The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
One of 114 Fiat 8Vs made. Regarded as one of Ghia`s most fluid and sexiest bodies, this in the only 8V by Ghia outside the so called `Supersonic` chain. No less than fifteen 8Vs left Ghia’s facilities wearing custom coachwork, and fourteen of those boasted “Supersonic” coachwork, which was penned by Giovanni Savonuzzi. The fifteenth of those 8Vs was unique in that it did not wear Savonuzzi’s Supersonic coachwork; instead, it was graced with a body designed by Mario Boano.
The Fiat 8V Ghia with chassis number 000042, a 1953 model, was sold new to Ghia on June 10, 1953, and the completed car left Ghia’s facility five months later. To those familiar with Ghia’s designs of the day, it is obvious that Boano’s design draws on a variety of their spectacular creations: Savonnuzzi’s Supersonic, Exner’s K310 and d’Elegance, and Boano’s Gioiello, not to mention the Cisitalia 808. The car also shows several design cues found on Chryslers that had been designed by Virgil Exner, who was known to work with Ghia in this era and to produce auto show cars for Chrysler. Admittedly more subtle than the Supersonic, this 8V has the “concentrical” 8V oval mouth grille, which is adorned succinctly with twin horizontal bars. The Ghia “kickup” in the rear wing is muted, but the C pillar treatment displays hints of the d’Elegance style. The car itself displays exquisite Italian craftsmanship in the finest sense, and the interior is truly a special place to be. The instrument panel, which has been painted bright red, holds matching white-on-red gauges and a symmetrical half-moon speedometer and tachometer in a binnacle in front of the driver, while the clock and fuel and oil pressure gauges sit in the center of the dash. The 8V was undoubtedly a significant motor car for Fiat. While the company was known for producing much smaller cars at the time, the 8V proved that Fiat had the wherewithal to compete with manufacturers of much more exclusive motor cars. As this Fiat 8V Ghia is the only non-Supersonic Fiat 8V to be bodied by Ghia, there is no question that this car is unique.
In March 1952, Fiat surprised the world at the Geneva Motor Show with the Fiat 8V. A two-seater sports car that was also designed as a racing car. What was surprising was that Fiat had not shown any interest in re-entering the racing scene up to this point.
