5 replies to this topic

[Egon Thurner]

Something, that puzzles me since a while:

First appearance of SCAT racers in the 1908 Tourist Trophy (4 inches) with a 4 cylinder single valve engine, based on a 'catalogue car'.

In 1909 Ernesto Ceirano brought a racer to the Mt. Ventoux hillclimb an made ftd and fixed a class win in the Modena Sprint (Flying Km or Mile ?)

Then followed three Targa Florio wins in 1911 (E. Ceirano), 1912 (Cyril Snipe) and 1914 (Ceirano again). The cars all beared engines with 4cylinders (about 4 litres).

Then is said there was a racing car, specified as 60/75 HP with 6255 cc (ohc), built in the years 1912 - 1915 (!)

And last - after Ceirano had left SCAT - in 1919 a 120 hp modell (9236 cc)
( Other sources say, the 120 hp car was from 1909 - maybe the Ventoux / Modena car ? )

SCATs had been raced after the war in some races by people like Baldoni (1920), Tarabusi (1920, 1921), Angelini and Munaron (both 1921) and some others - but all together far from importance.

Want to know more about all these mentioned cars ( e.g. the technical specifications, ..) . Can anybody give some more details ? Also important: The cars, raced post-war, had they been built post or pre war ? And was there really a post-war built SCAT racer ?

B.T.W. Tazio N. bought a SCAT racer in 1914 without racing it anytime.

[Vitesse2]

Cyril Posthumus, writing in Georgano, says the 1909 car was the 120hp. Modena was apparently a flying mile sprint and another SCAT driven by Borsari took a class win there in 1909.

[Egon Thurner]

Thought I bring this topic to sunlight again. Maybe the 'new knowledge' here is able to add some snippets.

[robert dick]

During the 1910s SCAT built two cars :
1) the smaller one, mostly called 12/18 HP was available in the dimensions 75/120 or 85/120 mm), wheelbase 291,5 cm;
2) the larger one, called 25/35 or sometimes 22 HP could be ordered in 100/140 or 100/150 mm size, wheelbase 317,5 cm.

The racer which won the 1914 Targa/Giro was a combination of the smaller 291,5 cm frame with the large 100/150 mm engine :
4-cylinder monoblock 100/150 mm, L-head, crankshaft in three plain bearings, wet sump, pressure lubrication, Zenith carburettor, Bosch magneto, single ignition, in race trim 95 HP at 2600/min;
multiplate clutch, separated 4-speed box;
rear axle of torque tube type; wheelbase 291,5 cm; tyres depending on the track configuration, either 1) the smaller combination 760x90 front and 765x105 rear or 2) the larger combination 810x90 front and 815x105 rear or 3) 815x105 front and 820x120 rear.

These category of racers (combination of smaller stock chassis with larger stock engine) is often misunderstood. The SCAT was a real racer, in the same sence as the American Alco or Lozier. Perhaps it would not have been as fast as a Fiat S 61 or a DOHC Peugeot on a billiard table as Dieppe, but in Sicily it was the better car and far more reliable.

[Egon Thurner]

But there had been a lot more different types than two, produced in the 1910s by SCAT, Robert.

22/32 - 4398cc (1911) This type was introduced in 1908 with a 3770cc-engine. (TT-car?)
15/20 - 2951cc (1912) Thuis type was introduced as 12/16 in 1908 with a 2724cc-engine
25/25 - 4712cc (1912) - developped from 22/32
12/16 - 2120cc (1914 ! )
18/30 - 3563cc (1915 ! )
12/15 - 1551cc (1919)
120HP - 9236 (probably 1919)

There must have been some more types in 1919, I have no data about. Not included in the list are the pre-1911 types.

[robert dick]

The problem is that I have no data of these other cars. So all the following is pure speculation.

The nine-litre OHC racer’s dimensions are often given as 100/200 mm. This makes no sense. If the Ceiranos decided to built a pure racer, that car had to comply with some existing regulation. One reg wich comes into question is the 130 mm-bore formula of the 1909 GP de l’ACF which should be run on the Circuit de l’Anjou and was cancelled. If the SCAT racer had 130 mm bore, a stroke of about 180 mm would be an accordant value (the Mercedes had 130/180 mm, the Fiat 130/190 mm, the Cottin-Desgouttes 130/200 mm). Concerning the cylinder head, “OHC” is indicated; could be a SOHC 2- or 4-valve head. And the frame seems to have a wheelbase of around 275 cm.
The 110/200 mm of the 1912 Peugeot L 76 have their origin in a special class of the 1911 GP de France which took place in Le Mans, a class with max. bore/stroke dimensions of 110/200 mm (the Rolland-Pilain running in this class had 110/165 mm). This class was intended to be the basis for the 1912 GP de l’ACF, was cancelled in 1912 because of insufficient candidates. It is also possible that the OHC SCAT was built with these dimensions, but in my eyes less probable.

The 1909 Mont Ventoux SCAT was definitively not this OHC racer, the bonnet being much too low. Probably it was a 100/140 mm L-head engine in a 275 cm frame (the “4-litre” L-head was built in numberless dimensions, 90, 95, 100 and 102/140; 100 and 102/150 mm)

The “other” (non-OHC) SCAT racers seem to be production car scions, race prepared L-head engines in the shortest and lightest possible stock chassis.