Thursday 15 May 2014

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED - UPDATE




  Legendary Pre-War Fiat S76 
to Break 100-Year Lay-Off 
at Goodwood Festival of Speed
 Displaying Fiat S76 1.jpg

The Fiat S76, unofficially the fastest car in the world in 1911, will turn a wheel for the first
time in over 100 years when it tackles the Goodwood Hillclimb at the Festival of Speed on
June 26-29.
Just two S76s were produced by the Italian manufacturer, with the aim of snatching the
records for the flying kilometre and flying mile from the ‘Blitzen’ Benzes. The S76 achieved
the mile record with Pietro Bordino at the wheel at Saltburn Sands in 1911 and was officially
recorded at over 135mph on a kilometre attempt at Ostenede in Belguim, only to be denied
the record as it was unable to complete a return run within the specified one hour.
While one car was dismantled by Fiat after the First World War to prevent rival
manufacturers obtaining their technical secrets, the other was purchased by Russian
aristocrat Boris Soukhanov and eventually made its way to Australia after WW1, where it
was modernised and campaigned it as a ‘Fiat Racing Special’.
Bristol-based enthusiast Duncan Pittaway, who will drive the S76 at Goodwood, brought the
chassis back to the UK in 2003 and reunited it with the original 28.5-litre, four-cylinder
engine from the dismantled car. The machine has spent the past 10 years being restored to
original specification with Roach Manufacturing of Southampton helping with the bodywork.
Duncan Pittaway, owner/driver, said: “After restoring a Bugatti T35, I was looking for a
new challenge and the S76, which is one of the more maligned cars of its generation, fitted
the bill nicely. All of the original S76 components that have survived have been restored,
from the chassis and engine down to the suspension, axles, pedals, steering box, etc, with
the gearbox, radiator and bodywork being created using the original Fiat drawings. As the
last and largest of the huge-engined Edwardian monsters, it should be sensational to see.”



Source: Goodwood Motor Sports

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