The Escudería
TEXT AND PHOTOS FIAT BALILLA BERLINETTA AERODINAMICA: CATAWIKI
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In 1935, the Fiat Competition and Special Bodywork Department presented a beautiful coupe with advanced aerodynamic lines called "Berlinetta Aerodinamica MIlle Miglia". His appearance was unusually modern and stylish for the time, and its design had been the work of the famous stylist Mario Revelli de Beaumont, who in turn had had the help of the Aerodynamics Laboratory of the University of Turin.
The chassis used was that of the famous second-series Fiat 508 “Balilla” presented in 1934, while the engine was of the “508 CS” type. It was about of a sports version with a new cylinder head with overhead valves that allowed it to reach a power of 36 HP, and this was the same engine used in the small Balilla Coppa d'Oro convertibles that had triumphed in competition.
It is believed that around thirty units were built, all of them with the doors and the trunk lid made of aluminum. They were soon used in competitions such as the Mille Miglia, where a unit led by Francesco Borgo and Lia Dumas finished second in its class and 14th overall in the 1936 edition.
Very few copies of this exclusive model have survived to this day, and currently the survivors barely exceed a dozen, so their prices have skyrocketed to more than 300.000 euros paid by the last unit auctioned in Monaco 2018 in May.
Fiat Balilla Berlinetta Aerodinámica: A Spanish unit
Surprisingly, an original bodywork of which nothing was known has just appeared in deep Spain. After several years of neglect it has been found at the bottom of a garage in very precarious conditions and mounted on the chassis of a Citroën 5CV 20 the years.
It was probably the only Fiat 508 CS Berlinetta Aerodinamica that originally arrived in Spain just before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. Like so many other interesting cars it had to suffer the penalties of the war, and after this it was rebuilt with the mechanics of a Citroën. Finally, handcrafted fins and front were added.
Fortunately, the body of the original body was kept intact, including its interior wood frame, its trim, the windshield with the two integrated wiper holes, or the original floors. It has aluminum doors and rear hood, and inside the trunk you can still see the three original attachments for the spare wheel.
This interesting vehicle will be auctioned by Catawiki starting on September 7 at a special auction dedicated to prewar vehicles manufactured before 1940. Currently it is a complicated and interesting project in equal parts; It is easy to find a chassis of a Fiat Balilla, but it would be necessary to reproduce the front, the wings or the interiors. A car suitable for driving will certainly be worth bringing to life. the Italian Thousand Miles.
