Part of the Giró family, which founded OSSA, worked in the textile industry. After he had been in the merchant navy, Manuel Giró Mingella decided to settle down in Barcelona. He was a great enthusiast of motorboat, car and motorcycle races. Manuel Giró and his brother Ernesto decided to set up the team that drove forward OSSA’s new project and diversified the business. During the Spanish Civil War, Manuel Giró worked as a motorised messenger carrying dispatches in a motorcycle and sidecar. He got together with his friend Ricardo Soriano, a true patron and a motorboat, aeroplane, car and motorcycle enthusiast who lived in France. Together they manufactured Motores Soriano outboard motors for high-level competitions.The Giró family then carried out an expansion plan. They bought a closed-down car factory (Nacional Pescara) that was fitted with modern machinery. In 1942, OSSA presented the first prototype with a Motobecane engine. It was a great success among the public and was later ...