FIAT 508 VIOTTI 1936

The project was implemented by several famous motoring figures of those years: Tranquillo Zerbi, Antonio Fessia, Bartolomeo Nebbia and Dante Giacosa who built a car with classy performance, but relatively low costs. The model was presented at the Milan Fair on 12 April 1932 on the occasion of the Motor Show and was characterized above all by the base price of only 10,800 lire.[1]

Fiat 508A and 508B
The first 508 was fitted at the front with the Fiat 108 engine, a four-cylinder in-line side valve engine with a displacement of 995 cm³, capable of developing around 20 HP at 3500 rpm, coupled to a three-speed non-synchronized gearbox, which pushed the version four-seater, two-door sedan with a maximum speed of approximately 80 km/h. The traction is rear, the chassis is made of side members and cross members with central X-shaped reinforcement, the brakes are drum on all four wheels with the innovative (for the time) hydraulic control, the suspensions are with rigid axle both at the which at the back, with leaf springs and lever-operated hydraulic shock absorbers, and the drop-type "barrel" tank is located under the bonnet.

This version was replaced two years later by the four-speed Balilla and equipped with a new slightly aerodynamic bodywork with two or four doors. This version was referred to as Fiat 508B, therefore, by retroformation, the previous 3-speed model was called Fiat 508A. In common parlance, however, no one in the 30s and 40s called them 508A or 508B but rather Balilla three gears and Balilla four gears.

The examples produced between the various series from 1932 to 1937 were 112,000, thanks to the low cost of the car, 10,800 lire compared to 18,500 for the Fiat 509, which allowed Fiat an unprecedented production of this successful creation.