EDWARDIAN RACER
A 9.2-litre engine and all the mod cons of an Edwardian racer make this 1911 SCAT a handful to say the least. Zack Stiling takes on the challenge of mastering it
9.2-litre engine makes the 1911 SCAT a handful
They were the founding fathers of the Italian motor industry and a formidable presence in gruelling early car races, but, buried beneath all the derring-do about Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis, the family name Ceirano is hardly a household one. Giovanni Battista (henceforth ‘Giovan’) Ceirano arrived in Turin in 1880 to manufacture and market bicycles under the Welleyes name. Following the example of Peugeot and several British marques, Ceirano GB & C made the natural progression to motor vehicle production and, in 1899, it built the first Welleyes cars. Its factory proved insufficient to cope with demand, however, and after only a few weeks the designs were sold to Giovanni Agnelli and the first FIAT was born. After the Welleyes, Giovan and his younger brothers, Giovanni and Matteo, were variously responsible for the creation of another halfdozen or so new marques, one of which was SCAT – Società Ceirano Automobili Torino – founded by the younger Giovanni in 1906 and financed by the Manchester firm of Newton & Bennett.
The early SCATs were large, high-quality touring machines, altogether a safe purchase for your typical speedcrazed Italian count. The 22/32hp model of 1907 boasted an engine of 3770cc, which grew to 4398cc in 1910. It was refined and powerful enough to rival Lancia, Isotta Fraschini and Itala, but it lacked an achievement necessary for real glory: victory in the Targa Florio.
Giovanni’s son (also Giovanni but known as Ernesto) drove a 22/32hp SCAT in the 1911 Targa Florio with a view to addressing that. He had raced in previous Targa Florios for other Ceirano family marques including Itala and SPA, but SCAT was inexperienced in competition so victory wasn’t assured. However, his completion of the three laps (277 miles) at an average 29mph made him faster than anyone else. SCAT repeated its victory in 1912 with Cyril Snipe driving a 25/35hp, and Ernesto won again with a 22/32hp in 1914, lapping Sicily in under 17 hours at 36mph.
It was with the Targa Florio in mind that Andrew HoweDavies’s 1911 SCAT was created, albeit not in period. It came into being only when the derelict chassis was discovered in Australia and identified as a promising platform for a VSCC Edwardian special. Eschewing an aero engine – cars like that are great, but they’re not exactly practical – this one has a relatively modest 9.2-litre, assembled from parts that were always intended for cars. It can be driven happily through the English countryside, and the fuel bills needn’t be dreaded too much. This SCAT, then, is the sensible face of Edwardian specials.
Howe-Davies’s car was recovered from Adelaide in 1989, but it passed through several owners before Richard Black acquired it in 2001 and committed to making something of it. While it had sported a heavy tourer body when new, nothing remained of that which could be saved, and the old 22/32hp engine wasn’t in any fit state for use, having thrown its crank through the side of the block. With little left to preserve, Black did what many of us would have done and constructed a Targa Florio-inspired racing body, with a stout 9236cc Simplex four-cylinder from 1910 bolted in place, in essence an early version of an American LaFrance engine. The original engine remains in this country. Says
‘This SCAT has a relatively modest 9.2-litre engine. It is the sensible face of Edwardian specials’