Fiat 8V Vignale

The Fiat 8V Vignale chassis 000066 designed by Michelotti: On January 8th, 1954, Fiat completed chassis number 066 of its exclusive 8V model, powered by engine number 0000136—an advanced 70-degree V-type unit with aluminum heads, built by FIAT AUTO S.P.A. The car was destined for something special. It was clothed by Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale in a striking fastback coupe body, painted blue and finished with a brown leather interior. The design came from the hand of none other than Giovanni Michelotti, whose flair for dramatic yet refined lines gave the 8V a distinctive presence among its contemporaries. The car was first assigned to S.I.V.A. later that year and prepared for debut. In April 1955, it appeared briefly at the XXXVII Salone Internazionale dell’Automobile in Torino, where it was exhibited for just two days before being pulled from the stand. Vignale replaced it with the more theatrical 8V “Demon Rouge” prototype. While partly a strategic decision to draw attention with a flashier showpiece, the switch also had a practical motivation: chassis 066 had just been sold to Mario Bonacina, who was preparing to race it in the upcoming Mille Miglia. Bonacina, an accomplished Italian driver, acquired the car on April 20, 1955, for 1,850,000 Lire. Just ten days later, he entered it in the legendary XXII Mille Miglia, racing under number 431 with Scuderia Automobilistica Madunina. The car ran in the Gran Turismo class for vehicles over 1,300 cc, but its effort ended prematurely—retiring somewhere between Brescia and Rome. The very next day, Bonacina entered the car again for the II Gran Premio Nuvolari della Mille Miglia, a shorter event that looped from Cremona to Mantova and back to Brescia. Once again, the car failed to finish. The 8V changed hands in June 1956, moving to Italian owner Bruno Cadirola, though little is documented about this period. In 1958, it crossed the Atlantic, exported to the U.S. by Pino Lella and sold to Shelly Pfeifer. At some point, Pfeifer had the original Fiat engine replaced with a Chevrolet V8, likely due to parts scarcity or ease of maintenance, with the work carried out by Allen Johnston. In 1968, the car entered long-term ownership under Dan Simpson, who held onto it until 2012. During Simpson’s tenure, the original Fiat engine—remarkably still intact—was recovered from Johnston and reunited with the car in 1994, restoring its mechanical integrity and historical significance. The car’s body, originally blue, had been repainted red at some point, and then later restored back to its original blue. Through the 1990s and 2000s, chassis 066 was featured in key publications, including works by Luigi Orsini, John De Boer, Angelo Anselmi, and Tony Adriaensens, securing its place in the documented history of Italian motorsport and design. By 2011, the car appeared unrestored at the Concorso Italiano in Carmel-by-the-Sea. A full restoration by Dutch specialists Strada e Corsa followed , and by Pebble Beach 2016, it was back in peak form—earning a 3rd in Class at the Concours d’Elegance. In 2017, it returned to Italian soil to appear at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, driven by Jan De Reu in the “Supergioiello” class, where it received a mention of honour. Now part of a private collection in the United States, still wearing plate LTS803, Fiat 8V chassis 066 stands not just as a rare piece of automotive history, but as a car that was both a showpiece of Italian design and a true Mille Miglia competitor—a rare balance of elegance and competition, shaped by Michelotti, sculpted by Vignale, and raced by Bonacina.