FIAT “Otto Vù”

In the postwar period, Fiat was working on an eight-cylinder engine which was internally known as Tipo 106. The engine was originally designed by Dante Giacosa for a luxury sedan, but the project was stopped. Rudolf Hruska, at the time working at S.I.A.T.A., was given the task to design a car around a V8 engine. Development took place in absolute secrecy. As not to stress the experimental department of Fiat, production of the chassis was taken up by S.I.A.T.A. Styled by chief designer Fabio luigi Rapi, the Fiat 8V or “Otto Vù” was presented to the Italian press in February 1952 and frist exhibited in the following March at the Geneva Motor Show. The prototype used an art deco grill that extended into the hood. A second series was made featuring four headlights with some of the later cars have a full-width windscreen. A high-performance coupé destined to compete in the GT class the 2-liter 8V model was a departure from the usual Fiat production. It was well accepted by Italian private drivers and tuners and was the to beat in the 2-liter class, also thanks to the special version built by Zagato or Siata. The Fiat V8 has a 70 degree V configuration of op to a 1996cc of volume, at 5600 rpm the engine produced 105 hp (78kW) in standard form with two two-barrel Weber 36 DCS carburetors giving a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph). Some engines were fitted with huge four-throat Weber 36 IF4/C carburettors offering 120 bhp, but the intake manifold was very rare. The Fiat 8V is the only eight-cylinder built by Fiat. The engine was connected to a four speed gearbox. The car had independent suspension alla round from the Fiat 1100 and drum brakes on all four wheels. The body was welded to the chassis it was a semi-unitary construction. Only 114 of the high-performance coupés had been produced, 63 of which with a “Fiat Carrozzerie Speciali” body, 34 first series and 29 second series. It was available in different body styles, offered by the factory and by various coachbuilders like Zagato, Pinin Farina, Ghia and Vignale. The production ceased in 1954.

Chassis 106.000008 is the second 8V built, after the 6 pre-production ones. 8th of all the Fiat 8V produced. The oldest surviving car with this type of bodywork. 26 of 34 first-series cars retained the original shapes designed by Luigi Fabio Rapi and were not re-bodied or modified. Of tese 26, there are certain news of only 7 surviving ones, 3 destroyed, one dismantled. There are no news about the resting 15.The car went off the line on March 5, 1953 and meant for Emanuele Filiberto Nasi, son of lord Carlo Nasi and Tina Agnelli, so grandson of Giovanni Agnelli’s, the former founder of Fiat and Gianni Agnelli’s cousin. The Nasi were bog Fiat shareholders. Emanuele Filiberto Nasi ordered the car with out-of-series specifications, like the cloth interiors. An evidence is on the original door panels, with the name of the owner written inside. However, due to deterioration, those original panels had to be replaced while restoring the car.Emanuele Filiberto Nasi was the president of the Automobile Club Torino, and a good gentleman driver ranking 8th overall at the 1948 Mille Miglia with Emilio Christillin on a Fiat 1100 and 2nd overall at the 1950 Rallye del Sestriere on Fiat 1500. He raced 106.000008 at the hillclimb Colli Torinesi, Sassi-Superga with 128 entry number (TO143309 plate), ranking 7th in class Turismo Internazionale – 2000cc. The car was sold in August 1956 to Benedetto Testa (plate BG38945) and then given in the hands of Antonio Siddi, sprinter and bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London 1948, for the 1957 Mille Miglia. Siddi with entry number 319 faced the race alone, he did not finished the race but bought the car in July 1957. The history of Siddi racing driver, at the time, is curiosly linked to the 8V cars: the organizers of the Mille Miglia agreed with the Romanazzi bodyshop, owner and tuner of the Fiat 8V series II, chassis no. 106.000102, to entrust it to Siddi under the aegis of the Scuderia Tevere racing team, but he preferred the 106.000008 car proposed in this lot, although “older”. Siddi had already participated to the Mille Miglia in 1954 with a Fiat 1100-103, ranking 92nd overall and his life as a racign driver saw him at the main races in Italy like the 1963 Rally Internazionale della Sardegna with a Triumph TR4 and the 1964 Targa Florio at the wheel of an MG B. Nowadays, in the second part of its life, the car’s palmarés included the 1982 Mille Miglia and the more recent 1993/1995/1998/1999 with a overall 16th in 1994 (Saporetti/Montanari). The major events of the 90s and the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, and in the recent years, the prize for the “best restoration” given by ASI at the Vernasca Silver Flag 2017. The engine mounted on chassis 106.000008 was substituted early with a not matching but precious unit, since it comes from the famous one-off Siata 208 Coupé Bertone CS068. Fiat 8V chassis 106.000008 has been owned by the famous collector Mario Righini in early 70s and then held for over forty years in the same family’s collection. The car saw some documented changes. It is believed that it was born with the typical art-deco grille of all the first 8V, with a trim extending on the hood, while appears some years later in the picture at the 1957 Mille Miglia with a simper grille. The car arrived to the 1980s witha new front nose, with a different opening without grille and streamlined, Plexiglas covered headlights, different taillights, no bumper and painted in red. In late 190s it was restored to perfect condition, again with the art-deco grille and all the right details, while deciding to mantain the red color. Later on it was decided to achieve the pristine condition, painting the car in the original “grigio bleu metallizzato” (a kind of light blue, while the other two available colors were the “verde mare metallizzato” and the “grigio rosato”). Elegible to the Mille Miglia and to the main events, from re-enactments to concourse d’elegance, Chassis 106.000008 has already a bright future ahead. I twill be featured in the book Mille Miglia’s Chassis – The Ultimate Opus, volume II, that will be published in late 2019 by Automotive Masterpieces. The Chassis 106.000008 was also one of the flagship at the 24th Vernasca Silver Flag, on the occasion of the 120 year of FIAT.