The great technical novelty of the Fiat 8 HP is the front engine, while the honeycomb radiator will replace the serpentine-shaped one only later. However, the 8 HP went down in history because of the first, legendary Giro d’Italia race in 1901, which covered 1,634 km: all of the eight registered cars reached the finish line, including the one driven by Giovanni Agnelli, who chose the great champion Felice Nazzaro as his “mechanic”. Emanuele Cacherano di Bricherasio, another of the founding partners of Fiat, was the owner of the model displayed here. In 1947 his sister, Countess Sofia, donated the automobile to the Museum, and in 1954 it was exhibited both at the Transportation Exhibition at the Museo della Tecnica in Milan and at the Geneva International Motor Show.
