Itala 35/45 HP History

The 35/45 HP was built around a 7,433 cc four-cylinder engine producing 45 bhp at 1,250 rpm, driving through a four-speed gearbox to a maximum speed of about 95 km/h. It was a large, robust touring car typical of Itala's approach: power and reliability ahead of mechanical sophistication.

The car entered history when Prince Scipione Borghese, with mechanic Ettore Guizzardi and journalist Luigi Barzini aboard, entered the Paris daily Le Matin's Peking-to-Paris motor race in June 1907. Borghese's machine was specially prepared with three large fuel tanks — two 150-litre side tanks and an 80-litre rear tank — oversize wheels of equal front-and-rear diameter, and ash running boards in place of mudguards.

The Itala completed the roughly 16,000 km route and arrived in Paris a full 20 days ahead of the second-place finisher, winning by a margin so enormous it remains one of the most dominant victories in the history of motorsport. The car is preserved today in the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (MAUTO) in Turin.