The story of Isotta Fraschine started in 1899 when in Cesare Isotta and Oreste Fraschini decided to start producing cars in Milan.  They made an excellent start with their first model which had a 3.9 litre, six-cylinder engine which was introduced in Paris in 1905.  The company almost exclusively built large cars.  In 1910, Isotta Fraschini was the first producer to construct cars with brakes on all four wheels. 

Isotta Fraschini clients were predominantly kings, emperors and film stars, but even the pope and the Italian head of state Mussolini owned a couple.  The Tipo 8B stayed in production until 1936.  Then the company switched to producing engines for jet aircraft.  After the war, they did produce the Monterosa, a large open car with a V8 engine at the front.  A total of six prototypes of this model were constructed, but the car never went into production.