1915 Fiat Tipo 2B Station Bus

1915 Fiat Tipo 2B Station Bus

Fiat's 15/20-hp Tipo 2 range was introduced in 1910 with a 2.6-litre Tipo 52 monobloc engine and was described by the late Michael Sedgwick as "a copybook middle-class family car which fell into the British 'fifteen-point-nine' category". A four-speed gearbox was fitted and a notable feature of this model was its smooth multi-plate metal-to-metal clutch. The Tipo 2 was the principal vehicle used by the Italian Army during the Italo-Libyan war of 1911-12, a campaign that interestingly saw the first use of aeroplanes in warfare. The Tipo 2B variant was introduced in 1912, with a longer-stroke 2.8-litre Tipo 52B power unit, and remained in production until 1920-21, by which time 22,518 chassis had been produced.

The Tipo 2B chassis was used for light commercials as well as cars, and many were supplied to the Allies for military use during the Great War. In this instance, the sidemembers were modified at the rear to give a straight floor line for lorry, van and light bus bodywork. Another difference was that when the cars were updated with the new pear-shaped radiator in 1915, Tipo 2B commercials retained the old straight-sided design. This example of the commercial version of the Tipo 2B was one of a batch of vans built in March 1915 for shipment to London via the well-known carrier Ambrosetti.

It was registered in Hampshire, but sometime between then and 1921, according to a local resident, the van body was replaced with a bus body built by J & H Ricketts of Euston, London NW, and the Fiat served in the Reading area as a station bus.

Descriptions & pictures by bonhams & flickriver