in the city . In those early days of the car industry , its mission was clear from its title , and its initial offering in 1899 was the FIAT 3.5HP , a small , high-riding vehicle with a two-cylinder , water-cooled engine below the seats . It was capable , if everything went well , of 22mph , and although a mere 26 were sold in total , Agnelli was convinced he had the nose for a winner . The company soon developed bigger , faster models and by 1906 Agnelli didn ’ t need to keep explaining what the four letters stood for : everyone in Italy knew the Fiat trademark .
The company ’ s success was mind-blowing . By the outbreak of the First World War , Fiat was Italy ’ s biggest company ; Agnelli went to the USA to set up a plant there , at the same time visiting Henry Ford to learn all about mass production techniques . Little surprise , then , that by 1920 Fiat ruled the Italian car market with an 80 % share , and was also heavily involved in the new aviation industry .
The company ’ s success was mind-blowing . By the outbreak of the First World War Fiat was Italy ’ s biggest company of all .
But wait ! We ’ ve zoomed ahead of ourselves . To encourage customers to dig deep and actually buy an early Fiat , they had to be convinced the cars had lasting qualities . Italian roads were crude and punishing , and things like lights , electric starters and even four-wheel brakes brought as many extra problems as advantages . There was no better way to prove Fiats had stamina than motor racing .
The 28 / 40hp of 1906 , with its four-cylinder 7.4-litre engine had nailed its overheating problems to win a few races , and was robust enough to form the basis of subsequent commercial vehicles . However , to win the most high-profile contemporary event of all , the French Grand Prix , Fiat needed a high-performance beast with ferocious performance .
Engineer Giovanni Enrico had begun work on such a machine in 1904 , intending that this Fiat 100HP would contest the 1905 Gordon Bennett race . Through a process of constant evolution and racing experience , it became the more powerful Fiat 130HP , which was readied by the factory team for an assault on the 1907 French GP , complete with bodywork improvements and a larger fuel tank . With its 90-degree overhead valves and sophisticated lubrication system , the twin-block engine was the last word in modern race technology , yet Enrico believed there was no substitute for sheer cubic capacity , and the enormous , 16,200cc engine of course produced 130bhp , enough to give the 1025kg two-seater a 124mph top speed .
Three cars entered the race at Dieppe , driven by team-mates Vincenzo Lancia , Felice Nazzaro and Louis Wagner . Nazzaro drove to victory , skilfully picking up his pace to finally win at an impressive average of 70mph . In fact , so shrewd was his judgement that he still had 12 litres of his 230-litre fuel allowance left over . To beat the French teams on their home ground was impressive , and Fiat basked in the publicity and adulation .
Nazzaro ’ s victorious car was grabbed by Fiat ’ s French importer , E . Loste , to use for promotions ( most others were scrapped in the 1920s after Fiat no longer went motor racing ). Eventually it was acquired by Auguste Anthony , a mechanic who took it out for the occasional ( scary ) spin , after fitting headlamps and number plates . After it fell into disuse Anthony left it in his garden and forgot about this once-radical racewinner .
After being discovered by historic car dealer Francis Mortarini , the 130HP was offered to the Museo Nazionale dell ’ Automobile in Turin , with Fiat funding its acquisition and renovation . It went on display there in 1956 , and later started to be used again on a few historic car events , A fractured cylinder block in the late 1990s left the car in dire need of a full restoration , which it finally received between 2019 and 2021 , to bring it back to the amazing condition you ’ ll witness on this year ’ s Run . Actually , ‘ restoration ’ rather belies the approach involved : it was more a conservation project of a work of art – a national treasure revived under cultural heritage guidelines .
“ The restoration process on this special car was very complex , considering the big
Left : Giovanni Agnelli ( 1866-1944 ), co-founder of Fiat S . p . A .
Below : Fiat 500 ‘ Topolino ’. Manufactured from 1936-1955 , its name translates to ‘ little mouse ’.
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