Iame, based in Córdoba, took its name from Industrias Aeronáuticas y Mecánicas del Estado. The company was established in 1952 during the strongly nationalist presidency of General Juan Domingo Perón, whose government sought, among other goals, to develop genuinely Argentine sports and touring automobiles.
The Justicialista, named after Perón's political party, was produced in saloon, pick-up and station wagon versions, all powered by two-stroke engines. The saloon's design was based on the 1951 Chevrolet and used a four-cylinder, 800cc two-stroke engine.
A sports version, the Justicialista Sport, appeared in 1954. It used a front-mounted Porsche 1500cc engine and featured a fibreglass hard-top coupé body. Only a small number of open prototypes were built, a couple of which were fitted with V8 engines. Around 250 examples of the Justicialista sports car were produced and heavily publicized, with President Perón photographed driving an open version and racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio demonstrating the car at the Autodrome of Buenos Aires, where a race exclusively for Justicialistas was staged.
In 1955, a military coup ended Perón's government, and the sports car production line, together with fifty unfinished vehicles, was sold to Teram, which continued production under the Puntero name, though in a heavily modified form. About 100 Teram sports cars were made. Among the two-stroke-engined models, only the saloon survived, and it was renamed Graciela, as the new regime refused to retain any association with the Justicialista name.
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