Fiat · 1923–present
Fiat Mephistopheles
The Fiat Mephistopheles (known in Italian as Mefistofele) is a one-off racing car created by Ernest A.D. Eldridge in 1923 by combining a Fiat racing car chassis and Fiat aeroplane engine. The name is from the demon of the same name. The name alluded to the infernal noise emitted from the unmuffled engine, and it was "baptised" by the Frenchmen. Eldridge broke the World Land Speed Record on 12 July 1924 with the Mephistopheles, by driving at 234.98 km/h (146.0 mph) in Arpajon, France. The last car to set a land speed record on a public road. The Mephistopheles was created by combining the chassis of the 1908 Fiat SB4 with a 6-cylinder, 21.7 L (21,706 cc) Fiat A.12 aeroplane engine producing 320 PS (235 kW; 316 bhp). Mephistopheles was restored over 5 years, with another example of the same engine, and returned in 2011 with a display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Specifications
- name
- Mephistopheles
- Manufacturer
- Fiat
- Production
- 1923
- Assembly
- Arpajon, France
- Predecessor
- Fiat SB4
- Successor
- Fiat S61
- Class
- Land speed record
- Body style
- Open-Wheeler
- Layout
- Front Engine, RWD
- Engine
- 21706 cc Fiat A.12 Inline 6
- Transmission
- 4-speed Manual
- Wheelbase
- 3683 mm
- Length
- 5112 mm
- Width
- 1766 mm
- Height
- 1666 mm
- Kerb weight
- 3175 kg
- Related
- Fiat SB4
- Designer
- Ernest Eldridge
- sp
- uk
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1321930CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_MephistophelesCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1328134688 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011-03-04_Autosalon_Genf_1380.JPGCC BY 3.0 · Photo: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland (User:Noebu) · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.