1952 - 1954 Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information

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Fiat was one of Italy's automotive pioneers and has competed in international motorsport from the dawn of motoring. In those early days the Turin based company manufactured all out racers in contention for the overall victory like the legendary Mephistofele. From the 1930s the focus shifted to class victories with racing cars derived from the manufacturer's road cars like the 508 Balilla.

At the 1952 Geneva Motorshow, Fiat stunned the gathered crowd with an all new car, developed especially for racing. Powered by a 2 litre V8 engine, the car was simply known as '8V' or 'Otto Vu' in Italian. It was designed specifically to take on the two litre class, which was a highly contested class of the Italian championship. Fiat faced competition from Maserati, Ferrari and Lancia, who all had a two litre racer. Interestingly each engine was of a different configuration.

Fiat's V8 was derived from two four cylinder blocks mounted on a common crankcase. To keep the engine compact, the angle between the cylinder banks was just 70 degrees. A centrally mounted camshaft operated the valves by pushrods. Breathing through two Weber carburetors, the engine was good for 105 bhp and with an extra Weber 115 bhp could be achieved. Fiat's potent V8 proved to be a good match for Maserati's straight six, Ferrari's V12 and Lancia's V6.

A traditional steel tubular frame was used and the car was independently suspended all-round. Fiat's chief designer Fabio Luigi Rapi was responsible for the factory body, which featured two large headlights in the grill and two smaller lights in the fenders. The second series body featured four headlights in the fender to comply with the GT regulations. Milanese coachbuilder Zagato was responsible for most of the custom bodied 8Vs.

Especially the Zagato 8Vs, which benefited from additional engine tuning and feather light bodies were highly successful in the Italian Championship. Highlight of the car's career was winning the 1954 Championship. With only 114 examples built in total and a relatively brief racing career, the 8V is a little known Italian masterpiece. It remains as the only Fiat ever to be powered by a V8 engine and embodies Fiat's brief spell of racing success.

Whereas the Zagato bodied machines were mainly intended for competition use, the around forty examples bodied by Ghia were better at home along the French riviera. The Italian coachbuilder applied several designs of which the Giovanni Savonuzzi penned 'Supersonic' style was the most extravagant. As its name suggests, the design was inspired by the 1950's jet craze. Unlike many of the American 'jet' designs, Savonuzzi kept the aircraft touches relatively subtle. Resembling a jet engine's afterburner, the tail lights are the most obvious of those touches.

Ghia built just twelve Supersonic bodies; eight on 8V chassis, three on Jaguar chassis and one on an Aston Martin. Featured is one of the eight 8Vs and the only one with a hood scoop, which was recently restored and painted a very deep silver. It is seen here at the 2007 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where it was awarded best in class against a very strong opposition. We would like to congratulate the owner and thank him for his help with shooting his car.