Siata Daina History

The Daina represented Siata's move up-market. Using a reinforced and shortened Fiat 1400 chassis, Siata fitted reworked cylinder heads, new intake manifolds, and — on some cars — Abarth exhaust systems to extract meaningful extra power from the 1.4-litre inline-four. Displacement options eventually grew to 1.5 and 1.8 litres across the model's eight-year run.

Coachwork came from the best Turin houses. Stabilimenti Farina produced the original Gran Sport cabriolet in steel with an aluminium bonnet; three all-aluminium-bodied Gran Sports were also made. When Stabilimenti Farina closed in 1953, Bertone took over with a clean-lined coupé of their own design. Total production across all variants was approximately 50 cars, making survivors exceptionally rare.

The Daina earned its motorsport credentials at the 1952 12 Hours of Sebring, where Dick Irish and Bob Fergus drove a 1,500 cc Gran Sport to first in class and third overall — a remarkable result against far more powerful competition. That finish gave Siata its clearest international racing publicity and confirmed the Daina as more than a coachbuilt curiosity.