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1954-Fiat-1100-103-Turismo-Veloce-Charmant-Coupe.jpg
The Fiat 1100 was a versatile platform, available with several different sedan and coupe bodies as well as five-door estate, panel van, pickup, and minibus variants. There was even a sporty two-seat roadster called the 1100 Turismo Veloce (TV), and in the early days of Formula Junior the Fiat 1100’s four-cylinder was the engine to beat.
This 1100 is an oddball, though, because it is one of just 12 to wear bodywork designed by the prodigious Giovanni Michelotti while he was working at Vignale. It was ordered new by a wealthy attorney in Sicily with dual carbs, Abarth intake, Nardi exhaust and steering wheel, and Borrani wire wheels.
Such a distinctive car naturally attracted a lot of looks from passersby in postwar Italy. The owner apparently didn’t like the attention, so he parked the charismatic little Fiat in favor of a more practical (and boring) Mercedes sedan. Luckily, he kept the 1100 and drained it of fluids before putting it in storage in Palermo. After his death, it made its way to another collector in Italy with just 6012 (3736 miles) on it and little age to speak of. (Here’s a video of it after it got up and running.)
This car is currently up for auction at Bonhams
Bonhams, Lot 127
Estimate: $175,000–$225,000
The Fiat 1100 was a versatile platform, available with several different sedan and coupe bodies as well as five-door estate, panel van, pickup, and minibus variants. There was even a sporty two-seat roadster called the 1100 Turismo Veloce (TV), and in the early days of Formula Junior the Fiat 1100’s four-cylinder was the engine to beat.
This 1100 is an oddball, though, because it is one of just 12 to wear bodywork designed by the prodigious Giovanni Michelotti while he was working at Vignale. It was ordered new by a wealthy attorney in Sicily with dual carbs, Abarth intake, Nardi exhaust and steering wheel, and Borrani wire wheels.
Such a distinctive car naturally attracted a lot of looks from passersby in postwar Italy. The owner apparently didn’t like the attention, so he parked the charismatic little Fiat in favor of a more practical (and boring) Mercedes sedan. Luckily, he kept the 1100 and drained it of fluids before putting it in storage in Palermo. After his death, it made its way to another collector in Italy with just 6012 (3736 miles) on it and little age to speak of. (Here’s a video of it after it got up and running.)
This car is currently up for auction at Bonhams
Bonhams, Lot 127
Estimate: $175,000–$225,000
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