1953 Fiat 8V (Otto Vu) Vignale Coupé
- Engine
- 2.0L V8
- Colour
- Red
Chassis 000047 is a Vignale-bodied coupé on the Fiat 8V (Otto Vu) platform, one of only 114 built between 1952 and 1954. Finished originally in green and exported from Turin in June 1953, it was displayed at the Concorso d'Eleganza di Roma in 1954 before being delivered to its first owner in Alessandria. Later exported to the United States in 1957, it passed through the Blackhawk Collection of California and was comprehensively restored by 1990. It retains its original engine, a distinction rare among surviving 8V examples.
Ownership
- —Auction saleEstimate €750,000 – €950,000
- 1954-07-09 →Factory deliveryAlberto Carfomellafull documentation
First registered owner, based in Alessandria; car was displayed at a Roman concours before delivery. Later re-registered in Perugia.
- 1957 →Acquisition unknownUnknown US-based owner or ownersnone documentation
Car was shipped from Genoa to the United States in 1957; subsequent custodianship is untraced until the late 1980s.
- → 1992Acquisition unknownBlackhawk Collectionpartial documentation
Southern California dealer and collection; commissioned a restoration completed in 1990, covering paintwork, interior, and mechanical components, with the car refinished in red over tan leather.
- 1992 →Private saleCurrent European collectorpartial documentation
Car has remained in this owner's European collection for more than two decades; original engine confirmed intact by historian Tony Adriaensens.
Competition
- 1954-06-12VII Concorso d'Eleganza di Roma
Two-day event on 12–13 June 1954; car was exhibited prior to delivery to its first owner.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1990RestorationMike Fennel
Comprehensive yet conservative refurbishment covering paintwork (changed to red), interior retrimmed in tan leather, and mechanical components serviced throughout; much of the original structure was sound enough to require only careful attention rather than replacement.
Work was commissioned by the Blackhawk Collection. The original engine was retained due to the car's unusually good prior state of preservation.
- —Bodywork
Repainted in a darker shade of green than the factory original colour, at some point prior to the 1957 US export.
Timing is unknown but the darker repaint was already present when the car left Genoa in 1957.
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