When you think fast, powerful cars, cars that are only built for speed, who comes to mind? Ferrari? Lamborghini? Bugatti? Maybe not any of them, but it's safe to guess that Fiat didn't make the list. But there was a time where the little Italian manufacturer wanted a piece of that speed and came incredibly close to earning a spot in the record books.
Specifically, the land speed record books, a title that automakers fought over in the early 1900s, sometimes before those automakers were automakers. In 1909, the Blitzen Benz set the land speed record at 126 miles per hour about 17 years before Mercedes became a motor company. But along came Fiat 4 years later in an attempt to give the Blitzen Benz a run for its money, ready to snatch the land speed record from them.
Built in 1910, Fiat unleashed a vicious beast to take on the land speed record, and while it never got the gold, even today, the Fiat S76 is still the most powerful Fiat ever made.
The Beast of Turin
The odd nickname comes from the city it was made in; Turin, Italy. It was built in a rinky-dink factory called the Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino (Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin), which acted as a headquarters for the new, Italian automaker. But Fiat would soon boom in popularity in Turin and the world as a leading European automaker, but every giant has humble beginnings.
Speaking of giants, brace yourself. The engine in the S76 rivals old WW1 aircraft: It's a 4 cylinder engine that produced nearly 300 horsepower, all thanks to its 28.4 liters of displacement. To put it into perspective, Saab used 30L engines back when they were making airplanes, and that was in the 30s and 40s. 300 horsepower is a ludicrous amount of power for 1910, and the most power Fiat has ever put into a car since. There's no doubt about it, this thing was a beast.
But the S76 proved to be an unwieldy beast at that, which made sense since the thing was roughly 12ft long, nearly 6ft tall, and only 5ft wide. The 2019 Fiat 500 is about 10 inches wider, and a foot shorter, which made the S76 a rollover accident waiting to happen. It was so bad that when it first got tested by Felice Nazzaro, an experienced Turin racing driver that would inspire one Enzo Ferrari, he deemed the car 'uncontrollable'. Even when another Italian racing driver and Turin resident, Pietro Bordino, got his hands on the car he refused to take it over 90mph.
But Fiat knew the S76 could go faster, faster than the Blitzen Benz, they just needed a braver (or dumber) driver. So they hired an American, Arthur Duray, and went for broke.
Going For The Record
Fiat knew they had the right man for the job, for Arthur had earned three different land speed records between the years 1903 and 1904. Though in all those attempts, the fastest he ever managed was 88mph. But the beast would blow those records out of the water.
It was December in Belgium, 1913, as Arthur saddled up for his land speed record attempt. But a new rule had been put in place stating that any car attempting a land speed record had to make an initial run and a return run in just an hour's time. The best set off on its initial run, and clocked in at a staggering 132mph, nudging the Blitzen Benz's 124mph record out of the way. However, the S76 never managed to make a return run, and therefore the record never got counted.
Unofficially, the S76 was the fastest car in the world. But because of a technicality, they weren't the ones to knock the Blitzen Benz off the top spot. The Benz would hold the official title through 1919, but thanks to one passionate enthusiast, the story of the S76 isn't over yet.
The Beast Today
Only two Fiat S76 cars were built. The first one set the unofficial land speed record but was dismantled in 1919, as the Blitzen Benz lost its title and WW1 broke loose. A second S76 was built and to a Russian prince back in 1911. One way or another, the chassis of this car ended up in Australia, and ended up being refitted with an American engine and raced in the 20s. Though a brutal crash killed the beast and ended its racing career.
In 2003, nearly 100 years later, Duncan Pittaway found the missing engine from the second Fiat and got his hands on a replica of the S76 chassis. The restoration took many years and many men. Some long lost parts, like the gearbox and the radiator, had to be completely recreated based on old photographs and drawings. In 2014, Duncan and his team managed to breathe life into the Beast of Turin and brought the flame-spitting Italian monster to the 2015 Prescott Speed Hillclimb, where it raced for the first time in nearly a century.
Today, the car bounces from hillclimb to hillclimb as more than just a cool antique, but a rare piece of history. It looks back to a time where man sought after speed by any means necessary, and it's unlikely Fiat will ever look back. The most powerful Fiat Abarth Sypder makes 164 horsepower, and while it may actually be drive-able, the Spyder will always shiver in the shadow of the beast.