The Intriguing History of the 1953 Siata 208S Coupe

The origins of Siata lie in the mid-1920s, when amateur racing driver Giorgio Ambrosini set up shop selling tuning parts. By 1948 the company had moved on to building cars – its first was the Siata Amica, which won the 1948 Italian Road Racing Championship. In 1952, Siata entered the 20SCS in the Mille Miglia, while the 208S Spider was first shown in 1953 in New York and Torina. Both were powered by Fiat’s all-alloy Tipo 104 2.0-litre V8 engine. While this was good for 110bhp in standard tune, Siata offered upgraded camshafts and valves, which raised the power output to 125bhp. Works racing engines, like this one, produced 140bhp.

When housed in the Siata’s lightweight aluminium body, this propelled the car to a top speed of 124mph, having blasted from 0-60mph in 12.4 seconds. The 208S was also a nifty handler – it employed four-wheel independent suspension complete with coil springs and dampers, which was a novel concept for the time. Stopping power came via four-wheel hydraulic alloy-drum brakes.

Just 18 CS models were built, with nine bodied by Balbo and six by Stabilimenti Farina, while 33 examples of the 208S were made, styled by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Rocco Motto. Also, two prototypes were designed by Bertone.

This particular car, displayed at Concours of Elegance 2023, was a one-off built for Ernie McAfee. McAfee was well known on the Southern California scene for his pre-war efforts in racing modified Fords and innovating with streamlined bodies. After World War Two he established Ernie McAfee Engineering to build and customise cars, and he eventually set up a Ferrari, Siata, Alfa Romeo, Moretti and OSCA dealership on Sunset Boulevard. This would introduce him to Steve McQueen, who’d buy a Siata of his own. McAfee would be a fierce competitor in southern California racing events, but he would sadly lose his life in 1956 following an accident in his Ferrari 121LM during the Pebble Beach Road Race.

The car in the picture was built for McAfee’s attempt at the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, but it wouldn’t start the race. After that disappointment, the Siata would take part in several races, primarily on the West Coast. It remained in California until 2018, when it was bought by the current owner, Wolf-Dieter Baumann.

It’s an all-matching numbers car, with a lightweight alloy body on a box-section frame – all other coupes had tubular frames. It’s equipped with a high-performance race version of the Fiat 8V Works engine featuring two four-barrel Weber 36 IF 4C carbs along with long range riveted fuel tanks that were specially installed for the Carrera Panamericana, and many other unique features.