The Fiat Zero is a Torpedo from Fiat, built from 1912 to 1915, as the assembly line was turning motoring into an industry. Under the bonnet: 1847 . The total made was 2,200.
Where it came from
The Fiat Zero, known also as the Fiat 12/15 hp, was a car produced by Fiat from 1912 to 1915. At launch it sold for 8,000 lire, which later was reduced to 6,900 lire. It was equipped with a 1,800 cc (1.8 L), 18 PS (13.2 kW) engine that achieved about 19.6 mpg‑US (8.3 km/l) and could reach about 50 mph (80 km/h).
It was the first Fiat to sell more than 2,000 similarly bodied units, most being four-seater bodies. Production ended in 1915 when the factory was converted for war production. There was also a light bodied version produced which claimed various speed records.
Under the skin
Power comes from 1847 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 900 kg –. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the Fiat 70; assembly was at Turin, Italy. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Hispano-Suiza type 45 "Alphonse XIII", the Oldsmobile Series 40, the Benz & Cie. Benz 10/30 PS — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Fiat catalogue sit the FIAT 702 and the Fiat 1.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Fiat Zero has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.