07 FEBBRAIO 1978
1978 was a tragic year for the Stola family. It was also a period of political and social complexity, affecting the whole nation. At 07:40 pm on February 7th, infront of the company at 73, Via la Thuile, Francesco was kidnapped.
The seizure took place as he was getting into his Fiat 130 coupe to return home, the motive was extortion.
Brothers, Giuseppe and Roberto, along with long time friend and accountant Giuseppe Nuzzo, immediately open negotiations with the criminals.
From La Stampa of 8 February 1978.
Thirty seven days later the accompanying kidnapping of Aldo Moro, president of the Italian Government, took place. The consequent militarisation of the peninsula during his search and a new law freezing family assets in such situations, were the probable causes of the tragic outcome of the kidnapping; unfortunately Francesco Stola will never return home.
Doctor Nuzzo will accept the position of being the curator of the kidnapped and the guardian of Alfredo, then seventeen years old, until he turned 21.
On July 27, 1981, more than three and a half years after the kidnapping, the Turin Court started the procedure for the alleged death declaration.
His body will never be found again and on July 15, 1982 the court with a sentence will declare the presumed date of death on March 18, 1978.
LA STAMPA, Tuesday 28th February 1978.
From La Stampa of 29 July 1981.
Francesco Stola leaves the memory of a kind and generous man to the people he has met in his life, and in his profession a modeler out of the ordinary for quality and speed of execution.
1977-78 The last images of Francesco Stola.
In Villarbasse at his home.
1977-78 Francesco Stola in Via La Thuile 69 in the shipping department proudly poses alongside dozens of crates containing Ford models to be sent to Cologne.
On July 15, 1982 the Court of Turin Section II Civil ruled that the death of Francesco Stola took place on March 18, 1978..
1978 Torino via La Thuile 71 Roberto Stola.Roberto Stola took over the company to be joined in the autumn of 1979, by Alfredo, after competing his studies.
At the factory, there were moments of emotional uncertainty for both family and workers, even though the solidarity of everyone, including customers and friends, could never be questioned.
Unexpectedly, in the spring of 1978, Ford of Europe became a customer with a major complete project.
The stamping department at Ford and its Cologne model shop, run by Josef Munch, needed a lot of additional work capacity to meet their extraordinary commitments; the model in question was the new large commercial vehicle called Cargo.
For Alfredo Stola & Figli, this meeting would mark the first real international breakthrough, anticipating the increasing globalization up to the end of the 1980's.
1979 Master Model Ford tipo Cargo
1979 Master Model Ford tipo Cargo
The engineer Alberto Sasso, in the position of General Manager, represented the model shop in the challenging technical re-organisation with one of the largest car manufacturers in the world.
Roberto Stola, sensing its potential and hoping for a long collaboration, not only aimed at making up for their immediate needs, but also proposed to the Director Ford to assemble a master model from all of the exterior models realized.
The commercial advantage was to offer for free the construction of the steel support jig and the hours needed for it’s assembly.
The German manager accepted the proposal, and thus the first Ford Master Model assembled in Turin was born.
From that idea, the collaboration with Ford Europe would continue for another two and a half decades, involving the Detroit office and the sub-brands Lincoln, Mercury and Land Rover who were at that time part of the group.
1979 Master Model FIAT 132 2000 third series.
1979 Master Model FIAT 132 2000 third series.
1979 Master Model Lancia Prisma.
1979 Master Model door and glass closures Fiat Ducato.
1979 Master Model exterior Fiat Ducato.
1979 Master Model Fiat Argenta
1979 Master Model Fiat Argenta
With the coming arrival of another decade, the last Master model of the 1970's was the Isuzu Piazza designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
1979 Master Model Isuzu Piazza
1979 Master Model Isuzu Piazza
In this period more than ever, Giorgetto Giugiaro would visit the model shop in Via la Thuile on Sundays to examine the surfaces of the Master Model, accompanied by his fifteen year old son, Fabrizio.
From the meetings between the young Alfredo and Fabrizio, a true friendship was born that continues to this day.