Siata 300BC Barchetta History

Designed by Mario Revelli di Beaumont and launched at the 1952 Geneva Salon, the 300BC was Siata's most overtly competition-focused model. Its barchetta open bodywork was built almost entirely by Bertone (approximately 40 cars), with a further ten bodied by Rocco Motto. The car was aimed almost exclusively at the United States, where SCCA club racing was booming and sports-car culture was hungry for something European and exotic.

Power came from variously tuned Fiat-based engines ranging from 750 cc to 1,100 cc; some early US-bound examples used the American Crosley engine for homologation purposes, while later cars received modified Fiat 1100 motors said to approach the output of contemporary four-cylinder Ferraris. Large finned Stanguellini drum brakes, independent front suspension, and a kerb weight around 720 kg made the 300BC genuinely competitive in its SCCA class.

With roughly 50 total examples across all builders and engine variants, the 300BC is among the rarest and most collectible Italian sports cars of the early 1950s. Survivors regularly appear at major international auctions — RM Sotheby's and Bonhams have each offered examples — typically commanded by serious collectors of postwar Italian coachbuilt cars.