Itala Mod. 35/45 HP At Museo Nazionale Dell'Automobile Editorial Photo

The 1907 Itala mod. 35/45 HP that raced and won the Beijing - Paris raid exposed in the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile of Turin (Piedmont, Italy). This is the car in which Prince Scipione Borghese with Ettore Guizzardi as his mechanic and Luigi Barzini as the special correspondent of the Corriere della Sera won the Pekin to Paris race sponsored by the Paris daily “Le Matin” in 60 days. It arrived a full twenty days ahead of the second to finish after overcoming all kinds of natural hazards and obstacles along the 16,000-kilometre route. It had an enormous fuel tank on each side and its over-7-litre engine was coupled to a four-speed gearbox. The Itala was subsequently known as the Pekin-Paris type.