Lord K's Garage - 21st Issue. 1939 FIAT C MM

Fiat 508 aka Nuova Balilla or 1100 cc, designed as a small family sedan, enjoyed an exciting career as a platform for futuristic sport cars.

C & MM in the name of this particular vehicle stand for 'Coupe' and 'Mille Miglia', a prestigious 1000-mile open-road endurance race which took place in Italy from 1927.

Mille Miglia was a starting point for a lot of great engineers, designers - and great cars, of course.

This race gave birth to the Grand Turismo class - and the small red Fiat is a direct predecessor of the 50s and 60 small-volume GTs.

Here's some basic model specs (the main difference between our streamlined coupe and a standard family car is bodywork):
Engine: 32hp/4000rpm, 4-cyl, 4-stroke OHV 1090cc
Bore/Stroke: 68/75 mm
Length: 4050mm (1939 - 4020mm), width: 1480mm (1939 - 1482mm), height: 1500mm
Wheelbase: 2420mm; clearance: 160mm
Front wheel track: 1231mm
Rear track: 1231mm (1939 - 1226mm)
Gearbox: 4+rear speeds, III and IV - synchronized
Weight: 850kg (1939 - 890kg)
Maximal speed: 110 km/h
Tyres: 5,00-15 inches
Fuel tank capacity: 33 L
Fuel consumption: 9 L/100km

Mille Miglia, banned after a fatal 1957 accident at Guidizzolo, was revived in the 70s as Mille Miglia Storica, a major classic & vintage event. We can call a dieselpunk event, too.

Photos © Dirk de Jager, Supercars.net