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Right from its foundation in 1899 Fiat served the high volume
automotive market with reliable, low cost products. The high performance
market, low volume and high cost, was left to others. This policy left
tuning firms like Siata, Abarth and Nardi to serve the demand of higher
performance Fiats.
In 1950 Fiat's policy changed
abruptly with the development of the Fiat 8V. Rudolf Hruska,
at the time working at Siata, was given the task to design the a car
around the V8 2-litre engine offering 105 hp. Development took place
in absolute secrecy. As not to stress the experimental department of
Fiat, production was taken up by Siata. Presented at the Autosalon
de Geneve in 1952 the Fiat 8V was a sensation. It was made
available in different body styles offered by the factory and by
various coach builders, both as Fiat 8V and as the slightly
modified Siata 208S. After 114
Fiats and 96 Siatas production ceased in 1954.
Vignale offered various bodies for the Fiat 8V. In 1953,
five coupes, one spider and one coupe Corsa were built. As one of the
last models, the aggressive looking 8V 'Demon Rouge' was
presented in 1954. In total three Demon Rouges were built.
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