Fiat 8V

Fiat 8V

The first style for the 8V by Fiat's chief designer Luigi Rapi.
Overview
Manufacturer Fiat
Production 1952-1954
Designer Dante Giacosa
Luigi Rapi
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Body style 2-door coupe
Layout FR layout
Powertrain
Engine V8 1996 cc
Transmission 4 and 5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,400 mm (94.5 in)
Length 4,060 mm (159.8 in)
Width 1,500 mm (59.1 in)
Height 1,260 mm (49.6 in)
Curb weight 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
Chronology
Successor Fiat 2300 Coupe
First style headlights
1955 Berlinetta, 1 of 3 built by Fiat

The Fiat 8V (or "Otto Vu") is a sports car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1952 to 1954. The car was introduced at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. The Fiat 8V got its name because at the time of its making Ford had a copyright on the term V8. They weren't a commercial success, but did well in racing. Apart from the differential the car did not share any parts with the other Fiats (but many parts were made by Siata and they used them for their cars). The 8V was developed by Dante Giacosa and the stylist Luigi Rapi. The engine was a V8 originally designed for a luxury sedan, but that project was stopped. 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 giving a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph). The engine was connected to a four speed gearbox. The car had independent suspension all round and drum brakes on all four wheels.

Top management were preoccupied with more run of the mill projects, however, and only 114 of the high-performance coupés had been produced by the time the cars were withdrawn from production in 1954.[1] Nevertheless, they continued to win the Italian 2-litre GT championship every year until 1959.[1]

34 of the cars had a factory produced bodywork by the Reparto Carrozzerie Speciali ("Special Bodies Department"). Some cars had the bodywork done by other Italian coachbuilders. Carozzeria Zagato made 30[2] that they labelled "Elaborata Zagato". Ghia and Vignale also made bodyworks. Most were coupés, but some spyders were made as well. A one-off fiberglass-bodied example currently resides in the Centro Storico Fiat.[3]

Ghia Supersonic

Ghia designed and produced a limited run of cars named 'Supersonic', with special 'jet age' bodywork. Ghia had recently been sold by Boano to Luigi Segre, and a one-off car had been built for a wealthy entrant in the Mille Miglia race. The car was displayed at the 1953 Turin show and the reaction inspired Segre to plan a limited production of cars based on the Otto Vu, aimed at the American market. Only eight were completed, after mechanical issues ended the project. Several of the cars were purchased by Americans; some were heavily customized and received engine transplants. An original un-restored car sold at a Scottsdale, Arizona Gooding and Company auction in January 2011 with a gavel price of US $1.55 million ($1.7M including buyer's premium). Ghia would later use its basic body shape on Jaguar XK-120–based vehicles as well as Aston Martin. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dante Giacosa: From wartime to the present day, Paul Frère concludes his profile of a great engineer". Motor. nbr. Vol. 3597. 12 June 1971. pp. 20–22.
  2. ↑ Osborne, Donald (June 2012). "1953 Fiat 8V Zagato". Sports Car Market. 24 (6): 50–51. That the Fiat 8V has such an excellent competition record can largely be put down to the 30 Zagato-bodied examples, which performed so much better than the factory-bodied cars.
  3. ↑ "Centro Storico Guided Tour (4/12)". Centro Storico Fiat. facebook.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Archived October 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Fiat 8V". vignale.org. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiat 8V.
Fiat car timeline, 1899–1939 — next »
Type 1899 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
City car 3,5 HP 500 "Topolino"
Small
family car 		6 HP
8 HP
10 HP		 509 / 509 S 508 "Balilla" 508 C / 1100
Family car 1 1A / Zero 70 501 / 501 S / 502 / 503 514 / 515 1500
Large
family car 		Brevetti 10-12 HP 2 2B 505 507 518
12 HP / 16-20 HP / 16-24 HP Brevetti tipo 2 (15-25 HP) 520 / 521 522 / 524 527
Executive car 20-30 HP 3 3A / 3Ter 510 512 525 / 525 S
24-32 HP / 60 HP 28-40 HP / 30-45 HP / 50 HP 4 / 5 / 6 520 "Superfiat" 519 / 519 S 2800
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