1924 Fiat SB4 Eldridge "Mefistofele"

1924 Fiat SB4 Eldridge "Mefistofele"

The Fiat SB4 Eldridge , better known as " Mefistofele ", is a racing car , designed for the conquest of speed records and realized in 1924 by Ernest Eldridge . The car is kept in the Fiat Historic Center of Turin .

In 1922 the pilot John Duff was competing on the Brooklands circuit , in the county of Surrey , at the wheel of an old Fiat SB4 of 1908 now at the end of his racing career.

During the competition one of the ciliindri exploded with unprecedented violence, so that the same freed from the constraint of the crankshaft and destroyed the head took the flight carrying with him the hood and various parts of the car.

The scrap was purchased by Ernest Eldridge with the intention of making it a record car, following his own imaginative intuitions, consistent with the pioneering philosophy of the time that, at least in the competition sector, would have survived for several other decades.

Eldridge decided to install an aircraft propeller on board the SB4, a company that had already tried installing a 20-liter engine on an Isotta Fraschini . The company failed, as during the record attempt he was forced to stop at the 163 km / h threshold. This time it was chosen a Fiat A.12 six-cylinder in-line , displacement of 21 706 cm³ , providing it with various improvements to the power system, in order to achieve the output of 320 hp .

Since the engine is too long to be housed under the bonnet by the "SB4", the frame was made to lengthen the frame using structural parts taken from the wreckage of a bus .

The bodywork benefited from the lengthening, resulting particularly streamlined and with a pleasant tapering of the tail. For the rest, the technical setting remained that of the original "SB4" with final transmission with double chain and brakes placed only on the rear axle, which, however, did not act directly on the wheels, but on the differential, which made it difficult to stop it.

In July 1924 , to beat the world speed record on km launched, introduced themselves to Arpajon the team René Thomas with Delage , credited with 350 hp, and that of Ernest Eldridge , with Fiat SB4 Eldridge that the French public, it was immediately renamed Mefistofele , due to the infernal noise produced by the huge aeronautical engine with free drains.

Despite the dangerous windings - caused by the inadequacy of chassis, suspensions and tires to the developed power - Eldridge managed to bring the "Mephistopheles" at a speed of 143.26 mph (230.55 km / h ), which is over the previous record.

Behind the opponent's claim, however, the performance was not approved as the "Mefistofele" was not equipped with the reverse gear, as was required by the regulations. Furthermore, the following day, René Thomas managed to bring his Delage V12 to a speed of 143.31 mph (230.63 km / h); record that, this time, was regularly approved.

The record lasted just six days, the time strictly necessary to Eldridge for a better tuning of the engine and to add a gimmick that would allow his car a minimal reversing. Once again on the straight stretch of the Route d'Orléans, 12 July 1924 , the "Mefistofele" once again raised the world speed record to 146.01 mph (234.97 km / h). It was the last world record on the kilometer launched to be achieved on a public road.

In the following months Eldridge participated with the Mephistopheles in some other car races, until in 1925 he decided to sell the car to the French pilot LCGM Le Champion.

Following a restoration the original black color has been replaced by the red characteristic of Italian racing cars and the car is now on display at the Fiat Historic Center in Turin.

Even today it has not been possible to understand exactly the type of device that allowed the car to reverse during the Arpajon race, since this is no longer present in the car exhibited at the museum.

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