Dec 02, 2023
Okay all. Time for the new puzzler. This one is an automotive puzzler.
The year is 1954.
And right around that time, my brother and I were graduating from high school.
Fiat introduced a limited edition Spider Vignale Roadster in 1954, though we would never have seen something like this because cars like this didn't come through our neighborhood.
Anyway! This car was powered by a 110 horsepower 70 degree 2 liter V8 engine.
However, when the ad came out about this thing, it was called the Fiat 8V Spider Vignale Roadster.
And the puzzler today is, was this a mistake? Or was it not a mistake?
The engine was a V8 engine, but the ad called it an 8V.
Why?
Good luck.
Answer time.
So, the Fiat 8V Spider Vignale Roadster, which had 110 horsepower 70 degree 2 liter V8 engine.
V8.
But when the ads came out for it, they called it an 8V.
Was it a mistake?
Well, it was sort of a mistake, and sort of not.
At the time, Fiat was under the impression that Ford Motor Company owned the right to the term 'V8', and they thought that no one could use that term other than Ford.
So, they decided to coin a new term for their engine, the 8V.
