1952 Siata Daina

Societá Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori (Siata) was founded by Giorgio Ambrosini in Italy in 1926, initially serving as a tuning firm specializing in the modification of FIATs. One of the company's earliest products was a pushrod-operated overhead-valve cylinder head which, when applied to the Fiat 514, nearly doubled the power output. Their talents improved numerous components, including engines, transmission, and adjustable shock absorbers. They introduced its first production car in 1949, again using components sourced from FIAT, this time from the Topolino. By this point in history, the company had been renamed SIATA Auto Spa and the name of their vehicle was the Amica cabriolet. During the 1950s and on into the 1960s, SIATA would utilize US-built engines including those from Crosley, Ford, and Chrysler in addition to FIAT's home-grown motors.

The Siata Amica was produced through 1952 and was powered by a Fiat 500cc engine tuned to produce 22 horsepower with an optional 750cc unit which boosted output to 25 horsepower. Body styles included a coupe and a two-seater convertible (spider). Two specially modified Amica's were built and known as the Fiat Siata 500 Pescara, equipped with a modified 500 cc engine producing 40 horsepower and backed by a five-speed manual gearbox. One example won the 1948 Italian Road Racing Championship. Currently, only one of the two Pescara's are known to exist.

Siata's first successful model was the Daina series which employed a Siata-built box-section chassis and modified Fiat 1400 driveline and suspension. The engine received a special Siata cylinder head and intake manifold with dual Weber carburetors helping to boost output to 65 bhp. Several displacement sizes were available including a 1.4-liter, 1.5-liter, or 1.8-liter, all of which were sourced from Fiat.

They performed admirably in the 1,500cc racing class of 1952 in Europe, as well in SCCA competition in the United States. Between 1951 and 1958, approximately 50 (as many as 100) examples are believed to have been built, with most being built before 1953. The production totals include around 20 examples of the Daina Sport coupes. The Gran Sport was a cabriolet version with a steel body and most having an aluminum hood designed by Stabilimenti Farina. Three Gran Sports received an all-aluminum body.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2010