Look out there's a monster coming...

One of the most exciting cars in history has to be the Fiat S76 from 1911. Also known as the 'Beast of Turin' it has a whacking great 28 litre, four cylinder engine - good for shooting 3 yard flames, blowing people's hats off and singeing their eyebrows according to some reports. It's also supposed to be good for over 130mph - but it never managed to set an official record despite attempts at Brooklands, Saltburn ad Ostend.

Hopefully one day this will change thanks to a dedicated builder and racer of crazy automobiles I met recently. He's managed to track down the chassis, axles and steering of one car and the engine of the other and bit by bit the monster is taking shape again. Better still, he's very kindly allowed me to come and sketch the build. I couldn't be happier and I think it'll make a great parallel to the build of the Bloodhound SSC car that I'll also be documenting this year. I can't believe my luck at having not one, but two LSR cars being built on my doorstep.

Here it is at it currently stands. Whilst it awaits it's pistons it's having a beautiful oak frame built to support the seats and the bodywork surrounding the passenger area. Measurements are taken from massive, full scale drawings lovingly lettered with gothic script - the plans even show the wood grain! This first sketch was done as a quick warm up using Adobe Ideas on the iPad...

Next I thought I'd try a more detailed sketch in pencil and wash but I'm a bit rusty and it's a little heavy handed. Still, you can see the triangular oak supports an a bit of the massive flywheel which is attached to a crankshaft that looks like it belongs on a steam train...


There are several other of my favourite cars to draw too. This one's a GN Vitesse often seen at VSCC meets. It's currently being rebuilt after a rather frightening roll. The engine is an 8.2 litre Curtiss. The engine cover is where the seat should be, the seat is on the cowl and the back axle is on the floor...


A GN Anzani with a 3.5 litre V Twin. Apparently the first time it was started the front wheels were bouncing off the ground...


Day two and another quick one of the Fiat - firewall temporarily in place. There are some wonderful details such as streamlined covers for the end of the chassis - even the starting handle was sharpened to a point. People often write this car off as an over sized relic, built before people knew what they were doing but it's plainly not true. Fiat were one of the top, if the not the top builders of Grand Prix cars. Despite the massive size of the engine it actually has quite a small frontal area and was much more streamlined than anything else at the time...