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