1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic

The Fiat 8V model, or Otto Vu in Italian, was built for just two years with a total of 114 examples produced. They were the star of the Geneva Salon in March of 1952 and remains one of the marque's most legendary motor cars to this day.

Fiat did not race the 8V, though several of the cars often found their way to owners who would. The racing success of the 8V helped to solidify the car's performance reputation. An 8V driven by Vincenzo Auricchio and Piero Bozzinio was entered in the 1952 Mille Miglia, where it finished 5th in its class. Ovidio Capelli, the Milanese Fiat dealer, commissioned Zagato to develop a full race-spec 8V, and a lightweight car with an aerodynamic body was turned out in record time for the Giro della Toscana. It placed 3rd in class, but during the remainder of the season, the 8V accumulated numerous stellar results, becoming the national two-liter GT champion. Elio Zagato, the coachbuilder's son, really put the 8V on the map. His success in competition resulted in a steady clientele for Zagato 8Vs being developed. Zagato eventually built two different competition versions of the cars.

Pinin Farina produced a coupe version that made its debut at the Geneva Salon in 1955. No less than fifteen 8Vs were produced by Ghia wearing custom coachwork. Fourteen of these had 'Supersonic' coachwork, which was penned by Giovanni Savonuzzi. The fifteenth of those 8Vs did not wear Savonuzzi's Supersonic coachwork; instead, it was given a body designed by Mario Boano.

This car, chassis number 000042, was sold new to Ghia on June 10th of 1953. The completed car left Ghia's factory five months later. The design was inspired by several other creations, including Savonnuzzi's Supersonic, Exner's K310 and d'Elegance, the Cisitalia 808, and Boano's Gioiello. There was several design cues sourced from Chrysler cars that had been designed by Virgil Exner.

The interior is finished in bright red. There are white-on-red gauges and a symmetrical half-moon speedometer and tachometer in a binnacle in front of the driver. The clock and fuel and oil pressure gauges sit in the center of the dash.

This 8V was imported to the United States by 1957 by a Hollywood movie director. Around this time, the present engine, number BS099, was installed. The car spent many years in California, returning there in the 1980s after spending a few years on the East Coast.

The car has been treated to a restoration with the final paintwork being applied in the 1990s. The car has Carello headlamps, Marchal driving lights, and an original mechanical fuel pump.

The car was on display at the 2002 and 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and it took part in The Quail: A Motorsports gathering in 2005. In 2006, it completed the California Mille. In 2008, it made a trip to Italy to compete in the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa D'Este, where it was awarded Second in Class.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014