Mille Miglia eligible 1953 Fiat 8V Fiat Carrozzerie Speciali on offer at Finarte

Mille Miglia eligible 1953 Fiat 8V Fiat Carrozzerie Speciali on offer at Finarte

Chassis no. 106.000008 - Engine no. CS042

The second 8V ever built, after the 6 pre-production ones.
8th of all the Fiat 8V ever produced.
The oldest surviving car with this type of bodywork.
Precious engine from the famous one-off Siata 208 Coupé Bertone CS068.
Reserved for Emanuele Filiberto Nasi, grandson of Fiat’s founder, Giovanni Agnelli7th in class at the uphill race Colli Torinesi, Sassi-Superga.
Out-of-series specificationsAntonio Siddi drove it at the 1957 Mille Miglia.
He was a bronze medalist at the 1948 Olympic Games. Mentioned in Tony Adriaensens's “bible”: Ottovu
For over forty years in the same family’s collection
Eligible for the Mille Miglia, this chassis participated in the last historical edition of the race

ESTIMATE € 1.800.000 - 2.000.000

They Say:

In the postwar years, Fiat was working on an eight-cylinder engine which was internally known as Tipo 106. Dante Giacosa originally designed the engine for a luxury sedan, but then that project stopped. Rudolf Hruska, at the time working at S.I.A.T.A., was given the task to design a car around the V8 engine. Development took place in absolute secrecy. To not stress the experimental department of Fiat, S.I.A.T.A took up the production of the chassis. Styled by chief designer Fabio Luigi Rapi, the Fiat 8V or OttoVù was presented to the Italian press in February 1952 and first 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-litre 8V model, was a departure from the usual Fiat production. It was well accepted by Italian private drivers and tuners and was the car to beat in the 2-litre class, also thanks to the unique versions built by Zagato or Siata. 


The Fiat V8 had a 70-degree V configuration of up to a 1996 cc of volume, at 5600 rpm the engine produced 105 hp (78 kW) in standard form with two two-barrel Weber 36 DCS carburettors giving a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph). Some engines were fitted with substantial 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 shapes of the car have seen several changes over time: the prototype had an art deco grille that extended into the bonnet. A second series was made with four headlights; finally, some of the latest cars had a large windshield without divisions. Only 114 of this high-performance coupé were produced, 63 of which with a "Fiat Carrozzerie Speciali" body, 34 first-series and 29 second-series. It was made 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.

The car

Chassis 106.000008 is the second 8V ever built, after the six pre-production ones, is the 8th of all the Fiat 8V produced, and is 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 these 26, there is specific news of only 7exemplars surviving to date, three were destroyed, and one was dismantled. There is no news about the remaining 15. The car came out of the factory on March 5, 1953, and it was meant for Emanuele Filiberto Nasi, son of lord Carlo Nasi and Tina Agnelli, grandson of Giovanni Agnelli, the late founder of Fiat and Gianni Agnelli’s cousin. The Nasi family was significant Fiat shareholders. Emanuele Filiberto Nasi ordered the car with out-of-series specifications, like the cloth interiors. On the original door panels is the name of the owner written inside. However, due to deterioration, those original panels had to be replaced while restoring the car, they are at auction with the car. 


Emanuele Filiberto Nasi was the president of the Automobile Club in Torino and a proper 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 uphill race of the 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 BS38945) and Antonio Siddi, sprinter and bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London 1948, drove it during the 1957 Mille Miglia. Siddi with entry number 319 faced the race alone. He did not finish the race but bought the car in July 1957. The history of Siddi as a racing driver, at that time, is curiously linked to the 8V cars: the organisers of the Mille Miglia agreed with the Romanazzi body shop, 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 - this lot – even if it was an older car. Siddi had already participated in the Mille Miglia in 1954 with a Fiat 1100-103, ranking 92nd overall and his life as a racing driver saw him at the primary 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. More recently, in its second life, the car's palmarés was included in the 1982 Mille Miglia and, later, in the 1993/1994/1995/1998 Mille Miglia, with a 16th place overall in 1994 (Saporetti/Montanari). 


The car also saw most of the 90s editions of the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, and it won the prize for the Gran Turismo category at the 2015 Vernasca Silver Flag, and the ASI award for the best restoration, at the 2017 Vernasca Silver Flag. The original engine mounted on chassis 106.000008 was substituted early in its life with a not matching but the 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 renowned collector Mario Righini in the early seventies 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 simpler grille. The car arrived at the 1980s with a new front nose, with a different opening without grille and streamlined, Plexiglas covered headlights, different taillights, no bumpers and painted in red. In the late 1980s, it was restored to perfect condition, again with the art-deco grille and all the accurate details, while deciding to maintain the red colour. 


Later, 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 colours were the “Verde mare metallizzato” and the “grigio rosato”). The car is eligible to participate in the Mille Miglia and other main events, from re-enactments to concourse d’elegance. Chassis 106.000008 has a bright future ahead. It is going to 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 car is going to be one of the crown jewels of the 24th Vernasca Silver Flag, on Fiat’s 120th anniversary. Chassis 106.000008 has already been accepted and registered and will participate in the event, from June 28 to 30. For this exceptional reason, the car will be delivered to the new buyer only after the race.

State of the Art: Completely restored body, interiors and engine in pristine condition.


Litterature

Tony Adriaensens, OttoVù, Corsa Research, Antwerpen 2005.-Luigi Orsini, Mille Miglia, una corsa italiana, Abiemme, Italy 1990.-Dante Giacosa, I miei 40 anni di progettazione alla Fiat, Automobilia, Italy 1979.


Certifications and Statements
ASI,Fiva.

Documents
Registration and Italian license plates in order and updated.

Eligibility

Mille Miglia. Eligible. This chassis participated to the last historical edition of the race.
Giro di Sicilia. Eligible.
Targa Florio. Eligible. 
Goodwood Revival. Eligible
Tour Auto. Eligible.
Le Mans Classic.
Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti. Eligible.
Vernasca Silver Flag. Eligible.
California Mille: Eligible.
Nürburgring Classic. Eligible.
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Eligible.
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Eligible.
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille. Eligible.
Concorso d’eleganza Villa D’Este. Eligible.

The Automotive Department will be organising its second auction of classic cars on May 13th, prior to the start of the Mille Miglia Race on May 15, at the Mille Miglia Museum in Brescia.

Click here to view more lots from this auction

 


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