Friends of Prescott Supper and Talk with Duncan Pittaway – “My garage and other animals”
- BOC
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 2
Join us at Prescott on Thursday 24th April for a supper and talk with Duncan Pittaway! Duncan has a long association with Prescott and the BOC, but may be best known for his huge and magnificent fire-belching Fiat, nicknamed the Beast of Turin (more detail below).
Doors open at 6:15pm.
After a one course buffet style supper, Duncan will talk about cars he runs from coal fired Victorian motoring to synthetic fueled 60’s GT racing, via the Beast and a methanol burning Bugatti. This is a broad chat about these cars and their distinct place in the evolution of motoring.
THE BEAST OF TURIN
The Fiat S76, otherwise known as The Beast of Turin, was built in 1910 with a 28 litre 4 cylinder engine, designed to power airships. Two examples were built, the first of these later being dismantled by the factory. The second set a speed record of 132 mph at Ostend in Belgium in 1913 and found its way to Australia without its Fiat engine and was destroyed in a crash. Or was it?
BOC member Duncan Pittaway gathered enough parts to rebuild the Beast onto an Edwardian Fiat chassis, using original factory drawings and some major components built from scratch. His team restored the original engine, which found its way to England under misty and disputed circumstances, subject to investigation by Italian authorities. Accounts of the car, its restoration and provenance differ; but then when did the internet tell the full truth? Duncan will though, on what promises to a fascinating and memorable evening in the Prescott Clubhouse.
The restored car was driven for the first time at Goodwood Festival of Speed and then competed at Prescott and Chateau Impney, all in 2015. The sound of this fire-breathing monster firing up is ‘like a demon at work with a rain of fire and sparks’. Unbelievably, the engine is started by a ‘herculean pull of the starter crank handle’.
Thank you for supporting Friends of Prescott which raises funds for capital projects to enhance the visitor experience at Prescott Speed Hill Climb.
