1952 Fiat 8V

Following decades of producing rather pedestrian models such as the Topolino and the 500, Fiat shocked the automotive world with its 8V. It was a boutique-production sports car equipped with an advanced overhead-valve light alloy V8 engine installed in a Siata-fabricated chassis and suspended by an independent suspension. Known as the Otto Vu in Italian, Fiat's 106 Series 8V was developed in secret and introduced in 1952 at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Fiat 8V would provide the esteemed marque with an enviable postwar competition record, with its aluminum engine allowing it to become a serious contender in the popular two-liter class. Equally impressive was its aesthetics, with distinctive bodies produced in-house along with a variety of custom coachwork created by Italy's most distinguished carrozzerie. Among the list were Pinin Farina, Ghia, and Zagato who created a number of dramatic and unique one-off designs.

The length of production was brief, beginning in 1952 and continuing through 1954, with 114 examples built during that time. Of those, fifty-eight examples wore factory bodies with the first six of those being built by Giorgio Ambrosini's Siata, the tuning specialists that had long served as Fiat's in-house competition and customization department.

Thirty of the fifty-eight factory-bodied examples were Series 1 examples distinguished by a single headlight. The other twenty-eight examples were known as Series 2 cars and had slanting quad headlights. Additionally, three chassis were shipped from Torino with no records as to their eventual destination. Ghia bodied fifteen examples with six of those wearing the space-age 'Supersonic' design. Vignale bodied ten cars, with nine being coupes and one a convertible. Pininfarina bodied a single example, and Zagato clothed 21 cars, including six coupes known as Elaboratas. The Elaboratas were similar to the factory Rapi bodies but with the distinctive Zagato double-bubble roofline.

The Fiat 8V, or Otto Vu, received its name because Fiat believed Ford held the copyright on 'V8.' So it reversed the order - 8V. The origins of the Fiat V8 engine date to the spring of 1948, when technical director Dante Giacosa began working on a V-6 engine intended for a six-passenger, American-style touring sedan. Development never advanced beyond the inception stage, but the Giacosa-designed engine would provide inspiration for the Tipo 104 V8. This engine featured a forged crankshaft, polished intakes and port, tubular 4x1 stainless steel exhaust manifolds, a finned aluminum sump, and an unusual 70-degree architecture. It had a 1,996cc displacement size, 8.5:1 compression ratio (initially), and two twin-choke Weber 36 DCF 3 carburetors. In this guise, the engine developed 104 horsepower at 5,600 RPM. An improved Type 104.003 version followed which had different camshaft timing which boosted output to 113 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. The final evolution of the motor was known as the Type 104.006 and it had revised camshaft timing, modifications to the fuel system, a raised compression of 8.75:1, and produced 125 horsepower at 6,600 RPM. The engine was paired to a four-speed gearbox and stopping power was courtesy of four-wheel drum brakes. The 94.5-inch wheelbase chassis had an overall length of 159.1 inches, stood 50.8 inches tall, and was 61.8 inches wide. The Borrani wire wheels had Rudge knock-off hubs.

Siata built the chassis and many of the mechanical components. In fact, the 8V did not share any parts with other Fiat vehicles except for its differential. Once the chassis was complete, many were sent to the Carrozzerie Speciali FIAT in Lingotto where they received factory coachwork to a design by Fabio Lucio Rapi that was aerodynamically fine-tuned in the Turin wind tunnel.

Fiat has had a long and storied history, but the 8V was its only model to feature the overhead-valve V8.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2022