<< Prev Page 2 of 2 The new models developed over the winter of 1910/11 were the S.74 Grand Prix car and the S.76 record racer, powered by a 14.3 litre and 28.3 litre version of the sixteen-valve, four-cylinder engine. The latter was achieved increasing the bore to 190mm and the stroke to 250mm, which required the driver to actually look around the tall engine. Late in 1911, the first of the pair of S.76s completed a one-way run at Ostende in Belgium at close to 213 km/h in the hands of Russian prince Boris Soukhanov.
As with the S.61, the first S.74s were dispatched to the United States where they were raced by local drivers. Among them was the hugely talented David Bruce-Brown, who had won at Savannah in 1910 with a Benz. He repeated that feat in 1911 behind the wheel of the new S.74. In 1912, at the first French Grand Prix since 1908, Bruce-Brown was again the star of the show. He was sadly disqualified from the lead for refuelling away from the pits, while Louis Wagner placed second with his S.74 behind a Peugeot.
A displacement limit introduced after the 1912 French Grand Prix, rendered the big Fiats obsolete in Europe. They continued to be raced in the United States with considerable success. Sadly, David Bruce-Brown lost his life behind the wheel of his S.74 during practice for the 1912 American Grand Prix at Milwaukee. Initially refusing to race, Caleb Bragg later did win the race with his S.74.
Like so many racing cars of the era, many of the surviving four-cylinder Fiats were converted for use on the road and fitted with more substantial bodywork. Of the S.61 and S.74 several examples have survived. The whereabouts of the two S.76 have been more elusive but in recent years British enthusiast Duncan Pittaway has reconstructed the first car around some original components. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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The new models developed over the winter of 1910/11 were the S.74 Grand Prix car and the S.76 record racer, powered by a 14.3 litre and 28.3 litre version of the sixteen-valve, four-cylinder engine. The latter was achieved increasing the bore to 190mm and the stroke to 250mm, which required the driver to actually look around the tall engine. Late in 1911, the first of the pair of S.76s completed a one-way run at Ostende in Belgium at close to 213 km/h in the hands of Russian prince Boris Soukhanov.