Fiat 24-32 HP

Fiat 24-32 HP
Overview
Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1903-1905 around 400 produced[1]
Assembly	Corso Dante plant, Turin, Italy
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	6371 cc straight-4 6902 cc straight-4 7363 cc straight-4
Transmission	4-speed manual[2]
Dimensions
Length	4,000 mm (157 in)-4,380 mm (172 in)
Width	1,430 mm (56 in)
Height	2,350 mm (93 in)
Curb weight	1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Fiat 12 HP
Successor	Fiat 16-20 HP

Advertising postcard for 1905 Fiat 24-32 HP. The dignitaries in the back seat appear to be Vittorio Emanuele III (left) and French President Emile Loubet.

The Fiat 24-32 HP was introduced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat in 1903. The car was designed to allow coachbuilders to make various bodies to fit. It was offered with three different wheelbases, short, medium and long.

It was equipped with a 4-cylinder engine:

• 1st series with a 6371 cc engine - 32 hp
• 2nd series in 1904 with a 6902 cc engine - 32 hp
• 3rd series in 1905 with a 7363 cc engine - 32 hp

More than 400 were made in the Corso Dante plant in Turin.

The Fiat 24-32 HP featured some important technological innovations: it was the first sedan car to use a "Landaulet" body type and was the first car to have an accelerator pedal and a gearbox with four forward gears. The road model could achieve a top speed of 75 kilometres per hour (47 mph).^[1]

In 1902, Fiat introduced a racing version of the 24 HP Corsa. This was the first car ever to be specially designed for racing rather than derived from a series production automobile. The Corsa had a full steel chassis rather than the wood chassis that dominated at the time, and a twin-engine block 7238 cc developing 40 hp. Weighing in at just 450 kilograms (992 lb), it ran at speeds in excess of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), a very high speed in those days. This car dominated its competitors from its first release into competition. The car won the Côte-Superga Sassi race, near Turin, on June 29 and July 27, 1902, with Vincenzo Lancia driving, and the Susa - Col du Mont-Cenis race at an average speed of 44.16 kilometres per hour (27.44 mph).

References