Two extreme contemporaries of the fifties - Ferrari or Fiat?
10/19/2013
They are hard to compare, but they existed at the same time, the Fiat 500 C Topolino and the Ferrari 750 Monza. In 1955, anyone who wanted to could buy a road-going racing car dressed up by Scaglietti for 53,000 francs or ten Fiat 500 C Topolino (list price: CHF 5,450).
The Ferrari had 16 times as much power and outpaced the Fiat by a factor of 2.5 in terms of top speed. When the Fiat had finally accelerated from 0 to 80 km/h after three gear changes, the Ferrari's needle was already showing 180 km/h or more.
Incomparable, in other words. However, both cars had engines with four cylinders and braked with four drum brakes. Both were based on a stable frame and offered space for two people. Both cars could be used to drive to the dairy on Sunday mornings to get fresh milk. But only the Ferrari allowed its owner to compete in the Mille Migla, the Targa Florio or Goodwood with a good chance of winning if the driving talent was there. And for that, a factor 10 surcharge was not even exaggerated ...
And another detail in passing: a very nice Fiat 500C today costs little more than four times the price when it was new, while one of the 30 or so 750 Monza cars built has increased in value by at least a factor of 40.
Oh yes, I almost forgot, we published a report on both cars this week, a Fiat 500 C from 1949and a Ferrari 750 Monza from 1955.
