Fiat 525 Coupé De Ville

Vehicle Overview

The Fiat 525 Coupé de Ville by Carrozzeria Viotti is a formal closed automobile constructed on the Fiat 525 chassis during the late 1920s or early 1930s. The 525 model, introduced by Fiat in 1928, served as the marque’s flagship touring vehicle, available in multiple body styles, including limousines, spiders, and bespoke coupes. The base chassis featured a 3,738 cc inline-six engine, delivering between 68 and 88 horsepower, depending on the variant. The standard version was known as the 525N, while the higher-performance specification, the 525SS (Super Sport), offered modifications to the compression ratio and carburetion system. Viotti, a Turin-based coachbuilder founded in 1921, applied a body configuration identified as a Coupé de Ville, distinguished by its division between an enclosed rear compartment and a more exposed driver’s area. The design followed practices typical of formal vehicles of the period, aimed at separating chauffeur from passengers. The construction incorporated the Clairalpax system—an early lightweight framing technique using nickel-brass alloys and large glazing panels—licensed and developed in collaboration with engineer Carlo Tolfo. Production figures for Viotti-bodied Fiat 525 models remain limited. It is estimated that fewer than a dozen examples of the 525SS chassis were bodied by Viotti, with an even smaller number configured as Coupé de Ville. Surviving documentation indicates that one example was originally mounted on chassis number 525SS.204509, completed in late 1930 and delivered to a private client in Turin. This particular vehicle resurfaced in the 1950s in Milan, registered under the name of Giovanni Rolandi, and was later exported to Argentina. Its current location is unverified. The model represents an early example of Viotti’s move toward stylistic restraint and industrial design princi les, which would later be more fully expressed in its postwar work. Unlike other contemporary coachbuilders whose emphasis lay in ornamentation, Viotti’s interpretation on the 525 chassis was understated, aligning with formal transportation usage rather than sporting application. The 525 Coupé de Ville by Viotti is not known to have participated in major racing or concours events. Surviving examples, if any, remain outside public access and are seldom documented in period or contemporary registries.