It is a glowing small car (“vetturella”) with a rear twin cylinder engine designed by Aristide Faccioli and equipped with a smart three-seater vis-à-vis bodywork. However, the 3,5 HP is most famous for being the first automobile built by the newborn S.A. Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili di Torino – that is, FIAT – which would soon become the main Italian car manufacturer. Today only two of these vehicles survive: one is kept at the Centro Storico Fiat and the other here, as a 1934 donation by the “Eredi Ing. G. Puccio di Genova” (Heirs of Engineer G. Puccio from Genoa). The Museum had to cover the cost of the restoration (500 lire of the time) and the just as costly transportation from Santa Margherita to Turin.
