Tag Archives: Vignale

Otto Vú – FIAT 8V

It is believed work commenced on the 2 litre FIAT Tipo 106 70° V8 design credited to Dante Giacosa in 1945.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

The engine which was manufactured in 105, 115 or extremely rare 120 hp variants was only used for the 8V model in FIAT’s range, but was notably also adopted by SIATA for their 208S model.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

8V’s, so called because Ford held the copyrights to the V8 name, were fitted into a tube frame chassis with independent suspension taken form the contemporary FIAT 1100 parts bin.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

Bodywork for the 114 8V’s, also known as Otto Vú’s, was primarily farmed out to a variety of coach builders including Zagato, Ghia and Vignale although 34 had bodywork designed by FIAT’s Fabio Luigi Rapi and made by FIAT’s Reparto Carrozzerie Speciali.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

While the production numbers were extremely low, by FIAT’s standards, they were built in sufficient numbers to qualify for use in GT competition where they enjoyed many successes.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

Among those successes were Elio Zagato’s, from the coach building company, outright victories in the 3 hour race at Bari in 1954, repeated in 1955 by Carlo Siciliani on the same event and a win in the 1955 Berlin Grand Prix, drivers of 8V’s won the Italian under 2 litre GT championships up to and including 1959.

FIAT 8V, Silverstone Classic

The example seen here at last years Silverstone Classic is a 1954 MkII Berlinetta one of just 28 with the later version of Rapi’s bodywork built by Reparto Carrozzerie Speciali, it has been restored by Ian Nuttall of IN Racing in Nottingham.

Thanks for joining me on this “Otto Vú” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Group B Rally Car that conquered Africa in the mid 1980’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

Four Doors – Maserati Quattroporte

Like the first Maserati 5000GT which was built at the request of the Shah of Iran the first Maserati Quattroporte was built at the request of a customer, in the Quattroporte’s case the interested party was none other than Imam and business man Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan IV who ordered a special Maserati 5000, chassis #103,060, with a body designed by Pietro Frua that was built by Vignale in 1962.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

The following year Maserati commenced building production versions known as the ‘Tipo 107’ Quattroporte with 265hp 4,136 cc / 252 cui V8 motors and either five speed manual or 3 speed automatic transmissions.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

Top speed for the first 230 Quattroportes built between 1963 and 1966 was claimed to be 143 mph.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

In 1966 all Quattroportes were fitted with the US spec quadruple headlights as seen on this early 1968 example and from later in 1968 they were fitted with an upgraded 295hp 4.7 litre motor which increased the top speed to 160 mph which made the model the worlds fastest four door saloon / sedan.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

500 Quattroportes were built between 1966 and the end of production in 1969.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

Although production of the second generation Quattroportes did not commence until 1974 the Aga Khan and King of Spain took delivery of Quattroportes built on AM 121 Maserati Indy derived chassis in 1974. New Maserati owners Citroen pulled the plug on the Indy based Quattroporte before it went into full scale production.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Doors” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an air cooled Amilcar. Don’t forget to come back now !

First Vignale 3500GT Spyder – Maserati 3500GT Vignale Spyder #AM101.504

Two years after launching the 3500 GT Coupé model in 1957 Maserati were nearly ready to put the 3500 GT Spyder variant into production with Vignale.

Designs for the Spyder by Fuero and Touring were rejected before Maserati gave a shortened wheel base 3500 GT chassis #AM101.504, to Vignale to work on.

Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder, Niello Concours at Serano.

Chassis #AM101.504 was completed in August 1959 and six weeks later came back to the Maserati factory with it’s Giovanni Michelotti designed body from Vignale with two other spyders, #AM101.505 and #AM101.638 all of which have minor detailing differences.

While sibling #505 and #638 were at the 1959 Turin Motor Show today’s featured car #504 was delivered to Thrifty Auto Parts founder Joe Lubin of Los Angeles in the first week of November 1959.

Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder, Niello Concours at Serano.

Joe Lubin, who specialised in aftermarket Caterpillar parts was also the entrant of the very first Tipo 61 Birdcage and a Maserati 250 F, claimed he ended up trading today’s featured car in for two Cadillacs.

The fifth and current owner purchased the car around 2005 after it had stood in California for nearly 25 years, restoration included getting the motor to run, repairs to some rust damage, repainting some re chroming and the reproduction of one head light trim.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs that were taken at last years Niello Concours at Serrano.

Thanks for joining me on this “First Vignale 3500GT Spyder” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an Amilcar. Don’t forget to come back now !

Encore – Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

Today’s blog takes one final look through the recent Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Porsche 917K, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

It was difficult for sports car fans of a certain age to get passed the main entrance where this Porsche 917 Kurzheck, like the car which opened last Wednesday’s blog some of this one starred in a Steve McQueen film, in this case Le Mans, chassis #013 crashed during filming with David Piper at the wheel during filming and was rebuilt with a fresh chassis #034 to become #034/013. This car went on to win the Daytona 24 Hours with Pedro Rodriguez andJackie Oliver sharing the driving.

Tatra T97, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

The Tatra T97 featured a rear air cooled 4 cylinder boxer engine and influenced the design of the Volkswagen Beetle so much that VW made an out of court settlement with Tatra in 1961. Not copied by the Germans were the elegant Tatra door handles nor rear hinged front. suicide, doors as seen on the 1938 model above.

Commer QX TS3 Mk III, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

If you like engineering novelty you’ll love the 1955 Commer QX TS3 Mk III 7 ton truck, it is powered by a 3.3 litre 200 cui 3 cylinder motor with a pair of horizontally opposed pistons in each cylinder connected to a common crank, oh and it’s a supercharged two stroke diesel an was originally developed by the Germans for a bomber aircraft ! A cross section diagram of how the motor works can be found on this link.

Panther De Ville, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

On a more neo-classical note, but perhaps none the less bizarre, the crystals in the radiator cap of this Panther De Ville are real amethysts.

Aston Martin Vignale, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Very much a work in progress was this unique 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 with body work by Vignale which I understand originally belonged to the King of Belgium.

Jaguar D-Type, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Rounding out today’s final visit to this years Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham is this 1956 short nose D-Type Jaguar used by the works supported Ecurie Ecose team. Ron Flockhart won two races at Snetterton and Goodwood with this car chassis XKD 561 and many years later it was used as a road car for nearly a decade by a Lancastrian owner.

Thanks for joining me on this “Encore” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be celebrating Kevin Harvicks Sprint Cup win. Don’t forget to come back now !

Maserati Classics – Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

This weeks Maserati Monday looks at some of the Maserati’s that appeared at the Classic Motor Show last week.

Maserati 300S, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Registered on the road as a 1960 Maserati 300S the chassis number motor number showing was “750” which I have not been able to identify as any of the original 27 examples of the 300S built by the factory. If you know the story behind this car please chime in below.

Maserati 5000GT, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The headlights on this 1964 Maserati 5000GT remind me of the infinitely less glamorous Citroén Ami for some reason, may be it was a portent of things to come as Citroén took over Maserati in 1968.

Maserati Mexico, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Think of Maserati’s and something racy usually springs to mind, quite a contrast to this 1968 Maserati Mexico.

Maserati Indy, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The Mexico was replaced Maserati Indy in 1968, above a stylish door handle conceived by Giovanni Michelotti who working for Vignale on the Indy body.

Maserati Khamsin, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Powered by the same 4.9 litre 300 cui motor as the last of the Maserati Indys was the 1974 Maserati Khamsin styled by Marcello Gandini at Bertone.

Thanks for joining me for this “Maserati Classics” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some French classics. Ne pas oublier de revenir maintenant !

The Little Car Show 2014 – City of Marina

Today’s post starts with an apology, a couple of years ago I posted a blog called “Continental Curiosities – Carmel By The Sea Concour’s d’Elegance” turns out it should have been called “Continental Curiosities – The Little Car Show City of Marina” or something similar and a little more snappy, I hope you will accept my unreserved apologies for any confusion.

Bantam Convertible Coupé, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

Today’s post comes courtesy of Geoffrey Horton who kindly forwarded these photographs comes from the 2014 edition of The Little Car Show held last month in the City of Marina. Above a 1940 American Bantam Convertible Coupé also known as the Hollywood a body style apparently penned by Elanor Powell’s Custom Motors stylist Alex Tremulis.

Crosley 2 door Sedan, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

Not sure of the exact age of this Crosley but the absence of chrome suggests it was built in 1946/7 with the original not terribly reliable copper brazed ‘CoBra’ 4 cylinder motor that was to be replaced by the Cast Iron Block Assenbley ‘CIBA’ in 1949.

BMW Isetta 600, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

The Isetta was the ultimate version of the BMW 250 Isetta three wheel bubble car built under licence from Iso Rivolta. This 1958 example is powered by a two cylinder BMW motorcycle engine and can accommodate four passengers who enter through it’s single front door.

Enzmann 506, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

I had not heard of Enzmann before Geoffrey sent me the photograph of the fibre glass bodied 506 model above. The Swiss company named it’s first, only (?) model, based on the floor pan and running gear of a VW Beetle, after the number of the stand it was allocated at the 1957 Frankfurt Motor Show at which the company made it’s first public appearance.

Michelotti Shellette, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

For those with a private island or private yacht in the Mediterranean in need of occasional transport designer Giovanni Michelotti built the Shellette under his own name in limited numbers. It is believed around 100 of these vehicles with wicker seats and Fiat 850 running gear were built and around 10 are thought to exist today.

FIAT Vignale Garmine, The Little Car Show, City Of Marina

Based on the smaller FIAT 500 is the Viganle Garmine which was a pet project of designer Alfredo Vignale which bankrupted his coachworks business.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Little Car Show 2014″ edition of Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

What Goes Around (Slight Reprise) – Ferrari 250 MM Vignale #0260MM

I first looked at today’s featured Vignale bodied Ferrari 250 MM #0260MM in June 2011, but since Geoffrey Horton was kind enough to send me some more recent photo’s of it I can indulge you with a few snippets of additional information that have come to light.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Phil Hill sold the car after he had raced it 5 times from new to Charles Brown of Monroe Los Angeles. While the car was in Charlies care he entered it for William Jarnigan to drive in a couple of races run at Bergstrom Air Force Base (AFB) in March 1954, William repaid his owners faith with 2 class wins coming 4th overall on both occasions.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

In July 1954 Charles finished 3rd in class at Offutt AFB coming home 8th overall. In October 1954 the motor was recorded as having been rebuilt at the Ferrari factory.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

The next recorded owner is Ernie Miller of New Orleans, Los Angeles who is known to have raced the car on at least one occasion in the Hammond Grand Prix where Ernie is recorded as having finished 3rd overall in what is thought to be #0260MM’s last in period competitive appearance.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Allen S Bishop is credited with restoring #0260MM between 1972 and 1975, after which original owner Phil Hill was reunited with the car for a classic race at Monterey in 1984 from which he car was retired.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

It is believed that #0260MM fetched US$ 1.2 million from an anonymous purchaser in 1995. Phil Hill was reunited again with the car at Monterey in August 2001, though no race results for that particular reunion appear to have been recorded.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs taken at the Blackhawk Museum late last year.

Thanks for joining me on this “What Goes Around (Slight Reprise)” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Crusader built in Washington…. Co Durham. Don’t forget to come back now !