The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The Fiat 8V (or “Otto Vu”) is a V8-engined sports car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1952 to 1954. The car was introduced at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. The Fiat 8V got its name because at the time of its making, Fiat believed Ford had a copyright on “V8”.
With 114 made, the 8V wasn’t a commercial success, but did well in racing. Apart from the differential the car did not share any parts with the other Fiats (but many parts were made by Siata and they used them for their cars). The 8V was developed by Dante Giacosa and the stylist Luigi Rapi. The engine was a V8 originally designed for a luxury sedan, but that project was stopped. Only 114 of the high-performance coupés had been produced by the time the cars were withdrawn from production in 1954. 34 of the cars had a factory produced bodywork by Fiat’s Reparto Carrozzerie Speciali (“Special Bodies Department”). Some cars had the bodywork done by other Italian coachbuilders. Carrozzeria Zagato made 30 that they labelled “Elaborata Zagato”. Ghia and Vignale (see pictures) also made bodyworks. Most were coupés, but some cabriolets were made as well
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.
