1956 Fiat 306/2 Bartoletti

Fiat 306/2 Bartoletti transporter at the Le Mans Classic 2016

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.   This is a very famous and much travelled racing car transporter.  Maserati actually owned it first and had Bartoletti convert the 1956 Fiat bus chassis into a racing car transporter.   After Maserati withdrew from F1 racing in 1957 they sold the transporter to Lance Reventlow who needed one for his Scarab cars. Scarab raced in F1 in 1960 and in Formula intercontinental in 1961. In 1962 Scarab folded and the transporter was bought by Caroll Shelby. Shelby added the third axle which was needed for the weight of his Cobras.  After Shelby stopped using it, it went to Team Lotus and then Alan Mann Racing.   The next owner was David Piper, who rented it to Steve McQueen for the film Le Mans.  In the film it appears in a number of different colour schemes!  The Fiat originally had a Fiat 12 cylinder engine but at some stage that was replaced by a 11.5 litre Leyland 6 cylinder.   

1957 Fiat 642 RN2 Bartoletti

Superb 1957 Ferrari Transporter at the 2016 Le Mans Classic

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The best off-track display at the 2016 Le Mans Classic was undoubtedly that of the racing car transporters, including this beautiful Fiat truck used by Scuderia Ferrari.  This Fiat bus chassis was bought by the Scuderia Ferrari in 1957 and transformed by coachbuilder Bertoletti at Forli into their race car transporter which was used until the early sixties.   As well as transporting the cars it gave the mechanics a portable workshop and a place to sleep.  So much more inspiring than the modern versions! The Fiat had a 92hp 6 cylinder diesel engine and it could transport three GP or sports racing cars around Europe to famous tracks such as Spa, Monaco and the Nurburgring.  Must have been amazing to see one of these fully laden on the road.  Unlike the Ferraris it carried it had a very modest top speed of just 85 kph.

FIAT 128 3P

Renato Vitale, Fiat 128 3P, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The 128 range lasted from 1969 to 1985 and was European Car of the Year in 1970. It was a front wheel drive, front engined small car that had many variants and set a trend many were to follow.  The 128 3P was produced from 1975 to 1979 and was a 3 door coupé that replaced the sports coupé.  There were both 1.2L and 1.3L variants.  They were not very fast with a 0-60mph time of around 15 seconds and a top speed of a little over 80mph in unmodified form.  Lots of course were raced in minor races and occasionally the European Touring Car Championship.

Fiat Barchetta Tipo 183

Fiat Barchettas, Barchetta Club France, Terre et Mer 2016, St Seurin d'Uzet.

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The Fiat Barchetta, as the name in Italian (meaning little boat) suggests, is a little 2 seater roadster.  It was produced from 1995 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005.  It had a 4 cylinder 1.8 16 valve engine.  The performance of 120mph and a 0-60mph time of 9 seconds put it firmly in the fun car rather than performance car class.  The chassis was based on the Fiat Punta which meant it had a front engine and front wheel drive.  Front spoilers and rear bumpers differ over time and in 2000 a third rear headlight was added to the middle of the boot lid.  Over 50,000 Barchettas were made and all were LHD.  In one Top Gear episode the Three Wise Men being James, Jeremy and Richard each drove a different used open top sports car (A Mazda MX5, a BMX Z3 and a Fiat Barchetta) to Bethlehem. Their conclusion was that the Fiat was best.  A have read a number of road tests that also agreed that it was a nice car to drive.

1974 Fiat Abarth X1/9 Prototipo

Didier Marcacci, Fiat Abarth X1/9 Prototipo, Montée Historique de Beaune-St Romain, 2016

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For more photos of the Historic re-run of the Beaune-St Romain Hillclimb in 2016, click on the link above.

Fiat Abarth, Turin, Italy. Abarth was a specialist sports car maker founded by Carlo Abarth that was sold to Fiat in 1971.  Amongst other things, Abarth prepared Fiat's rally cars.  The Fiat Abarth X1/9 Prototipo was intended as a replacement rally car to the Fiat Abarth 124.  It was powered by a 1.8 litre engine derived from the 124  and was introduced in 1973.  About 5 genuine cars were produced and there are also a number of replicas.  The rally history was mainly in Italian National events.  It did win the Alpi Orientali and the Coppa Trabucchi rallies in 1974.  Its most famous driver was Clay Regazzoni who drove one in the 1974 Giro d'Italia but retired. Due to Fiat politics and other projects such as the 131 rally car the Fiat Abarth X1/9 project was not pursued after 1974.

1960 Pinin Farina PFX

1960 Pinin Farina PFX , RetroMobile 2016.

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Pinin Farina, Cambiano, Italy.  The PFX also known as the Model X had a four wheel rhomboid layout.  It was exhibited at the 1960 Turin Motor Show and the 1961 Brussels Motor Show.  The power came from a 1.1 litre Fiat engine mounted at the rear which rotated the rear wheel.  The front wheel steered the vehicle whilst the outside two wheels were just stabilisers.

1947 Stanguellini 1100 Motto Coupé

1947 Stanguellini 1100 Motto Coupé, Le Salon RetroMobile, Paris  2016

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Stanguellini, Modena, Italy.  Vittorio Stanguellini was a Fiat dealer in Modena who started to produce cars with modified Fiat engines.   This 1947 car had a pre-war Fiat 508 chassis.  It has an lightweight aluminium body produced by CA-MO Torino (Motto).  The car raced in Italy during the late forties.  There is probably only one of these cars in the world.

1911 Fiat S 76

Fiat S76, The Beast of Turin, Retromobile 2016

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This car was built by Fiat to try and get the Land Speed Record.  It had a 300 HP 4 cylinder 28 litre engine.  The car achieved 116mph.

Fiat X1/9

1979 Fiat X1/9 à Reims pour le départ de la Monte Carlo Rallye Historique 2015

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For more photos of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rallye Historique, follow the link above.

Don't forget it is the Monte Carlo Rallye Historique later this month.  For more details click here.

Fiat & Bertone, Lingotto & Turin, Italy.    Produced by FIAT from 1972 to 1982 and by Bertone who had always produced the monocoque body from 1982 to 1989.  It was a nice handling small mid-engined sports car with removable hardtop. It had a 1,290cc Fiat engine until 1979 when it was upgraded to a 1.5L Fiat engine.   An earlier 1,300cc car is shown below.

Here is a 1973 1300cc car from the same event.

Dallara 394-Fiat F3

Anthony Gueudry, Dallara 394 Fiat F3 à la Course de Côtes de Mont Dore 2014.

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For more photos of the 2014 Mont Dore Hillclimb, follow the link above.

Dallara, Parma, Italy. constructeur de châssis F3, Indycar etc.

Mon astuce pour faire des belles photos.
Utilisez un long téléobjectif pour prendre des photos sur la plupart des courses de côte.

Top photo tips. 
Use a long telephoto lens to capture shots on most hillclimbs

Simca -Fiat 5 Berlinette le Mans

Simca-Fiat Berlinette Le Mans - Chanteloup les Vignes 2014

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For more photos of the Chanteloup les Vignes Hillclimb, follow the link above.

Simca, Nanterre, France.

Mon astuce pour faire des belles photos.
Composition est tout. Ne pas se concentrer uniquement sur la voiture.

Top photo tip.
Composition is everything.  Don't just concentrate on the car.

1959 Stanguellini Formula Junior

Stanguellini Formula Junior à Montlhery 2015.

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Stanguellini, Modena, Italy.
Fiat 4 Cylinder 1,089cc.
Top Speed / Vitesse Maximale 177 kph.

Mon astuce pour faire des belles photos.
Les détails sont souvent mieux représentés dans le cadre d'un collage.

Top photo tip.
Detail shots are often best shown as part of a collage.