Fiat Mephistopheles

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}

{{Infobox automobile

| name = Mephistopheles

| image = 2011-03-04 Autosalon Genf 1380.JPG

| 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 = {{cvt|21706|cc|cuin}} Fiat A.12 Inline 6

| transmission = 4-speed Manual

| wheelbase = {{cvt|3683|mm|in|1}}

| length = {{cvt|5112|mm|in|1}}

| width = {{cvt|1766|mm|in|1}}

| height = {{cvt|1666|mm|in|1}}

| weight = {{cvt|3175|kg|lb|1}}

| related = Fiat SB4

| designer = Ernest Eldridge

| sp = uk

| powerout = {{cvt|320|PS|hp kW|1}} @ 1,800 rpm
{{cvt|2390|N.m|1}}

}}

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.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Eldridge broke the World Land Speed Record on 12 July 1924 with the Mephistopheles,{{cite web|url=http://www.bigscalemodels.com/cars/fiat_mefistofele/mephistopheles.html|title=the CAR FIAT MEFISTOFELE 1923|last=Crooke|first=Jon|publisher=Bigscalemodels.com|access-date=2009-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719175010/http://www.bigscalemodels.com/cars/fiat_mefistofele/mephistopheles.html|archive-date=19 July 2008|url-status=dead}} by driving at {{cvt|234.98|km/h|mi/h|1|abbr=on}} 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, {{cvt|21706|cc|L|1|abbr=on|order=flip}} Fiat A.12 aeroplane engine producing {{cvt|320|PS|kW bhp|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|title=FIAT MEFISTOFELE|url=http://www.fiat.com/fiatpedia/heritage/fiat-mefistofele|work=Fiat|access-date=13 August 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222837/http://www.fiat.com/fiatpedia/heritage/fiat-mefistofele|url-status=dead}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Fiat Mephistopheles specs, performance data |url=https://fastestlaps.com/models/fiat-mephistopheles |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=FastestLaps.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=1923 Fiat Mephistopheles Specifications |url=https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/spec/4793/Fiat-Mephistopheles.html |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Ultimatecarpage.com}}

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