Toy Boy

We survive heckling nuns and comedy proportions as we climb aboard this 1948 Mille Miglia racing Siata-Fiat 750 Spider Corsa.

- Richard Heseltine

She holds her chest with one hand while pointing with the other. Her friend, meanwhile, looks on in disbelief before cracking up. Neither can resist shouting words of encouragement. The gist is clear, so direct translation is unnecessary. Who knew that nuns could heckle? Maybe it’s the cap; whatever, it’s hard to pull off nonchalant cool when you look like you’re wearing your car. It’s also hard not to draw attention to yourself when your ride is packing an unsilenced 742cc race engine, the frenzied back beat ricocheting off the walls of a police station and a courthouse nearby.

The Siata-Fiat 750 isn’t the sort of machine that has onlookers nodding at one another with gravitas. Not even close. Park just about anywhere and people jostle for position like puppies surrounding a food bowl. Everyone remarks on its size and passes comment on how ‘cute’ it is. But make no mistake, this is a competition tool. It was conceived to contest the Mille Miglia and enjoyed a lengthy career in motor sport. That said, its back-story is far from linear.

The instigator of the Siata marque, Giorgio Ambrosini, was born in Fano, Pesaro in 1890. Shortly after, the family moved to Turin where he became enamoured of the newfangled automobile. So much so, he designed his first car while barely out of his teens, which he marketed from 1913. He christened his new baby Victoria but his timing couldn’t have been much worse. Few cars, if any, were sold before Europe was plunged into conflict.