Sparco

Sparco S.p.A.

Company type	S.p.A.
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1977 (1977)
Founders	Enrico Glorioso Antonio Parisi
Headquarters	Volpiano, Metropolitan City of Turin , Italy
Products	Steering wheels, car seats, racing helmets, racing suits, gloves, shoes, t-shirts
Website	sparco-official.com

Sparco S.p.A. is an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Volpiano near Turin that specializes in producing items such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. Sparco branded alloy wheels are produced under licence by OZ Group. They also sponsor many types of auto races including rallies and single-seaters.

History

Sparco steering wheel in an A80 Toyota Supra

The company was founded in 1977 in Italy and today the ownership is still Italian; the company is one of the leading manufacturers of racing safety equipment.

In 1977, FIA decided to restrict their safety standards, in order to decrease injuries during races: the first product that brought fame to Sparco, was a fireproof racing suit, that could withstand 11 seconds in fire, an absolute record for the time. This resistance was more than enough to meet new FIA 8856-2000 requests. Moreover, that was the only effective alternative to the cotton racing suits, which were not fireproof and did not meet the new requirements. Each year Sparco improved their technology, so the fire resistance of their suits increased yearly.

Sponsorships

Formula One

• Red Bull Racing

Formula 2

• DAMS
• Prema Racing (Robert Shwartzman)
• Trident (Marino Sato)

IndyCar

• A. J. Foyt Enterprises
• Arrow McLaren SP
• Carlin
• Chip Ganassi Racing
• Harding Steinbrenner Racing
• Juncos Racing
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

NASCAR

• Kaulig Racing
• Richard Childress Racing

World Endurance Championship

• Aston Martin Racing

Former sponsorships

Formula One

• Arrows
• Benetton Formula
• Ferrari
• Forti
• Jordan Grand Prix
• MasterCard Lola
• McLaren
• Midland F1 Racing
• Minardi
• Prost Grand Prix
• Super Aguri F1
• Spyker F1
• Team Lotus (2010–11)/Caterham F1 Team
• Toyota Racing
• Virgin Racing
• Williams

SUBARU WRC 1990 2012

See also

• List of Italian companies

External links

• Official website