1907 Itala 100 HP Race Car

This Itala is one of three factory team cars and was the outright winner in the Coppa della Velocita, Brescia, on September 2, 1907, driven by Alessandro Cagno at 65.2 mph. At 14.5 liters (175mm x 155mm), with 120 horsepower and weighing just over a ton, this Itala also set the fastest lap at an average speed of 71.8 mph. The engine has a drilled three-main-bearing crankshaft, enormous six-inch diameter cast iron pistons, and four-inch diameter overhead valves set within detachable cages, churning out its impressive power at a leisurely 1,200 RPM.

In 1908, it was purchased by Mr. Edgar Thornton, who registered it on the Isle of Wight, England, and had it modified for road use, adding dark green and black paint. The car was acquired by Lord Montagu and restored in 1959-1960 to its 1907 race condition at the Montagu Motor Museum. It was purchased by Time to Drive Holdings in late 2022.

Itala was established in Genoa, Italy, in 1904 by Matteo Ceirano and Guido Bigio, and immediately began producing high-end cars with engineering that aped the popular Mercedes, including shaft drive, quite an advanced feature for the time. The firm aggressively promoted its automobiles through competition; in 1906, their driver Alessandro Cagno won the first Targa Florio in an Itala, with sister cars finishing 2nd, 4th, and 5th, and Prince Scipione Borghese drove on to victory in the famous 1907 Peking-to-Paris race.