1953 Siata 208S Spider

James Davis July 16, 2022July 16, 2022

The Siata 208S (Sport) is an Italian sports car produced by Siata. Presented in 1952, the 208 Sport wore a lightweight sports spider aluminum body designed by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Rocco Motto. Only 35 208s Spiders were produced, including the two Bertone designed prototypes. It is the roadster counterpart to the Siata 208 CS.

The history of our subject car is a very familiar one for so many Fiat 8V-powered cars. For reasons directly related to the use of an engine designed for a lightly stressed luxury sedan in a sports racing car, a number of Fiat 8Vs and Siatas had their engines replaced after failures. The replacement engines were more-robust units — usually small-block American V8s.

Inside the car we find an beige leather upholstery and the floors have the correct black diamond rubber matting. The painted dashboard featuring jewel-like Jaeger instruments are excellent, and the wood steering wheel professionally restored. The contrasting oatmeal carpets are in excellent shape as well, as is the beige soft top.

This 1953 SIATA 8V 208S Spider is the SCCA National Champion!

In period honoured by the SCCA for phenomenal race success and therefore moved up the SIATA Otto Vu up two classes higher for the next race season!

There are reasons that some cars become legendary, and the Siata 208S possesses many of them. At a quick glance, the Siata 208S could be mistaken for an early Ferrari barchetta or even a 1960s AC Cobra, which aped the latter’s design. It was, like the Ferrari, made in a small batch Italy with a coachbuilt body. And, like the Cobra, the Siata had a V8 engine from another manufacturer, in this case Fiat.

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