in Geneva, and over 2200 examples were made, quite a remarkable feat given the humble underpinnings of the car. They took over all the mechanical components, and also the engine was kept at 90 BHP. The only change made was to the rear axle, which got a shorter reduction to improve acceleration. That it nevertheless stayed at the same level was due to fact that Coupe ran on 15 inch wheels, rather than the 13 inch rims of the standard Ford.

Some sources suggest that Ford Germany secretly wanted to create a sort of European Mustang, with the same low production cost as the real thing. Obviously the market was not big enough for this prospect.

One car was made as a cabriolet, which still exists.

Very few examples have survived in a reasonable condition, as the effort to restore such a car would never be offset by a decent classic value. Rust protection in those days was still in its infancy.

The example shown here was offered during the Coys auction at Interclassics in Maastricht in January 2005

[netburner]

I would like to see more OSIs

Here two pics out of my collection:

[tallguynate]

Here are some that I had:

[tallguynate]

2 more of the MTS and a Secura Quattroroute

[dracu777]

A rusty one

[dracu777]

Was the 2.3 litre version called the 23M TS?

[henk4]

Originally Posted by dracu777

Was the 2.3 litre version called the 23M TS?

no...the 20M Taunus could have a 2 litre engine or a 2.3, but it was always called 20M

[nota]

Wow, I'd never heard of this attractive coupe. Impressive to note it's built in metal, and nicely detailed/finished. Wondering at what price-point it sat at within the marketplace when new, what were its competitors?

Very compact engine, but gee the pictured sedan looks a bit odd and quite French .. sorta resembles a Panhard

[henk4]

Originally Posted by nota

Wow, I'd never heard of this attractive coupe. Impressive to note it's built in metal, and nicely detailed/finished. Wondering at what price-point it sat at within the marketplace when new, what were its competitors?

Very compact engine, but gee the pictured sedan looks a bit odd and quite French .. sorta resembles a Panhard

the pictured sedan has nothing to do with the Taunus, it is just another OSI designed car, based on the Fiat 1500.

[henk4]

some more specs on the car: with the 2.3 litre engine, giving 108 BHP it could reach 180 kph, doing 0-100 kph in 11.7 secs.

Prices in Germany in 1968 were around 15000 DM, at which time a BMW 2002 was offered for around 9500 DM, and the BMW 1600 GT was priced at 16000 DM.

[nota]

^^ Thank you Henk for your additional info

[McReis]

Originally Posted by dracu777

A rusty one

Reviving this old thread because I read the story of that very car in the picture, and there was an interesting episode.

The car is now in Portugal and restored. The owner bought it in Holland. From a classic car "farmer" near Melissen's Palace.
He was searching for another car to buy when he saw the OSI. He asked what it was, and the dealer told him he had bought it because he was told it was an ISO prototype. This was because the OSI logo on the bonnet was upside down.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by McReis

Reviving this old thread because I read the story of that very car in the picture, and there was an interesting episode.

The car is now in Portugal and restored. The owner bought it in Holland. From a classic car "farmer" near Melissen's Palace.
He was searching for another car to buy when he saw the OSI. He asked what it was, and the dealer told him he had bought it because he was told it was an ISO prototype. This was because the OSI logo on the bonnet was upside down.

here is another pic, to show that the logo could be easily put upside down, without anybody noticing..

[francar]

more 2 photos Osi. Excelent coupe.

It´s like a Audi 100 coupe S no???

[McReis]

Originally Posted by francar

more 2 photos Osi. Excelent coupe.

It´s like a Audi 100 coupe S no???

No, but it has some similarities indeed.
Welcome to UCP, by the way. It's nice to have you here