?THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR?

Fiat?s most legendary, significant, and storied production model, the 8V, was aptly described by Road & Track in 1952 as being ?the biggest surprise of the year.? Although Fiat traces its roots to 1899 and built competition cars both massive and magnificent in the early twentieth century, after World War II the company was known largely for its mass-produced automobiles for the common man, such cars like the tiny ?Topolino? that put a nation on wheels and had become among the most popular in Europe.

Therefore, it came as a shock to the automotive world when Fiat suddenly introduced a powerful sports car with an advanced overhead-valve light alloy V-8 engine, Siata-fabricated chassis, and four-wheel independent suspension, which could be and was successfully raced by privateers all over the world.
Like most sophisticated chassis of the time, the 8V lent itself handsomely to custom coachwork, which Fiat encouraged. Carrozzeria Ghia of Torino accounted for approximately 30 to 40 of the 114 8V chassis built, of which the most striking were the 15 bodied to Giovanni Savonuzzi?s stunning Jet Age design, known, simply and appropriately as the ?Supersonic.?

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The Supersonic design had originally been proposed for an Alfa Romeo racing car, which Savonuzzi gave a steeply raked, long windshield; a curved nose that formed a straight-through beltline, ending at small tail fins flaring off lights intended to re...