The Fiat 8V, an iconic car from the Italian automaker, made an immediate impact when it debuted at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. It was lauded as “the biggest surprise of the year” by Road & Track and described as a “streamlined 2-seater saloon” by The Motor.
With a narrow-angle V-8 engine that produced over 120 mph, the car weighed less than 2,200 pounds and had a chassis built by Siata. Designed for reactive handling, the car’s powertrain was developed by Dante Giacosa and featured a tubular chassis, stressed unibody, and independent suspension.
The car’s short production run lasted from July 1952 to September 1954, resulting in just 114 examples being made, including some that were designed and built in-house by Fiat’s Special Bodies Department. Fiat’s chief designer, Fabio Rapi, penned 63 of the examples, including 34 in the first series and 29 in the second.
Source: RM Sotheby’s
