FIAT chassis with 16.6-litre Isotta Fraschini airship engine Approximately 250bhp and 3000 lb/ft of torque! Driven about 40,000 miles around the UK and Europe Raced at events such as the Goodwood Members’ Meeting One of the finest Edwardian racing cars, constructed by its engineer owner of 20 years. In terms of sheer visceral excitement, few cars can match large-capacity racers from the Edwardian era. The sight, sound and smell of these powerful machines continues to capture the imagination of enthusiasts of all ages, and it’s no surprise that the SF Edge Trophy has become one of the most popular races at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting. A major part of their appeal is the story and characters behind them, and that’s certainly the case with the Isotta Fraschini-FIAT being offered for sale here. It has its origins in a 1905 Land Speed Record project, when FIAT began work on a 200hp car that would be powered by two 100hp, four-cylinder engines mounted in tandem. Early that year, however, Herbert L Bowden was timed at 109.75mph at Ormond Beach, Daytona. The intrepid American was at the wheel of a car called ‘The Flying Dutchman II’, which was powered by two 9.25-litre Mercedes engines mounted line astern – the same configuration that FIAT was planning to use. Frustratingly, officials refused to recognise Bowden’s mark as a new Land Speed Record due to the car’s technical specification. Possibly as a result of that decision, FIAT abandoned its own plans for a twin-engined record car, instead using the individual 6.8-litre engines in its1905 racing cars, which were driven by aces such as Felice Nazzaro. Although the record car was never completed, a ‘200hp FIAT’ with a ‘two-seated sports body’ was registered in the UK to wealthy American Arthur Schlesinger during March 1911. Its registration number – AY84 – had first been issued in 1903 and was used by Schlesinger on a series of his cars, starting with a 10hp Panhard and continuing through a quintet of FIATs that culminated in the ‘200hp’ model. Sadly, Schlesinger died shortly after AY84 had been transferred to his 200hp FIAT, and the trail goes cold until a British enthusiast gathered a collection of parts associated with that original 1905 record-car project – plus a six-cylinder Isotta Fraschini aero engine. Subsequently described as a ‘mechanical jigsaw puzzle’, this collection was then acquired by the car’s current owner in 2004. A naturally gifted engineer who often feels as if he was born a century too late, he has been entrusted in a professional capacity with the restoration of a wide range of pre-war and classic cars, from Bugattis to Cobras and Ferraris. Working from a complete set of original FIAT 200hp factory blueprints from 1905, he set about bringing this leviathan to life as a personal project for his own use. The 16.6-litre engine is an Isotta Fraschini V6 – indicating not its configuration but its ‘Volo 6’ model name. Designed late in the First World War for use in aircraft, this overhead-camshaft, dry-sump powerplant has six inline cylinders, each with a bore and stroke of 140mm and 180mm respectively. Highly regarded in period, one of these Isotta Fraschini engines powered the Macchi biplane that won the prestigious Schneider Trophy in 1921. The unit installed in this FIAT is stamped ‘6721’ and is thought to be one of only two survivors. It carries evidence of what could be wartime bullet or shrapnel holes, and it’s said to have been acquired in the 1920s by American powerboat racer Garfield Wood. In December 2012, the mighty engine burst into life for the first time in nine decades – a milestone moment in this amazing project. While the original FIAT design would have featured direct drive, a gearbox was obviously needed, so a four-speed unit from a 1912 Dennis commercial vehicle was sourced. With the Isotta ‘six’ being shorter than FIAT’s tandem-engine arrangement, there was space for a fuel tank ahead of the car’s occupants. This was beautifully fabricated in copper by the car’s owner, in such a way that the long steering column actually passes through it – an ingenious solution that has proven to be completely reliable. That sort of hands-on talent and attention to detail is evident throughout the car. The owner’s skill extended not only to making the required parts but also, in many cases, making the tool that made the part. The whole project took him eight years, often starting at 6am with the goal of creating a single piece every day. Since its completion, he’s covered tens of thousands of miles on the road in this remarkable Isotta Fraschini-FIAT, including trips to France and Germany. He’s also driven it to events in the UK and has regularly competed at the famous Shelsley Walsh and Prescott hillclimbs. His Prescott appearances, in particular, have been well received by appreciative spectators who feared that the lengthy machine would struggle to negotiate the hill’s tight, steep Pardon hairpin. The car has also starred at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting and Festival of Speed, as well as being raced at Castle Combe and making memorable appearances at Brooklands, CarFest and Bicester Heritage. On the road, it is a genuinely awe-inspiring machine. When it’s fired up, you can feel the vast engine as much as you hear it, and with the two seats being positioned right at the back – high above the sprockets for the dual chain drive – it offers an unforgettable driving experience. With its immense reserves of torque, it can be extremely docile, but there’s always plenty of performance on tap, even in just the first three gears. Expertly built, maintained and raced by its current owner, this beautifully engineered Isotta Fraschini-FIAT is an invigorating dual-purpose car that’s equally at home on the road as on the race track. Now being sold only because the owner has started another project, it represents a unique piece of motoring history and brilliantly evokes those brave pioneers of the early 20th century.