Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem - Mille Miglia participant from post-war Italy

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem - Mille Miglia participant from post-war Italy

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Created on November 3, 2013

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Fiat Group

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Archiv Fahrzeugbesitzer / Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the rounded doors are luxury, you can also get in from above

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the front is very nicely designed and almost timeless

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the starting number is from the 2013 Mille Miglia

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - it is immediately apparent that the bodywork was created by hand

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - definitely something for fresh air enthusiasts

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the gearbox appreciates intermediate throttle and intermediate clutches

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the front view is very pleasing

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - no roll bar disturbs the aesthetics

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the rear is relatively elongated

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - carefully executed bodywork

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - already participated in the Mille Miglia several times

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the indicators were added later

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - exceptionally flat, the door cut-outs reach down below the wheel cut-outs

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - independent design

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the body is made of sheet aluminum

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - long tapered rear end

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - the front design is somewhat reminiscent of the Jaguar C-Type, which however came a few years later

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - minimalist equipment

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - easily accessible fuel filler cap

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - Displays for water temperature and fuel level

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - lots of unclad sheet metal in the interior

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - a dashboard made of sheet metal

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the ignition key as we know it from the Topolino

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - an additional headlight under the radiator grille

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the top-mounted four-cylinder engine

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the four-cylinder engine is installed longitudinally

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - two Weber carburetors for more power

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - round radiator grille

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - beautifully shaped radiator grille

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - Ventilation slots behind the wheel arches

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - beautifully designed rear-view mirror

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - coarse door hinges

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - Chassis badge with engine number

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - badge

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - Steel disk wheels

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - Large steel disk wheels

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the lighting system underwent various changes over time

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - automatically triggers a good mood, the ride in an open sports car

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Fiat 508 C 1100 CarGem (1937) - at a race in Italy, around 1947

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937/1946) - the cooling system was revised based on initial experience

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Fiat 508 C 1100 CarGem (1937) - at an Italian racing event, probably in the 1940s

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - little wind protection in the Fiat cockpit

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Fiat 508 C 1100 CarGem (1937) - at a racing event, probably in the 1940s

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Fiat 508 C 1100 Sport CarGem (1937) - instant Mille Miglia fever

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Fiat 508 C 1100 CarGem (1937) - Entry Mille Miglia 1947

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Fiat 508 C 1100 CarGem (1937) - starting number Mille Miglia 1947

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Fiat 508 Balilla (1933) - as a two-door sedan

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Fiat 508 Balilla (1935) - as a four-door sedan

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Fiat 508 Balilla Sport (1933) - elegant and sporty design

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Fiat 508 Balilla Sport (1933) - still with less than one liter displacement and yet with sports car-like performance

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Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport Spyder (1935) - 36 hp resulted in a top speed of over 110 km/h

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Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport Limousine (1935) - with drop-shaped rear end

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Fiat 508 Berlina (1937) - more rounded and aerodynamic design

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Fiat 1100 Balilla (1938) - 32 hp from 1,089 cm3, 9 liters per 100 km, 19,500 lire expensive

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Fiat 508 C (1937) - ideal for a family of five

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Fiat 508 T (1937) - also popular as a delivery van

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Fiat 508 C / 1100 Balilla (1937) - side view in a sales brochure

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Fiat 508 C / 1100 Balilla (1937) - see-through drawing reveals the technical details of the Fiat design

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Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100 Berlina (1948) - the doors opened in opposite directions without a B-pillar

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Fiat 1100 Balilla (1937) - as a convertible with four doors

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Fiat 508 C / 1100 Balilla (1937) - Interior and dashboard of the pre-war Fiat

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Fiat 508 C (1937) - the independent front suspension impressively staged

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Fiat 508 C / 1100 Balilla (1937) - beautiful illustration of the chassis

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Fiat 508 C / 1100 Balilla (1937) - Transparent drawing shows the interior of the four-cylinder engine

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Summary

In the post-war years, CarGem built twelve racing cars. The first was completed in 1946 and was based on the chassis of a 1937 Fiat 508 C. It took part in the Mille Miglia in 1947. This report briefly describes the history of the Fiat 508 C and its predecessors and then describes the CarGem variant in words and pictures. Illustrations of the Fiat 508 C base vehicle and two brochures round off the article.

This article contains the following chapters

The successful Italian Fiat 508
Performance-enhanced variants
Continuous further development
Success in racing
Sergio and Emilio Carnevalli
Twelve vehicles produced
Flat lightweight
Fast and sporty
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Those who wanted to engage in motorsport in the post-war years were often unable to use new models, simply because they had not yet been produced, were not available or could not be afforded. So some people resorted to a pre-war chassis and put a modern body on it. As a result, many sports cars were built on the basis of the Fiat 508 Balilla, which was very popular in the 1930s. In 1947, the two Italians Carlo Grisoni and Aldo Conconi took part in the Mille Miglia in a 1937 Fiat 508 C 1100 converted by CarGem! In 1932, Fiat introduced the 508 Balilla as the indirect successor to the popular 509 model. It was a simple and functional, but not without finesse, model with a side-valve 1-liter engine and initially 20 hp, which was transmitted to the rear axle via a three-speed gearbox.

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