#siata

Siata 208 CS Coupe Carrozzeria Vignale

1953 Siata 208S Spider

Siata is an acronym for Società Italiana Auto Trasformazione Accessori, the Turin-based firm founded in 1926 by Giorgio Ambrosini, and which ceased production in 1970. 

Much like Abarth, Siata developed its business by manufacturing performance parts for Fiat, gaining greater exposure after World War II as motorsport came back to the fore in Europe and the Americas. As 750 cc-powered race cars grew in displacement, Siata-modified vehicles gained prominence and the attention of stateside racers like Briggs Cunningham and Ernie McAfee. The latter was a Los Angeles–based importer who drove one of the first Siata-enhanced examples in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana race.

Fiat, meanwhile, had developed a 2.0-liter V-8 engine for its luxury sports car, the Otto Vu. While only 49 examples of that model were constructed, there remained additional Fiat V-8 engines that were acquired by Siata to power its new 208S Spider, unveiled in 1952. Only 33 examples were bodied by Carrozzeria Rocca Motta, of Turin, from 1953 to 1955. The car was not only powerful for its day, but supremely beautiful.

The Siata Daina Gran Sport is one of the more distinctive small-series Italian sports cars of the early 1950s, conceived as a lightweight and competitive machine with clear motorsport ambitions. Built in fewer than 50 examples, the Daina combined Fiat-based mechanical components with a carefully developed chassis and elegant coachwork, resulting in a car that was both agile and well suited to…

Siata Daina Berlinetta Bertone - 1953