Mefistofele (SPA-ENG)

Mefistofele

According to German mythology, Mephistopheles is an evil character, an acolyte of Satan. This sinister entity was immortalized by the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his famous play Faust.

But it is also the name of a vehicle that made history and has just celebrated 100 years of an extraordinary feat.

The Fiat Mefistofele (without the final s and without the accent) has a great history worth telling. It was a precursor to competitive motor racing; we could respectfully say that it is the grandfather of today's racing cars, which amaze us with their speed, aesthetics, and power.

Barely after the end of the First World War, Ernest Eldridge, son of a family of the upper bourgeoisie of London, dedicated himself fully to his most precious objectives: adventure and glory, very common among wealthy young people of that romantic era. He began exploring his interest in engines, cars, and airplanes, to create a car capable of running at high speeds and, if possible, breaking the world record.

To achieve his goal, in 1921 Eldridge acquired a Fiat SB4, a racing car designed in 1907, and immediately began work on adapting an airplane engine, also a Fiat, the A.12 model, a high-performance 6-cylinder monster highly appreciated by the so-called "air aces", also young and enthusiastic, who dedicated their lives to flying at the same time.

In those years, there were no engineers specialized in creating lighter alloys or fairings with extraordinary aerodynamic profiles, everything was rudimentary and the drivers themselves were the ones who worked day and night in the workshops refurbishing pistons, adapting chassis, and doing everything possible to achieve a vehicle that ran fast, there were no major concerns about safety or other details considered superfluous. An example of this was some remains of an old disused bus that Eldridge used to refurbish and adapt the bodywork of his vehicle.

The result was a huge monster capable of developing 350 hp, it made a terrible noise, and from there arose the nickname of Mefistofele which ended up immortalizing his creation.

Delage, a brand specialized in the construction of racing vehicles that developed high speeds, was interested in the performance of Eldridge's Fiat Mefistofele and challenged him to try to beat the world speed record. They would put the best they had, their Delage V12 "La Torpille" of 350 hp and their star driver, René Thomas, multiple winners of the famous Indianapolis 500.

On July 5, 1924, the competition took place on French roads and the Mefistofele broke the speed record, reaching 230.55 kilometers per hour, but its record was not approved because the vehicle did not have a reverse gear, something requested by the organizers and by the competition regulations.

Not happy with what had happened, Eldridge turned to the services of a local blacksmith who in a few days adapted a rudimentary system that allowed it to have that gear using a chain, a pulley, and a lever. On July 12, it managed to break the record with a final speed of 234.98 kilometers per hour.

Today, the Fiat Mefistofele is proudly displayed at the Centro Storico Fiat in Turin, where it attracts a large number of curious people, eager to observe and learn how the history and tradition of racing cars was forged.