1952 Fiat 8VZ (Zagato)

Fiat's first, and only, V8 engine debuted at the 1952 Geneva Auto Show powering a sleek two-seater intended to dominate Ferrari, Maserati and Lancia in two-liter sports-car racing.

The car was designated the 8V, or Otto Vu in Italian, because Fiat had mistakenly thought that Ford held a trademark on V8.

Fiat's legendary design engineer Dante Giacosa mounted the upper portions of a pair of 70-degree V4 engines on a single crankcase to make the 1996-cc, OHV V8. Topped with a pair of twin-choke Weber 36 DCZ3 carburetors, the tiny eight put out 110 hp at 6,000 rpm.

A four-speed, nonsynchro first-gear, manual transmission sent power to the rear wheels via a differential that was the only part shared with other Fiats. Other features included worm-and-roller steering, four-wheel independent suspension and four-wheel drum brakes.

For homologation purposes, Fiat intended to build 200 8Vs, but only 114 chassis were produced from 1952 to 1954. To rev up interest, Fiat sent chassis to various coachbuilders, including Carrozzeria Zagato, famed for its stunning lightweight-bodied Fiats. Zagato took delivery of 32 8V chassis; including five with Fiat-design bodywork that were destined to become the most famous and collectible.

Called Elaboratas because Zagato “elaborated” on what was done by Fiat, they distinguished themselves in racing competition and by being the first cars to bear the iconic Zagato double-bubble roof, intended to add rigidity and also allow headroom for racing helmets. One chassis was used to build a Spyder.

The remaining 27 chassis were fitted with all new lightweight alloy bodies. This small Coupe was simply called 8VZ. Only five of these Coupes feature the famous double-bubble roof. As each car was hand-built to customer order until 1959, each Zagato-bodied 8V Berlinetta was unique, representing a bespoke automobile with subtle variations noted from one car to another.

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В 1952 году кузовное ателье из Милана подготовило Fiat 8V для гонщика команды Scuderia Ambrosiana Овидио Капелли. Чтобы уменьшить вес и улучшить аэродинамику машины, мастера из Zagato решили не красить алюминиевый кузов, ограничившись его тщательной полировкой. После доработки машина стала на 100 кг легче серийного Fiat 8V, поэтому неудивительно, что она легко обгоняла соперников из заводской команды Fiat. Вдохновленный успехами Капелли, победившего в чемпионате Италии в классе 2-литровых GT, Элио Загато, желавший участвовать в гонках, убедил своего отца Уго выпустить в 1954 году ограниченную партию таких машин. Идея окупилась, так как Элио побеждал часто, и машина активно продавалась по принципу «в субботу гонка — в понедельник продажа».

Ателье Zagato построило 27 машин на базе Fiat 8V: 26 в кузове Berlinetta и один Spider.

Именно в те годы был сформировался фирменный стиль нового поколения Zagato: пузыреобразная, выпуклая крыша («двойной пузырь») и усеченная хвостовая часть автомобиля.

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