Last updated on July 14, 2023
Today’s car is a 1953 Fiat Vignale 8V (Otto Vu) owned by Charles and Diana Haagen. It is finished in metallic silver with red roof and the interior is red leather and silver accents. It is powered by a 127 hp, 2.0 liter, 8V engine, with 3 Weber 36 DC F3 carburetors. Mated to a 4-speed manual transmission with 4.44:1 rear axle gear ratio. Slowing this beauty down are drum brakes all around. It has independent suspension with coil springs in all four corners.
Fiat 8Vs were produced from 1952 – 1954 with a total 114 units produced, some with special Zagato, Ghia, and Vignale coachwork. This Vignale is a one of a kind. The MSRP for a Fiat built 8V was $6000.00 in 1952 and that was about double that of a Jaguar XK120. With a published top speed of 125 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 10.2seconds. Did you ask yourself why 8V instead of V8? It was because that Fiat believed that Ford had a copyright on V8. This car was delivered on 14 August 1953 to Pietro Melchionni, in the town of Alessandria in Northern Italy. At delivery the original color combination was was beige with a red top.
This is a beautiful example of ultra rare Fiat Vignale built in the post war era. What a great car to take to a Concours d’Elegance classic car show, a European / Italian cars show or like where I saw it at a Cars and Coffee event, amazing!! I am always amazed how lucky we are here in Southern California to see the quality and variety of rare cars with owners who are willing to share their rides by driving them. Thank you for riding along. Frank
