Fiat S74

History

In the early 20th century Fiat was heavily involved in racing to promote the reliability and mechanical fortitude of their brand. It was not uncommon for the early four-cylinder engines to displace over ten liters; many reaching into the 20-liter range. For Fiat, they too found provenance in expanding their engines. Their answer in the 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup race, an early type of "Grand Prix" racing, was the S74; a 180-horsepower racer which displaced fourteen liters from its four-cylinder engine.

The 1912 French Grand Prix was arguably the best showing for the S74 then one years old. Fiat had their S74 racer in the hands of many including David Bruce-Brown who was in the lead for much of the race. He was disqualified for refueling away from the pits. Ralph DePalma, also driving a S74, was as well disqualified from the race due to repairs performed outside of the pits. First place went to Georges Boillot and his Peugeot followed by Louis Wagner in a Fiat S74. File:1911 Fiat S74 Grand Prix Car.jpg File:Fiat S74 (7521544004).jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (13).jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (15).jpg File:Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe.jpg File:Ralph DePalma in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (4).jpg File:Ralph DePalma (Fiat) and Fred Burgess (Calthorpe) at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe.jpg File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (6).jpg File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (13).jpg File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (11).jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (12).jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (10).jpg File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (3).jpg File:Fiat engine at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe.jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (2).jpg File:Louis Wagner in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (5).jpg File:Ralph DePalma in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (2).jpg File:David Bruce-Brown in his Fiat at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe (10).jpg

Existing examples

One of these S74 Fiats is owned by George Wingard in Oregon and on a good year it can be seen racing at Laguna Seca's Monterey Historic Races or the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Great Britain.

References

References

1. "1911 - 1912 Fiat S.74 - Images, Specifications and Information".
2. "Fiat S74 specs, performance data".
3. "1911 Fiat S74".