The Siata 208 CS is an Italian sports car produced by

Siata Siata (''Società Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori'' in English ''Italian Car Transformation Accessories Company'') was an Italian car tuning shop and manufacturer founded in 1926 by amateur race car driver Giorgio Ambrosini. Siata initiall ...

. Introduced in 1952, it is the coupé counterpart to the Siata 208S released that same year.

History

Introduced in 1952 at that year's

Turin Auto Show The Turin Motor Show ( it, Salone dell'Automobile di Torino) was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from ...

, the 208 series was the successor to Siata's first foray into fully bespoke automobiles, the

Siata Daina The Siata Daina is an Italian car produced by Siata from 1950-1958. The Daina was available as a coupé or a convertible and had custom bodies by Stabilimenti Farina, Bertone and other coach builders. Performance Like all Siata cars, the Dai ...

. 18 cars are said to have been built, of which 11 were bodied by Balbo while the other 7 featured bodies by

Stabilimenti Farina Stabilimenti Industriali Farina (Turin, 1906–53) was an Italian automotive coachbuilder established by Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) in ''12 Corso Tortona''. Among famous employees was his brother Battista Farina, who was here from the ...

. A handful of the 11 cars bodied by Balbo were badged as "200 CS" while the rest were "208 CS". At least one of the Farina bodied cars built was a convertible/spyder model. File:1954 Siata 200CS front right, Lime Rock.jpg, 1954 200 CS Balbo coupe File:1954 Siata 200CS coupé by Balbo in Blue, rear left (Greenwich 2021).jpg, Rear view of same car, repainted the original Blue

Performance

The 208 CS is powered by a tuned version of the Fiat "Otto Vu" engine, a 1,996 cc OHV alloy 70-degree V8, as used in the

Fiat 8V The Fiat 8V (or "Otto Vu") is a V8-engined sports car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1952 to 1954. The car was introduced at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. The Fiat 8V got its name because at the time of its making, Fiat believed ...

. In the 208 CS, though Siata quotes a figure of , actual power has been measured to be about at 6,000 rpm with twin Weber 36 DCF3 carburetors, and using Siata's hotter camshaft and triple Weber Carburetors. Power goes to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission. The 208 CS uses Siata's own tubular chassis design with an aluminum body, giving it a curb weight of around For the drive train, the CS uses four-wheel independent wishbone suspension with coil-springs and shock absorbers and four-wheel hydraulic alloy drum brakes. 1953 Siata 208S Farina barnfind (CS056), rear.jpg, 1953 208 CS Farina coupé 1953 Siata 208CS 8V Stabilimenti Farina Spyder - fvr (4610926460).jpg, 1953 208 CS Stabilimenti Farina Spyder Siata 208CS Bertone Spider.jpg, 1952 Siata 208 CS Corsa Bertone Spider Siata 208CS engine.jpg, The Fiat V-8 engine in the 208 CS Corsa Spider

References

{{Commons category, Siata 208 Cars introduced in 1952 Siata vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles