Are you familiar with the Siata 208S Spider?

Everyone knows Abarth, now part of the Stellantis group and known as a real brand, offering sports cars based on Fiat models (unfortunately all electric at the moment). But few remember Siata, for “Società Italiana Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie”, a brand created in 1928 in Italy and disappeared in 1970.

Like the Abarth, the Siata worked on Fiat machines. From the Siata Amica (based on the small Fiat 500 Topolino) to the Siata 208, a large coupe with the Fiat 8V V8, Siata evolved to the point of partnering with Carlo Abarth in the late 1950s.

A model that will be sold in Monaco on May 10 with the house RM Sotheby’s is the 208S Spider, a real racing car built by repurposing Otto Vu’s chassis from the Fiat 8V following their commercial failure. Siata collected a total of 50 of these chassis and engines, building the coupe 208 CS and S Spider on their basis.

The example in question was acquired by Ernie McAfee in 1953, a driver, collector, builder and car dealer who bought 25 cars with the intention of supplying them to the American market. This chassis number BS 503 was his personal car and was used for demonstrations. Tested by the American car press and entered in several competitions, it quickly gained a bit of acclaim.

The car has had several lives and even swapped its Fiat V8 for a Buick after it was sold back in 1955, before being fully restored in 2014 after extensive work at the turn of the century to restore it to its original configuration. . It can exceed two million euros due to its history and condition.

Visit the RM Sotheby’s auction site on May 10 and 11 by clicking here.