Chassis Number: 106000011
It would be fair to say that the Fiat 8V caused a stir when it was introduced at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. The reaction it provoked was wholly positive, but it came as a surprise when Fiat — at the time renowned for mzaking cars in high volume, such as the diminutive yet popular Topolino — revealed a sports car with a powerful engine that was also visually stunning.
The concept for the Fiat 8V was born out a proposal from the company’s chief engineer, Dante Giacosa, who suggested that the Turin marque should make a limited-production sports car for a new 2-liter Gran Turismo racing class in 1951. The first 34 examples of the 8V, known as “Series I,” wore bodywork manufactured in-house by Fiat’s Reparto Carrozzerie Speciali department and designed by Fiat’s Head of Ufficio Tecnico Carrozzeria, Luigi Rapi. Later examples, from chassis number 35 onward, were planned as a “Series II.” These were ultimately sold as a rolling chassis and bodied by famous coachbuilders such as Ghia, Vignale and Zagato.
The advanced, overhead-valve light-alloy V8 engine — internally coined Tipo 104 — was a 2.0-liter powerplant that was paired with a 4-speed manual gearbox. Weighing in at just under 1,000 kilograms and sitting on a chassis made by Siata, the Fiat was designed for poised and reactive handling thanks to its lightweight frame and relatively powerful engine. The first iteration of the Tipo 104 produced a claimed 110 horsepower, giving the car a reported top speed of 190 km/h.
With its sporting characteristics and impressive configuration, the 8V was popular among privateer racers. Many 8V models would go on to compete in motorsport campaigns from hillclimbs to road races — including this example, chassis 11.
This 8V was documented to have left the factory on 24 April 1953, finished in Grigio Rosato over red seats with gray and beige carpets, destined for its first owner in Milan, Italy. But the car was not registered in Italy and was exported to its next owner in Gentilino, Switzerland, Mr. Franco Franzi, in 1956.
Under this ownership, it is understood that the grille was adjusted with handmade modifications to allow greater airflow to the engine. The Fiat was immediately entered into motorsport events. In the 1956 running of the Ollon-Villars hillclimb, Mr. Franzi is recorded to have finished second in the 1.6- to 2.0-liter category. The car would stay in his ownership until 2008, when it was purchased by Mr. Edoardo Borla.
The vehicle was photographed undergoing a complete body-off, nut-and-bolt restoration by Gabriele Artom of Italy, beginning in November 2011 and lasting until 2014. As part of the process, restorers used caution to retain the originality of the car — appropriate for an example with, per the Fiat 8V registry, its numbers-matching engine.
In 2014, the Fiat made its first appearance at a significant event since its restoration, appearing at that year’s Concourso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este in May. In October of that year, the car was sold again, with Mr. Borla passing the car to the incumbent owner. In 2017, the car was presented at the Masterpieces Concours at Schloss Dyck, the German concours event, where it won the “Coupes of Class” category.
