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Turbines, steam engines, machine tools and luxury cars were built there. The earliest mention of the Zust company in the press dates back to 1905, in the Manuale dell'Automobilista (Motorist's Manual) by engineer Pedretti, in which it was written: 'Engineer Roberto Züst of Intra builds cars that have earned the name of 'Italian Mercedes'. The Züst factories have long been renowned for many other mechanical constructions, even in the automobile branch they produce cars that are very well designed according to modern technical views and perfected to the highest degree'[2]. On 26 March of the same year, the brothers decided to transfer the company to Milan; the production of cast parts and machine tools would remain in Intra. Share capital increased by 375,000 Lire.
In 1906, the decision was made to found Brixia-Züst in Brescia for the production of lighter and cheaper series-production vehicles. The first models were the 28/45 HP and 40/50 HP with 4-cylinder engines of 7432 cm³ and 11 308 cm³. With the 28/45 HP driven by the driver Sirtori with the mechanic Haaga and the journalist from Il Mattino di Napoli Antonio Scarfoglio, the company took part in the 1908 New York-Paris rally, which made the company known throughout the world; in this race the Züst proved to be an extremely reliable and robust car. During this rally, later won by the American Thomas car which preceded the German Protos, the Züst also had to cross Siberia: the same feat as Scipione Borghese's Itala 35/45 HP during the Peking-Paris Raid of 1907.
The 28HP model of 1912
From the outset the Züst cars were of a higher class and larger dimensions. The chassis were made of cold-formed sheet steel.[2]
ZÜST production in 1908 included 3 models:
15/25 HP of 2853 cm³ displacement;
35/50 HP GS Special of 6321 cm³ displacement;
50/60 HP, later renamed S 235 of 7432 cm³ displacement.
At the Turin Motor Show in 1908 they said of Züst that it was 'revived by a new constructive and commercial fervour, for which, in addition to the manufacturers, Dr Vollmoeler, the Züst production manager, and the illustrious Mr Maggioni, agent for Italy, deserve no small credit'. Enrico Maggioni distinguished himself several times behind the wheel of a Züst machine, and became its general representative for Italy, based in Milan, in Via Boccaccio; within a few months he also took over the representation of Brixia, moved the representation to Piazza Castello 16, and coined the slogan "the only brand that does not have the slightest stock of unsold chassis".
"DIFFIDA...TELEGRAMME received from the regions 'of angels and saints and wandering spheres and flying cherubs of gold' to Enrico Maggioni, general representative of Automobili Züst. The coveted gates of heaven will remain closed to all owners of Züst and Brixia-Züst cars, and especially to new buyers. And it will be retribution justice, for they will have enjoyed too much on earth! Signed: for the ETERNAL FATHER, St. Peter".
(January 1908 advertisement in 'L'Automobile'). Already in 1909, the financial year of Brixia-Züst had closed with a loss of 80,000 lire. Züst therefore concentrated on the supply of military trucks, which it had won in 1910, for the recent war in Libya and the conquest of Tripolitania had increased the army's needs. With the start of the First World War, the company produced fewer and fewer civil cars and devoted itself almost entirely to the production of vehicles for the Italian army.
An administrative reorganisation led firstly to the absorption of Brixia-Züst, which was still running at a loss, and then to the liquidation of the company Züst Motor Ltd in London, which was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The company name changed to Società Anonima Züst Fabbrica Automobili - Brescia - Milano and his brother Silvio was appointed head of the Brescia plants. In Milan, the sales office was established in Via Manzoni, and a garage with repair shop was opened in Via Pallavicino.
Later in 1911, Züst entrusted the general representation to Luigi Storero, a well-known Fiat pilot. The aim was to combine the construction of military vehicles with the building of omnibuses for public transport
