IN AT THE DEEP END

They were the founding fathers of the Italian motor industry and a formidable presence in gruelling early car races, but, buried beneath all the derring-do about Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis, the family name Ceirano is hardly a household one.

Giovanni Battista (henceforth ‘Giovan’) Ceirano arrived in Turin in 1880 to manufacture and market bicycles under the Welleyes name. Following the example of Peugeot and several British marques, Ceirano GB & C made the natural progression to motor vehicle production and, in 1899, it built the first Welleyes cars. Its factory proved insufficient to cope with demand, however, and after only a few weeks the designs were sold to Giovanni Agnelli and the first FIAT was born. After the Welleyes, Giovan and his younger brothers, Giovanni and Matteo, were variously responsible for the creation of another half-dozen or so new marques, one of which was SCAT – Società Ceirano Automobili Torino – founded by the younger Giovanni in 1906 and financed by the Manchester firm of Newton & Bennett.

The early SCATs were large, high-quality touring machines, altogether a safe purchase for your