Fiat with a past gets under the hammer!

However word from one of the world's leading classic car auction house Coys indicates a car of great significance is about to go under the hammer at its Legende et Passion auction scheduled in Monaco on the 16th of this month.

The car in question is this Fiat 2800 Torpedo which was delivered in 1939 to the Italian royal family for the personal use of the Prince of Piemonte and the Countess Calvi di Bergolo. It is a massive open topped limousine and at the time of its manufacture was indeed the top of the end offering from Fiat. Targeted at the upper crest in Europe, this car was offered in a variety of body styles including saloons and limousines and it was also an icon for all that was mighty and impressive about things Italiano of that period.

Fiat also built quite a few of the 2800 Torpedo for use of the Italian defense forces and among the usual bunch of formal saloon and limousine bodywork was a small run of 12 special Drophead Dual Cowl Phaetons with coachwork by Farina of Turin of which the car in focus is one of them. Only half this number is in existence to this day and this particular car is surely the most prolific of the lot.

No not because of it being made for the Prince of Piemonte but for what it was put to use after that. From August 1940 onwards, with World War II already in full swing, this car then became the official car for King Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Margherita. While in the King's service, it was used to chauffeur such names as Pope Pious XII, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini as well as his mistress Claretta Petacci. The car was also used to motor Mussolini's German mate Adolf Hitler around Rome when he came visiting his comrade-in-arms. This particular car was also at the service of Spanish dictator General Franco when he came on an official visit to Rome.

With World War II taking precedence over everything else, this car was commandeered by the authorities of the open city of Rome on November 15, 1943. That it escaped the ravages of war was in itself a major feat and while many would have preferred something less extravagant in the immediate period after the war, the car continued to perform its official duties. It was the official state car for the first prime ministers of Italy Einaudi and De Nicola and it continued in the official state fleet based at the Quirinale Palace until 1963.

Given its rich history and the people it provided service to, it remains one of the most prized cars in the world. It has been kept in fine fettle all these years and if recent memory serves me right, it also made an appearance at the prestigious Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza.This car has generated much interest among classic car aficionados and according to Coys it is expected to fetch more than a quarter million pounds sterling.