FNM 2000 and JK: Brazil’s Alfa Romeo

The FNM 2000 was the first passenger car built by Fábrica Nacional de Motores at Xerém, near Rio de Janeiro. Introduced in 1960 as the FNM JK, it was a Brazilian version of the Alfa Romeo 2000 berlina with the same 1,975 cc twin-camshaft engine, detuned to 95 PS. The JK was the most luxurious and the most expensive car made in Brazil in its day, and it was replaced by the FNM 2150 in 1969.

FNM 2000 at a glance

The car is covered in sections of the English and Portuguese Wikipedia articles on FNM rather than in an article of its own. The sources differ on the power of the TiMB: the English article gives 130 PS, the Portuguese one up to 160 cv.

History of the FNM 2000

From Fabral to FNM

The car began as a project of Fabral S.A. (Fábrica Brasileira de Automóveis Alfa), a company set up in the mid-1950s by Alfa Romeo and the Brazilian investor Matarazzo to build the Alfa Romeo 2000 Tipo 102/B in Brazil. The plan was to assemble it at Jacareí in São Paulo state, but the Matarazzo group withdrew in 1958 after troubled discussions about building luxurious cars in what was then a poor country. Under pressure from President Juscelino Kubitschek, FNM — in which Alfa Romeo already held a minority interest — took over the project, and the factory was built at Xerém in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, instead.

The JK of 1960

FNM’s first passenger car was launched in 1960. It was a Brazilian version of the Alfa Romeo 2000 four-door berlina, with the same 1,975 cc twin-camshaft engine but detuned to 95 PS (70 kW), and it carried the FNM badge. The series was named J.K. after President Kubitschek, who had helped make the agreement happen. It was by far the most luxurious and the most expensive car built in Brazil in the period; a Portuguese-language history of the marque calls it the most stable and fastest Brazilian car of the time — and the costliest.

Later versions

A coupé version, the Onça, was offered from 1966, and in the same year FNM added the 2000 TiMB (Turismo Internazional Modelo Brasileiro), the most powerful development of the saloon. With 130 PS (96 kW), the TiMB claimed more power than its Alfa Romeo cousins of the time; it also had a flat bonnet with a lower-mounted grille and a divided front bumper, a front-end design later carried over to the FNM 2150.

End of the 2000

In 1968 Alfa Romeo acquired a controlling share of the state-owned FNM. The following year the 2000 was replaced by the restyled FNM 2150, whose engine grew to 2,132 cc; the 2150 stayed in production until 1974, when it gave way to the Alfa Romeo 2300 and the FNM badge disappeared from cars.

Design and features

• Alfa Romeo engineering: the Tipo 102 twin-cam engine and chassis, built in Brazil.
• Luxury and price: the most luxurious and most expensive car built in Brazil at the time.
• Five-speed gearbox: the unit FNM used in its cars up to the 2150.
• TiMB front end: a flat bonnet, lower grille and divided bumper on the most powerful version.
• Local production: built at FNM’s Xerém plant near Rio de Janeiro.

FNM 2000 versions

• FNM JK (1960): the original name, honouring President Juscelino Kubitschek.
• FNM 2000: the later name for the same saloon.
• FNM 2000 TiMB (1966): more powerful version with 130 PS and a revised front.
• FNM Onça (1966): a locally designed coupé on the same line.
• FNM 2150 (1969–1974): restyled successor with a 2,132 cc engine.

The coupé sister of the 2000 is described in the FNM Onça article, and the truck side of the company in FNM 180. More cars of the marque are in the FNM collection.

Video: Garagem do Bellote: FNM JK 2000

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Fábrica Nacional de Motores, English Wikipedia: project, launch, engine, later versions
• Alfa Romeo 2000, Portuguese Wikipedia: Brazilian production years, models, power
• Fábrica Nacional de Motores, Portuguese Wikipedia: market position, later history