A vintage car is always an attraction and if you are not into cars you will be! just because of the beauty of it!
A rare 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic to auction at Bonhams, on August 14, for an estimated sale price of US$1.8 million – US$2.4 million. The Fiat 8V, featured the only overhead-valve V-8 that Fiat ever built during its long and storied history. Known in Italy as the Otto Vu, the car was positioned as a luxury grand touring sports car, a far cry from Fiat’s niche for utilitarian mass-market cars like the 500. To maintain the necessary quality-control for such a high-end product, the fabrication of the chassis was farmed out to Giorgio Ambrosini’s Siata, the tuning specialists that had long served as Fiat’s in-house competition and customization department.
The 8V’s tipo 106 chassis was one the world’s most advanced, challenging the finest offerings from Ferrari or Maserati with four-wheel independent suspension (a Fiat first), and Borrani wire wheels with Rudge knock-off hubs. Completed chassis were sent to the Carrozzerie Speciali FIAT in Lingotto, where they were clothed with an elegant new coupe design by Fabio Lucio Rapi that was aerodynamically fine-tuned in the Turin wind tunnel. The Otto Vu made its public debut at the Geneva Salon in March 1952, and immediately impressed all who saw it.
Of all the boutique Italian carrozzerie, however, it was Ghia that proved to be the most noted coachbuilder of the Otto Vu. Probably accounting for 30 to 40 examples, the Turinese firm built coachwork that ranged from formal and clean to flamboyant and expressive. None of these various bodies, however, could match the Supersonic, an aeronautically styled coupe crafted by the great Giovanni Savonuzzi. During his consultancy for Ghia in early 1953, Savonuzzi approached engine tuner Virgilio Conrero about the possibility of collaborating on an Alfa Romeo 1900-based racecar. While Conrero tuned the 1900’s motor and chassis, Savonuzzi contributed a sleek new coupe body built at Turin featuring a long front deck and sloping fastback. The windshield was steeply raked, while the rear tailfins culminated in lamp bezels that resembled jet afterburners, and a consistent beltline accent ran through the entire length of the car. With such jet-like styling, there was little wonder that the coachwork was eventually dubbed the Supersonic.
Restored to as-new condition and accompanied by numerous original parts, this breathtaking Fiat 8V, chassis no. 000049, will be warmly welcomed at vintage events, eligible for rallies around the globe like the Mille Miglia Storico and the Colorado Grand, though perhaps better-suited for world class concours d’elegance like Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, and Amelia Island. One of just fifteen examples of the Fiat Supersonic, chassis no. 000049 is a rare automobile that has seldom been displayed, and will be enthusiastically received by the Fiat 8V and Supersonic niche. Furthermore claiming a documented history of just five owners, this Supersonic promises its next caretaker a collectible of almost unmatched provenance.
Via Luxury-insider
