We Found an Abandoned Car Factory Still Full of Items

[Music] since the mid-1980s legendary cars have rolled out of the gates of this car factory [Music] from the Ferrari Testarossa to the beautiful Alfa romeobrera all were manufactured here today the site lies abandons leaving behind old machinery and artifacts in this episode we will share the incredible story of This Old Car Factory [Music] [Applause] [Music] our first visit dates back to 2015. during that time of Romeo burmas and spiders were all left abandoned on the side these were test vehicles used for crash testing and driving tests some still at their traces of testing camouflage on them unfortunately at the time we couldn't gain access to the premises today all the cars that were once outside have been scrapped [Music] the terrain we are exploring today is quite extensive it contains every aspect of car manufacturing including even a test track let's take a moment to delve into what this terrain truly represents this area was once part of pinin Farina Benin Farina is considered a coach building company specializing in the design and construction of car bodies they have gained Fame as one of the most influential companies in car design over the past Century [Applause] [Music] alright we have reached the test strike before the cars could leave the factory they had to undergo testing to detect possible production faults this testing occurred across multiple courses some courses were designed to test the suspension While others were used for water testing however much of it has been reclaimed by Nature the story of this terrain actually begins in the U.S instead of Italy Cadillac is known for producing many luxury cars many of them were large and heavy and not as sporty as the European counterparts in the 1980s Cadillac made a decision to establish a brand new image the Cadillac Allante it is a luxury Roadster unlike any that has come before it a Cadillac designed and handcrafted in Europe by the designer of Ferraris and Rolls-Royce they call it the world's longest assembly line it stretches more than 3 300 miles across the Atlantic linking Turin Italy and Detroit Michigan they call it an air Bridge the elante airbridge a first ever air transportation system for a production automobile one Alitalia and two Lufthansa aircraft are dedicated to the air Bridge three flights a week will each carry 56 Allante bodies in custom-built cradles to their Detroit destination this type of production was truly unique and above all very expensive Arena constructed a brand new state-of-the-art Factory for the production of the Allante which is the facility we are exploring today in the end the car proved to be just too expensive resulting in a commercial failure only 20 000 cars were sold during its seven year production cycle [Music] all right foreign we have now reached the factory floors which still contains remnants of the production line we are currently at the stage where the engine blocks were connected to the gearboxes the assembly line consisted of 57 different stations with various steps were taken to assemble the cars approximately 70 cars could be completed in a single day [Music] all kinds of papers were left behind which used to provide instructions to the workers it truly makes one wonder about a dynamic and Lively atmosphere that must have existed here in its prime at its peak around 300 workers were employed here what set this place apart upon its opening was the fact that there wasn't a real need for floor managers many tasks were carried out by computers this was quite futuristic for the 1980s the factory was considered a glimpse into the future when it was opened now we have arrived at the most impressive section of the production line one notable feature was a large robot that used to install the front window on the car this marked the end of the line after this step the cars were considered finished and ready for testing following the cancellation of the Cadillac production the factory briefly produced the Ferrari Testarossa however something even bigger was in the works enter the coupe version of the French Peugeot 406 designed tested and entirely brought by pinion Farina this car was a resounding success with a production tally of 107 000 units the car sleek and sporty design LED it to win numerous Design Awards upon its debut it even earned a nickname Poor Man's Ferrari this period can be regarded as the factory Zenith in terms of operations now we have reached offices and the locker section of the complex this is the main entrance featuring a plaque listing the various activities for which Pinot Farina was responsible accompanied by some impressive statistics truly in the past world of design it was a behemoth [Music] other sections of the offices had been quite Stripped by copper thieves foreign prompting us to move upstairs in search of better luck upstairs we encountered the sort of Lounge which unfortunately was in the state of this array [Music] adjacent to it a rather impressive sight greeted us [Music] this is the canteen where workers took their breaks and enjoyed the meals [Music] with ample natural lighting and bright yellow seeds it truly was a sight to behold sadly all of the seed bases had been stolen which is quite odd but why did this once state-of-the-art Factory end up in the sad state [Music] after the production of the 406 Coupe and a few other models Vino Farina entered into a contract with Alfa Romeo the brera and the spider models were designated to be built here these two models marked the lost cars produced in this Factory but also the conclusion of small-scale car manufacturing following the 2008 financial crisis it became impractical to produce cars in such limited numbers with this shift in the market benefarina lost its customer base the workers began to protest leading to a year-long series of actions aimed at saving the workplace in 2011 the last car brought off the assembly line signifying the ends of the factory story and in a sense marking a turning point for the Italian Auto industry locker rooms still containing some clothes and memorabilia remain within the empty desolate Halls [Music] with this we have concluded our exploration of this impressive history and complex it is indeed quite sad to witness the decline of such a historically significant Factory that was responsible for creating so many beautiful models benefarina was acquired by the Indian brand Mahindra back in 2015. today they continue to develop cars and other products albeit not on the same scale as in the past as for the Factory's Future IT remains relatively obscure there was one proposal to establish an Intel chip factory on the premises but this plan was scrapped at the outset of 2023. it is likely that the site will continue to rot away over time [Music]

Channel: Forgotten Buildings

Views: 1,316,479

Keywords: found, abandoned, car, factory, still, full, items, forgotten buildings, forgotten, buildings, abandoned cars, abandoned alfa romeo, abandoned car factory, urbex, urban exploration, italy, cars left behind, cadillac allante, alfa romeo spider, Peugeot 406 coupe, 406, coupe, cars, bankrupt, dealership, abandoned car, brand new, classic, exploring, everything left behind, untouched, classic cars, abandoned vehicles, vehicles, abandoned building, urbandoned, theproperpeople, brokenwindowtheory, Pininfarina

Id: sWee3IoSrk0

Length: 12min 14sec (734 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 26 2023