aug 13, 1988 - 1988
Europe Motors Inc.
is founded
Description:
Back in the late 1980's an idea formed in the mind of Simon Boschert (b. 1962), a Swiss automechanic, based in Geneva. He saw an opportunity to thrive in the automotive world, but not as a car manufacturer. The plan? Focusing solely on engine manufacturing with the goal of supplying engines to various smaller car manufacturers, as well as individuals doing some DYI projects, restorations etc. Basically a "engine supermarket".
He started his preperation in 1988. His father had some convenient contacts which got him factory housing on the cheap located in Geneva, along with neccessary machinery for the job. He then got a few of his friends and a couple of coworkers together to form the startup core-crew.
Their first engine was put on the market in 1990. It was the mundanely named "90-EU.M | i4-1402cc T-115HP". As the name implies it's a 1.4L Turbo Inline 4 engine, and it makes 115 horsepower. It's a pretty basic all-cast iron engine on the cheap, very suitable for smaller budget cars. This engine got off to a great start and was sold for various purposes, including being used in a budget car by German manufacturer, IDEA Autohersteller.
IDEA was a fairly new company at that time, being founded only 6 years earlier back in 1984, but was on the rise after releasing their first car (Primis 2.2 GT) that same summer of 1990. The development of the Primis had been time consuming and expensive, so they opted to use Europe Motors's i4 engine for their next car.
The partnership with IDEA proved to be a major boost for Europe Motors and they went on a big growth spurt in the next couple of years, making various engines for automakers all around Europe and occasionally exporting to Asia. They have yet to sell in America and appearantly don't intend to in the near future.
Today, Europe Motors Inc. are market leading when it comes to independent engine manufacturing and are still under full control of the founder and CEO, Simon Boschert.
Added to timeline:
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A timeline of all the cars in my Automation Universe. This i...
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