Gurgel BR 800

The draftsman João Augusto Conrado do Amaral Gurgel developed the BR 800 model of Gurgel Motores S.A. between 1984 and 1988. It can be considered the most ambitious project ever put forward by a Brazilian enterprise.

Amaral Gurgel was extremely skeptical regarding the Pro-alcohol program, and he defended the use of electric energy as the most economical fuel for cars.

He did a lot of research on this technology without, however, reaching any economically feasible alternative.

So, he launched the project CENA - Carro Econômico Nacional (‘the Economical National Car’), which, although it used gasoline, had a very economical project for the development of a 100% national mini-car, that would be cheap, have simple maintenance and be completely adapted for use in urban centers.

He ended up having to change the model’s name to BR800. Since the name of the project was CENA, the lawyers of the race pilot Ayrton Senna complained, for the sound of the name was the same. Gurgel changed the name but he made it very clear to the press at that time that “the Seine River (‘Rio Senna’ in Portuguese) was already flowing in France long before Ayrton Senna had become a pilot”.

In 1988, the BR800 started to be produced in series, receiving tax incentives from the government and costing up to 30% less than similar models.

In 1990, it received the Seal of Excellence at the 1st Brazilian Biennial of Design – in the category of Individual Transportation – this event being promoted by the government of the State of Paraná in Curitiba.

Still in the 1990s, the Brazilian government grants tax exemption to all the cars with engines smaller than 1000cm³. So, the multinational company Fiat launches the Uno Mille in Brazil for the same price as the BR800. The difference was that the Uno Mille had more space and a better performance.

In response, Gurgel launches the Super-Mini, an improved version of the BR800. Despite this attempt, the company ends up filing for Chapter 11 (a composition with creditors) in 1992 and goes bankrupt in 1995, with a three-million-dollar debt.

Read more:
http://gurgelbr800.sites.uol.com.br/gurgelmotores/
http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/classicos/gurgel-1.htm
http://inventabrasilnet.t5.com.br/cena.htm

Source of the image:
http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/classicos/gurgel-5.htm