Tecno was an Italian kart and racing car constructor. It started out as a conventional engineering business manufacturing hydraulic pumps. The company eventually became a Formula One constructor and participated in 10 grands prix, entering a total of 11 cars, and scoring one championship point.
In 1961 Tecno started their motor sport business as a constructor of karts in Bologna, run by the Pederzani brothers. By the mid-sixties the company had moved on up into car racing with Formula 3 (winning several championships in 1968) and Formula 2 chassis, the F2 being good enough to take the 1970 F2 championship in the hands of Clay Regazzoni.
Tecno was the first company to build an offset(‘sidewinder’)kart chassis to take advantage of the newly developed air-cooled rotary motors produced by Parilla. Tecno’s first chassis was named the Kaimano (a play on the Italian word for the Camen crocodile and the source of the logo). The Kaimano’s design was based on the American rear-engine karts of the early 1960s. The second chassis, the Piuma (‘Feather’), revolutionized karting design,and was so successful that it won the World Championships in 1964,1965 & 1966.
Tecno was highly successful in junior formulae, and an interested sponsor in the shape of Count Rossi (of Martini & Rossi fame) was prepared to back the brothers in an attempt to build an F1 car and engine.
