What a lovely video. What a delicate and sentimental homage to an elder statesmen of the land speed wars. What a beautiful, pastoral day, perfect for rolling out a... What uh.... What are they doing with the.... DEAR LORD. IT RUNS.
This thundering thing is the Beast of Turin. The Fiat S76 land speed record car. It's a behemoth, nearly as tall as a man, with a four-cylinder engine displacing a staggering 28.5 liters. In 1911 that massive engine propelled the Fiat S76 to 135-mph, an extraordinary accomplishment at the time, and one that snatched the land speed record away from the Germans.
There's a silent film below of the car at speed, going like hell on hard, thin tires. It's astonishing to think that this machine could have survived those record attempts, let alone the two world wars that came in quick succession soon afterward, consuming every spare bit of steel and iron.
It did.
Related: This Triumph Spitfire's turbine engine really does spit fire.
Two examples of the S76 were built, and this car is likely to have scavenged the last remaining parts of both; the giant engine built for the second S76 off the line towers over the frame built for the first. At the end of a ten-year restoration effort, Owner Duncan Pittaway doubtless knows every inch of this incredible machine. Still, it's a fearsome thing, and it's a brave, brave man that leans on that crank handle bringing the Beast of Turin back to life after 100 years of quiet.
Originally published at Road & Track.
