Fiat 8V

Fiat
Fiat 8V
8V
Production period:	1952-1954
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupé , roadster
Engines:	Petrol engines : 2.0 liters (77.2–93.4 kW)
Length:	4040 mm
Width:	1570 mm
Height:	1290 mm
Wheelbase :	2400 mm
Empty weight :	930 kg

In March 1952, Fiat surprised the public at the Geneva Motor Show with the Fiat 8V. A two-seater sports car that was also designed as a racing vehicle. What was surprising was that up to this point Fiat had not shown any interest in re-entering the racing scene. Fiat left it to other companies to convert their vehicles for racing. In its production time up to 1954 114 units were produced, some only as chassis, which went to coachbuilders such as Ghia , Pininfarina , Vignale and Zagato . The 8V took part in various racing events in which it also took first places in the GT class up to 2 liters. Internally it was called Tipo 106 and in Italy and among connoisseurs it is also known as Otto Vu (engl .: eight V). Its most beautiful body is certainly the Fiat 8V Démon Rouge, designed by Giovanni Michelotti in 1953 and built by Vignale, which in 2004, 51 years later, won the prestigious Best of the Show award at the Concours d'Elegance at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn , Netherlands.

history

In 1945, Fiat began developing the Tipo 101, a four-seater vehicle that was originally intended to replace the Fiat 1100 and replaced the Fiat 1500 as the Fiat 1400 in 1950 . For the first prototype, designated 101E1, 1.3-liter engines were provided. Dante Giacosa , at that time head of the development department for engines at Fiat, developed the engine based on the classic model with a bore (72 mm) that was smaller than the stroke (78 mm). When the 101E1 was tested with the engine in 1946, it turned out that the power was too low and the engine had to be revised. In addition, the Fiat management decided at the end of October that it would be better to build a five-seater car and so the order was given to modify the 101E1 accordingly. When the new requirements were issued, Giacosa had already been appointed head of the development department for vehicle and engine construction and, together with his employees, began developing the vehicle and engine now known as the 101E2 at the end of 1946. By May 1947 the engine, a 1.3 liter with 75 mm bore and stroke, had been completed. In mid-May, Giacosa was sent to Detroit by Fiat to study new developments in the auto sector. There he visited Budd , Chrysler and General Motors and was also allowed to look at vehicle and engine developments. Representatives of the companies explained to him that the trend was towards engines with a larger bore than stroke and that higher compression would soon be possible, as the octane number of the fuel would increase (in Italy it was 65 in 1947). After returning to Fiat, he discarded the finished engine and developed a 1.2-liter engine with a bore of 80 mm and a stroke of 60 mm. During testing, it turned out that the 1.2-liter engine delivered the same output as the discarded 1.3-liter engine. The prototype 101E2 equipped with the new engine went into testing at the end of January 1948. But a short time later, the Fiat top decided to direct future production to the American market. It was now requested that the front of the car should have a bench seat for three people, so that a total of six people can be transported. In addition, the request was expressed to redesign the engine in such a way that it should now have a displacement of 1.3 liters and offer the possibility of being able to derive a six-cylinder V-engine. Giacosa then suggested developing either a two-liter engine as a four-cylinder in-line engine or as an eight-cylinder V-engine, as balancing a six-cylinder V-engine was very difficult. After further discussion it was decided to first produce the prototype 101E3 with a 1.4-liter engine. This was completed in October 1948 and came onto the market in 1950 as the Fiat 1400. After that, work began on a car derived from him with a larger engine and space for a six-cylinder V in the engine compartment, which led to the Fiat 1900 in 1952 .

Since the Fiat sales department preferred to offer a six- or eight-cylinder luxury car instead of a car derived from the engine and body of the Fiat 1400, in 1950 Giacosa began developing an engine with more than four cylinders in parallel with the work on the Fiat 1900. When looking for the right format, he sequentially rejected an in-line six-cylinder engine because it was too long, a six-cylinder V-engine because Giacosa was convinced that it was difficult to balance and an eight-cylinder V-engine with a 90 ° fork angle because it was too wide. After some consideration, technical and other factors led him to an eight-cylinder V-engine with a fork angle of 70 °. Such an engine would not be optimally balanced, but it would be very compact. After the first tests of the finished engine with the designation Tipo 104 in the same year, it had to be revised again. The subsequent test runs were promising and so, at the request of the sales department, the wheelbase of a Fiat 1400 chassis was extended to 2850 mm and provided with this. This chassis, called Tipo 104, was then sent to Pininfarina to build a limousine. Fears expressed in advance that the vehicle would be too big and too heavy for the engine were confirmed and the project was discontinued. Giacosa then suggested to Fiat management to build a sports car for the engine and then derive a sedan from it. Management agrees and the prototype Tipo 106 was commissioned. In order not to lose time and not to overwhelm the development department, it was decided that Siata would develop the chassis and install the mechanics and Fiat would build the engine and the body. The body was then mainly designed by Fabio Luigi Rapi with some form and shape assistance from Giacosa. After the car was ready, Carlo Salamano helped set it up . For example, he recommended allowing the chassis to understeer more so that corners could be negotiated more quickly, even if it was against the oversteer common in racing cars at that time. After the presentation of the now Fiat 8V at the Geneva Motor Show in 1952, production began. This was mainly done by the development department. After 114 vehicles, production was stopped at the end of 1954 for economic reasons. There was no derivation as a sedan because it was decided that the Fiat 1900 should initially be Fiat's top model.

Vehicle designations

8V

A source wrote that the car was called 8V because Fiat believed Ford had protected the V8 as a brand name. Dante Giacosa, the lead developer of the Fiat 8V, does not write anything about it in his book FORTY YEARS of Design with Fiat . Other sources do not confirm it either. Why the spelling was chosen is currently unknown.

otto vu

The car is also officially called otto vu (eight V). In vehicles built by Fiat, this lettering can be found on the dashboard above the steering column between the speedometer and rev counter.

Tipo 104 and Tipo 106

At the time the 8V was developed, the chassis and engine got the same type number when they were developed. Since the 8V engine was only intended for the 104 sedan, the engine was given the number 104. When the project was abandoned, the development of the vehicle 105 (Fiat 1900) was already underway and the sports car project was given the number 106. Hence the engine number 104 and the car number 106.

Description of the vehicle

engine

Fiat 8V engine

The engine bears the factory designation Tipo 104. It is designed as an eight-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine and has two four-cylinder banks that are at a fork angle of 70 ° as a V to each other. The crankshaft has three bearings and does not have a vibration damper. Two connecting rods are arranged in pairs on crank pins that are offset by 10 ° against the direction of rotation of the crankshaft. The engine has a centrally installed camshaft. It is driven by a chain and controls the hanging valves via bumpers and rocker arms. Each cylinder has one inlet and one outlet valve. Two Weber 36 DCF 3 double downdraft carburettors were used as carburetors. In order to increase the performance, special camshafts could be ordered. The firing order is 1–5–3–7–4–8–2–6. The engine requires 6.5 liters of oil. The cooler is installed in front of the engine and requires 10 liters of fluid. The engine can be driven in fourth gear at 2000 rpm, which corresponds to approx. 55 km / h. For a sporty driving style, the speed should not fall below 3000 rpm. It can easily be pulled up to 7000 / min.

Power transmission

A single-disc dry clutch is installed as the clutch. This is followed by a four-speed manual transmission, the second, third and fourth gear of which are synchronized. Gear four is directly translated. The connected cardan shaft transfers the power to the rear axle drive with hypoid drive.

landing gear

The four wheels are individually suspended and have coil springs and shock absorbers in one housing as well as lower wishbones and cornering stabilizer. One hydraulic shock absorber is installed on each of the front wheels and two hydraulic shock absorbers on the rear wheels. The steering works with a worm and roller. 3.125 revolutions are required from one stop to the other. The hydraulic brake system consists of a simplex drum brake per wheel, which have braking surfaces of the same size (290 cm²). The mechanical handbrake acts on the cardan shaft.

Technical specifications

body

Despite only 114 vehicles built, there is an astonishing number of different bodies. Most of them were coupes. They all have a front engine, rear-wheel drive and two seats in common.

Fiat

The bodies for Fiat were manufactured in the company's own body shop, Carrozzeria Speciale. The first coupe was built from 1952 to 1953 and then replaced by a slightly more pleasing model that was built from 1953 to 1954. Dante Giacosa preferred the model from 1952/53. From 1953, Fiat also experimented with plastic bodies, but there was no series production.

Body description

The following summary is based on a report by The Autocar of a Fiat 8V with 115 hp from 1954. Deviations from older and different models are likely.

The base of the body consists of a frame with two side members and cross members on which an inner and an outer shell are placed. The shells are welded to each other and to the frame. The rest of the body is built on this basic construction. The body is streamlined, low and narrow for low air resistance. The front is characterized by the radiator grille, the four headlights and the two bumpers attached directly to the body. The smaller headlights on top are low beam and the larger ones below are high beam. Either low beam or high beam can only be switched on. The indicators were initially round and attached to the headlights. By 1954 at the latest, they were teardrop-shaped and sat on the fenders. Exterior mirrors were not installed at the factory. The car only had an inside mirror. The bonnet is hinged at the front. There is an air scoop on it , under which the air inlet for both carburettors is located. The front window is divided. Both discs are curved and connected with a narrow rubber strip. There are two windshield wipers running in opposite directions that wipe upwards towards the center and downwards to the sides. The side windows in the doors of the first models from 1952 were sliding windows, later they were designed as crank windows. The door handles are tight. There is a large rear window in the sloping rear. The filler neck with quick release is installed below. There is no tailgate. On the left and right at the corners there are small bumpers and in the middle below the rear the two exhaust pipes protrude. The wheels are each fastened with a central lock, for which a hammer is included in the tool. Covers for the wheel arches could be ordered for the rear wheels. The body has four points where the vehicle can be lifted with the jack. The car has 24 points where it needs to be greased every 1500 km.

The interior has a length between the bulkhead and the rear shelf of approx. 1600 mm and a maximum width between the B-pillars of approx. 1200 mm. In order to make the best possible use of the space, the front passenger seat is set about 450 mm further back than the driver's seat. This enabled the driver's seat to be installed a little more towards the middle. In addition, the driver has more space on the right side and his all-round view is greater. Since the front passenger cannot find support in this sitting position, a footrest was attached to the floor and there is a handle on the back of the driver's seat. The bucket seats are padded and the driver's seat can be adjusted lengthways. The interior includes carpeting over the entire area, including the gearbox cover, transmission tunnel and rear shelf. The doors have interior panels. There is interior lighting. The spare wheel is on the parcel shelf. It also offers space for some luggage. The gear lever appears a bit long. Nevertheless, the transmission can be operated well. The circuit is designed as an H circuit. The first gear is on the front left and the reverse gear is on the right behind. The dashboard is tidy. The speedometer (left) and the rev counter (right) are arranged in a semicircle around the steering column as a combination instrument. Above the steering column and between the two scales is written Fiat in long capital letters and otto vu in lower case letters with an underscore on the brand name . To the right of the steering wheel is a clock and next to it a combination instrument for oil, fuel and water temperature. The pull switches for the starter, choke and hand throttle are located below the clock and the combination instrument. The ignition lock is installed on the left below the clock. It has five switch positions, which are described from left to right as follows, parking light with ignition off, everything off, ignition on, ignition on with parking light and ignition on with full light. The wooden steering wheel has three metal spokes. The horn button is located on the steering wheel hub. It is surrounded by a ring-shaped button to operate the headlight flasher. The accelerator and brake pedals are arranged so that they can be operated simultaneously with the right foot. The dimmer button is on the floor to the left of the clutch pedal.

A Fiat 8V equipped in this way with a special camshaft for an output of 115 hp cost 2,850,000 lira in 1954. In comparison, a Fiat 1100 TV cost 1,225,000 lira in the same year.

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  Fiat 8V (1952-1953)

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  Fiat 8V (1952-1953)

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  Fiat 8V (1953-1954)

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  Fiat 8V (1953-1954)

Ghia

Ghia built two different coupes. They were independent designs and independently motivated.

Fiat 8V (design Mario Boano, 1953)

The coupé has the chassis number 106.000042 and is a one-off. It was built in 1953 based on designs by the designer Mario Boano .

Fiat 8V Supersonic

→ Main article : Ghia Supersonic

The Supersonic was originally a prototype based on Alfa Romeo 1900C , which was commissioned by Virgilio Conrero , a tuner for Alfa Romeo and Lancia in Turin, at the request of a Swiss for the 1953 Mille Miglia . For the body shop, Conrero turned to Ghia and the designer Giovanni Savonuzzi designed the body. Unfortunately, the car was not destined for a long future. In its first race, the race mentioned, it went up in flames and the body was destroyed. The design impressed Ghia so much that in 1953 it was decided to run a small series. The base vehicle was chosen as the Fiat 8V, and in October 1953 the first car was presented to the public at the Mondial de l'Automobile . No more than 20 Supersonic cars were built, of which, depending on the source, up to 15 were on a Fiat 8V, three on a Jaguar XK 120 , one on an Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mark II . It must be mentioned that John Willment had a Fiat 8V Supersonic converted to the technology of the AC Cobra 427 in 1965 . The vehicle is also known as the Willment 427 Coupe. In addition, a Fiat 8V Supersonic Virgil Exner served as a template for his DeSoto Adventurer II design in 1954 .

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  Fiat 8V (design Mario Boano, 1953)

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  Fiat 8V Supersonic

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  Fiat 8V Supersonic

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  View of the interior of a Fiat 8V Supersonic

Pininfarina

Pininfarina only designed and built a coupé based on the Fiat 8V in 1955. The vehicle known as the Fiat 8V Berlinetta Speciale is a one-off and was made by Fiat for Giovanni Nasi.

Vignale

Vignale built a total of eight cars on the Fiat 8V. Specifically, there were five coupés, a Spider, a Coupé Corsa and the Démon Rouge design study. All vehicles were designed by Giovanni Michelotti .

Fiat 8V Coupe

From 1953 Vignale produced various coupés based on the Fiat 8V. Five of them were made in total.

Fiat 8V Spider

In 1953 Vignale presented the Fiat 8V Spider . Only one car was made by him. The vehicle had a very massive, continuous front bumper. Later, the vehicle was redesigned at least on the front end and got a new paint job, because when the car was auctioned at RM Sotheby’s in 2015 , the front bumper had been replaced by a split bumper and its color is now red. The Fiat 8V Spider achieved 1,120,000 € at the auction and had the chassis number 106.000050 and the engine number 104.000 000184.

Fiat 8V Coupé Corsa

Vignale wanted to present the Coupé Corsa at the Mondial de l'Automobile 1954, but the work was not finished by then. The vehicle was not presented at any motor show and was sold to Casimiro Toselli. Toselli first showed the car in 1955 for the Sestriere Rally . Many races were contested with the Coupé Corsa until 1957, but never with great success. In 1957 the Fiat 8V had to be extensively repaired and it got a new front and a new rear. The chassis bears the number 106.000052.

Fiat 8V Demon Rouge

Vignale presented the Démon Rouge for the first time at the Turin Motor Show in 1953. It is a pure design study. Interesting details are not only the curved rear window, but also the door handles. They are integrated into the rear roof struts as chrome-plated plates. In 1955 the design won the 'Coppa Campione d'Italia' Concours d'Elegance and in 2004, more than 50 years later, the best of the show at the Concours d'Elegance at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It can be seen in the Louwman Museum in The Hague.

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  Fiat 8V Vignale Coupe

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  Fiat 8V Vignale Coupe

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  Fiat 8V Demon Rouge

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  Fiat 8V Demon Rouge

Zagato

In total, Zagato got 32 chassis (according to other sources 30), five of which were fitted with a Fiat body and at least one Spider was built.

Fiat 8V Coupé Elaborata

The bodies of the five 8V fitted with a Fiat body were heavily modified at Zagato. Among other things, they got the roof separately raised above the driver and front passenger (bubble call). In 1953, Zagato introduced the first 8V machined in this way. The vehicles are labeled “Zagato elaborazione” (German: Zagato edited). They are called Fiat 8V Elaborata (dt. Refined).

Fiat 8VZ Coupé

Zagato presented its first coupé as early as 1952. The vehicles all received lightweight bodies, which were largely made of aluminum. The interior was individually tailored to each buyer. The exterior design could also be influenced; For example, the Bubble Ruf (bubble roof) - a roof that is curved upwards separately over the driver and front passenger - could be ordered. Some of them have been used at racing events. The vehicles were sold until 1959. The vehicles are referred to as Fiat 8VZ, with the "Z" standing for Zagato.

Fiat 8VZ Spider

The vehicle has the chassis number 000005. The car was originally built as a coupé by Fiat in 1952 and sold to the industrialist Franco Auricchio from Cremona . He left the coupé to the racing drivers Vincenzo Auricchio and Piero Bozzinio for the Mille Miglia 1952 , in which they finished 5th in the class up to 2000 cc. He later passed the car on to racing driver Ovidio Capelli , who sent the coupe to Zagato to have a lightweight Barchetta built. The vehicle was badly damaged in an accident in a race in Sardinia . In this condition he sold the racing car to the Leto di Priolo brothers. They sent the car back to Zagato, who built a new and different Spider body. This racing car, known as the 8VZ Spider, was used by Massimo Leto di Priolo in the Grand Prix of Sweden on August 7, 1955 in the GT class up to 2 liters. Leto di Priolo achieved 2nd place with the vehicle. The vehicle was shown on the spot sul Liston Edizione 2015 in Padova, Italy.

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  Fiat 8V Zagato 1955 without Bubble Ruf (bubble roof)

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  Fiat 8V Zagato with Bubble Ruf (bubble roof)

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  Fiat 8V Zagato Spider (No. 57) at the Swedish GP 1955 with the roof closed

Racing

Fiat 8V in racing version

As early as 1952, the Fiat 8V showed what it can do at the Targa Florio on June 29th. Ovidio Capelli drove the car to a respectable 5th place. This was followed by other races in which vehicles participated and on September 28, 1952, Capelli again achieved 5th place in the overall standings at the Bari Grand Prix and thus first place in the 2-liter GT class ahead of Sergio Mantovani in a Ferrari. Another notable success was celebrated on September 5, 1954 by Elio Zagato , the eldest son of the company's founder, Ugo Zagato , on a 8VZ from Zagato with a light metal body at the Coppa Inter Europa in Monza . In the two-hour race, he not only won the 2-liter GT class, but also set a new course record in its class with an average speed of 151.36 km / h over the entire duration of the race. In the same race one year later, on September 11th, Zagato finished second and Ottavio Guarducci took first place. Both drove on a Fiat 8VZ. 14 days later, Zagato won the Berlin Avus race . From 1956 things slowly became quieter around the Fiat 8V.

Cars that used components from the Fiat 8V

Siata 208

Also Siata presented his new series 208 at the Geneva Motor Show 1952. Since Siata had been involved in the development of the vehicle, they could also introduce a V8 model thus. The main thing in common with the 8V is the engine. This was offered with power levels from 105 to 122 hp and compressions from 7.5 to 8.5: 1. Since Siata developed the chassis for the Fiat 8V, this could also have had an impact on the 208. The production of the 208 ended at the latest with the discontinuation of the Fiat 8V.

Fiat Turbina

→ Main article : Fiat Turbina

In 1954 the test vehicle Fiat Turbina with gas turbine drive was created. A chassis of the Fiat 8V was adapted for the construction. Brakes, suspension and other systems were retained.

literature

• Dante Giacosa: FORTY YEARS of Design with Fiat. Fiat Group Marketing & Corporate Communication SpA, 2014, Also available as a free download on the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles website.

Web links

Commons : Fiat 8V  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• History of the Fiat 8V on the website www.kidston.com/pdfs/86.pdf

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} W. Boddy: Continental Sports Cars. GT Foulis & Co., London 1952, p. 77.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Dante Giacosa: FORTY YEARS of Design with Fiat. Fiat Group Marketing & Corporate Communication SpA, Italy 2014, pp. 125–142, 146, 177–178, 182.
3. ↑ ^{a b} 1954 Fiat 8V Demon Rouge (Vignale) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Winston Goodfellow: Una Bella Macchina - Fiat 8V. in automobile Quarterly Volume 36 Number 1, Automobile Quarterly Inc., Kutztown 1996, ISSN 0005-1438, pp. 68-85.
5. ^ ^{A b c} Laurence Pomeroy, Rodney Walkerrley: The Motor Year Book 1953. Temple Press, London 1953, pp. 51, 52, 170 and 173.
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Automobil Revue catalog. 1953, pp. 123, 150 and 152
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Automobile Revue catalog. 1954, p. 126 and 171.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Automobile Revue catalog. 1955, p. 162.
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} The Autocar Road Tests 1954, Technical Staff of The Autocar. Iliffe and Sons Limited, London approx. 1955, pp. 66, 113-116.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} The Fiat 8V racing coupé - a nice surprise! Website from Zwischengas.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018
11. ^ Gianni Mazzocchi: Tutte le Fiat. Editoriale Domus, Milano 1983, pp. 318-321.
12. ^ Fiat 8V website from Zuckerfabrik24.de. Retrieved on September 30, 2018
13. ↑ International automobile catalog. International Automobile Catalog, Zurich 1957, pp. 203, 204.
14. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Boano Coupe (Ghia) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
15. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Coupé by Ghia website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 20, 2018
16. ↑ Ghia Supersonic - futuristic supersonic design on a Swiss initiative. Website from Zwischengas.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018
17. ↑ 1955 Fiat 8V Berlinetta Speciale (Pininfarina) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
18. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Coupe (Vignale) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
19. ↑ 1954 Fiat 8V Coupe by Vignale website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 20, 2018
20. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Spider (Vignale) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
21. ↑ 1953 Fiat 8V Cabriolet by Vignale website from RM Sotheby's. Retrieved September 2, 2018
22. ↑ 1954 Fiat 8V Coupe Corsa (Vignale) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 2, 2018
23. ^ A Fiat 8V Vignale, a one-off car, to be auctioned at 1000 Finarte. Automotive Masterpieces exhibitions lab website.Retrieved September 2, 2018
24. ↑ 1953 FIAT 8V ELABORATA website of Bonhams Auctions Home. Retrieved September 5, 2018
25. ↑ 1952 Fiat 8VZ (Zagato) website from Carstyling.ru. Retrieved September 5, 2018
26. ↑ GP Sverige GT2.0 (Race Results) Website of Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved September 5, 2018
27. ^ Stelle Sul Liston: Edizione 2015. Website of Stelle Sul Liston. Retrieved September 5, 2018
28. ↑ Laurence Pomeroy, Rodney Walkerrley: The Motor Yearbook 1955. Temple Press, London 1955, p 207th
29. ↑ Laurence Pomeroy, Rodney Walkerrley: The Motor Yearbook 1956. Temple Press, London 1956, p 186, 188th