Lot 241: 1924 FIAT 501 TWO DOOR SALOON

COACHWORK BY G.C. FARMER OF PLUMSTEAD

Black and yellow with brown interior

Engine: four cylinder, side valve, 1,460cc; Gearbox: four speed manual; Suspension: front and rear, semi-elliptic leaf spring; Brakes: four wheel mechanical. Right hand drive

Cars had always played a fairly secondary role to Fiat's aircraft, lorry, military vehicle and other engineering interests until 1919. Indeed before that date its most prolific model, the Tipo 2B, had accounted for an average of only about one thousand sales per year. Designer Cavalli's 501 was to change all that and was intended as a rugged and reliable car that would appeal abroad - only a quarter of the production being intended for Italian consumption. By the end of the model run in 1926 about 67,000 car had been sold plus numerous commercial derivatives, making it and the smaller 509 by far the most successful of vintage Fiats. The 501 engine always came in for high praise being very 'sweet' and capable of 50mph and about 28 miles per gallon.

This handsome example would have been an original British import and would have arrived in the country in rolling chassis form, it was subsequently bodied by the little known coachbuilder G.C. Farmer of Plumstead, as evidenced by a coachbuilding plate in the car. It seems that it was then registered locally with the London number 'XW 676' on 13th October 1924. By 1959, the time of the issue of its continuation log book the car still remained in London and was owned by Derek Powell-Richards of Lewisham. Later that year, Mr Powell-Richards sold the car to Hills Automobiles of Woodford Green, though further ownership is not noted. To judge from road duty stampings later that year in Essex it is expected that the Sharpe family would have bought the car from Hills at around this time.

The Fiat has been laid up in sympathetic storage conditions for many years and so has weathered time well, it remains in tidy but patinated order and has not been run for some time. With the requisite re-commissioning, the car is certain to provide a welcome entry to events such as those provided by the Fiat Register.