Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B
| Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Isotta Fraschini |
| Production | 1931-1934 |
| Assembly | Milan, Italy |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 7.4-liter OHV OHC straight-8 |
| Transmission |
3-speed manual 4-speed Wilson pre-selective manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Curb weight | 6000 lb. |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A |
| Successor | Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa |
3-speed manual
The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B is an Italian luxury car made between 1931 to 1934.
In spring 1931 the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A was replaced by the Tipo 8B. The U.S. price for a bare Tipo 8B chassis was nearly $10,000 (about $144,750 in 2014 dollars, or over $1000 more than a 1931 V-16 Cadillac). Unfortunately, due to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that caused the Great Depression in the United States, there was't much of a market for such a car. The pool of wealthy Americans who had been good customers for earlier Isotta Fraschinis had dried up. Count Lodovico Mazzotti, who took over after Isotta and Fraschini left the firm in 1922, had been negotiating a manufacturing deal in 1930-1931 with Henry Ford that could have saved the company's car production; however, Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party were in control of Italy's commerce and industry and, intent on keeping Isotta Fraschini focused on building aircraft engines for Italy's military and opposing foreign investment, prohibited all further talks with the Americans.
Engineer Giustino Cattaneo, Isotta Fraschini's technical director since 1905 and the driving force behind the company becoming a world-class car manufacturer, resigned in 1933. Six months later, in the summer of 1934, the last Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B left the assembly line. It would be 13 years before the firm would attempt to put another car, the more modern Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa, into production.
Even before the depression, Isotta Fraschini only constructed about 100 cars a year. There is no certainty on the number of Tipo 8Bs built; 30 are confirmed, but some sources report that 82 were produced.
The pistons, the connecting rods, and the engine block of the Tipo 8B's 7.4-liter overhead valve, overhead cam, inline 8 were made of a new nickel-steel alloy. Output increased to 160 bhp (120 kW) at 3000 rpm. Isotta Fraschini offered two transmissions, a three-speed manual transmission remained standard equipment, and a four-speed Wilson pre-selective manual transmission could now be ordered.
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