Fiat 4 HP

The Fiat 4 HP, also known as the 3½ HP or 3½ CV, was the first model of car produced by FIAT, from 1899 to 1900, based on a third-party design. It is related to the Ceirano brothers, Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo, who were an influential force in starting the Italian automotive industry. Giovanni Ceirano co-founded Ceirano GB and C in October 1898 and began producing the Welleyes motor car in 1899. In July 1899 the Welleyes plant and patents were sold to Giovanni Agnelli, who produced the 4 HP, the first ever FIAT. It had a water-cooled 679 cc two-cylinder rear-mounted engine producing 4.2 horsepower at 800 rpm, a three-speed gearbox without reverse, a top speed of 35 km/h and fuel consumption of 8 litres per 100 km. In total FIAT produced 24 units, 8 of them in the first year, and at least four survive, in Turin, in the United Kingdom and at the Ford Museum in Dearborn.