Hear it? That, my friends, is the sound of history.
That guttural, metallic, explosive hymn comes courtesy of ‘The Beast of Turin,’ a massive, 28.5-liter Fiat four-cylinder that’s over 100 years old. That’s right, each individual piston on this thing sweeps more volume than the Dodge Challenger Hellcat’s entire 707-horsepower V8.
The Beast was originally built in 1910 under the Fiat S76 moniker. It was designed to topple the world land speed record at the time: 202.68 mph held by a 21.5-liter, 200-hp Blizen-Benz.
But the impressive displacement is just the beginning. Using highly advanced technology for its era, the Fiat motor was given four valves per cylinder, overhead cams, and multi-spark technology, producing somewhere around 300 horsepower and an undoubtedly terrifying torque figure.
Over the years, after failing to capture the official record, the Fiat was ravaged and scattered by the sands of time, lying in wait for some noble savior to bring this fire-breathing warhorse back to life.
British man Duncan Pittaway turned out to be the man for the job, recovering the remains from the two S76’s made and meshing them together, creating the working example you see above.
A film documenting the process, entitled The Beast of Turin, is due out in February 2015.
Pittaway is expected to show off the car at next year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. If the Beast’s mechanics are willing, he may attempt the event’s revered hill climb, where it will undoubtedly set sonic records and irreversibly frighten some villagers.
Keep your ears open.
(Original video by Stefan Marjoram on Vimeo)
