Fiat 805

The Fiat 805, designated 805-405, was a Grand Prix racing car of 1923 developed by Fiat and the first Grand Prix car to use a supercharged engine. It looked much like its predecessor, the Fiat 804 of 1922, but its 1,979 cc Type 405 engine, with eight cylinders in line, was fitted first with a centrifugal Witting compressor and later with a Roots blower, and produced 130 hp and then 150 hp. The car weighed 680 kg and could reach about 220 km/h. Drivers such as Pietro Bordino and Carlo Salamano used it. Rivals including the Bugatti Type 35 and the Alfa Romeo P2 soon caught up with its advantage, and Fiat left racing in 1927 after the many fatal accidents of the period.