Fiat 500 (1957)

The Italian enjoyed the 500 as much as the British adored the Mini. After producing for 22 years, more than 3.6 million 500s were sold, and many of them are still kept in good condition today by enthusiasts all over the world. Like the Mini, the pretty-looking baby Fiat (looks like a cartoon car) has became niche collection today.

Fiat 850 Spider (1965)

Fiat Dino (1966)

The V6 engine, unquestionably the heart of this car, was designed by Ferrari but built by Fiat. (see Ferrari Dino page for more details) It was an all-alloy unit with double overhead camshafts for each bank. Displacing at 2 litres, it pumped out as much as 160 hp but only 126 lbft due to oversquare combustion chamber dimensions. However, it was smooth and eager to rev. Later, it was enlarged to 2.4 litres, thus power and torque increased to 180 hp and 159 lbft respectively.

Dino styled by both Pininfarina and Bertone ... they did not collaborate, of course. In fact, Pininfarina designed the curvier spider version while Bertone was responsible for the longer coupe. Personally I prefer the Bertone car because it was more elegant and better built. Besides, it also had a very generous cabin for 4 passengers. Sales figure - 1,583 spiders and 6,068 coupes - proved that my opinion was shared by the majority customers.

No matter which version, Fiat Dino was hardly regarded as a remarkably beautiful car. Even with the help of those greatest styling studios, the high front engine prevent it from looking low and sleek at the front.

Other parts of the car could hardly match with the engine, especially are the non-independent live-axle rear suspensions. Even in the late 60s, that was considered as conservative for such an expensive sports car. Anyway, it was replaced by MacPherson struts and semi-trailing arms 3 years later accompanied with the launch of the 2.4 engine.

Fiat 124 Spider & Coupe (1966)

The twins were developed base on the 124 saloon. The Spider was shortened by 140mm and enclosed with a curvy body designed by Pininfarina. It looked not as attractive as Alfa Spider (also by Pininfarina) and, oddly, more like a baby Ford Mustang. Perhaps this explain why it was so popular in the US market. The Coupe was styled by in-house designers. Big windows and narrow pillars made it look rather like BMW 02, although the angular shape said something contrary to its real character - refinement rather than exciting. Rear seats in the Coupe were rather generous for adults of the 60s, they are still suitable for today's people for short journey.

No matter Spider or Coupe, they rode on front MacPherson struts and rear beam axle suspensions. The non-independent rear suspension was very common in the 60s, but obviously less effective in body control as the high-specification 2002 and Alfa Spider. Well, these cars were far more expensive than the Fiat. The only rival in its price range was MGB, also a non-independentor.

What separated the 124 Spider / Coupe from MGB was engine and transmission - since the beginning, the Fiat had a twin-cam engine designed by ex-Ferrari man Lampredi. The iron-block aluminium-head unit was eager to rev to 6,800 rpm and was smooth by contemporary standard. It was so upgradable that eventually evolved into the 2-litre turbo engine which powered Alfa 155 Q4 and Lancia Delta Integrale in the early 90s !

Originally displaced at 1438 c.c. with 86 hp, through the years it was enlarged to 1608 c.c. (110hp), 1756 c.c. (118hp) and 1995c.c. (105hp due to emission control). Transmission was a smooth-changing 5-speed synchromesh manual, a lot better than MGB's four speeder. Most people regarded the 1.6 Spider and 1.8 Coupe as the best versions considering their power / handling performance. Of course this exempted the one-off Abarth version which was developed for World Rally Championship. (see top picture)

Abarth converted 1,013 Spider in total. Performance was enhanced by a 128 hp tuned 1.8 engine and 100 kg weight reduction by means of glass-fiber bonnet / boot lid etc. (note that the glass-fiber parts were painted in black, as shown in the picture) Handling was enhanced by replacing the beam axle rear suspensions with independent MacPherson struts.

The 124 twins were so popular that perhaps only MGA / B / C series managed to outsold it in all-time sales chart for sports cars. The Coupe was terminated in 1975, not because of sales problem, but because it was replaced by Lancia Monte Carlo (a beautiful failure). Spider still mainly exported to the America until 1985 - in then it was nearly 20 years old !

Fiat X1/9 (1972)

The biggest challenge for designing a flyweight mid-engined sports car is: how to put all the mechanical parts and useable space into a very limited dimension. X1/9 succeeded because of its clever packaging. Firstly, it adopted a transverse engine and transmission unit from the front-engined / front-wheel drive Fiat 128 Coupe. This unit was already compact, but with additional modifications to make it stand upright, the unit became even shorter in north-south direction, thus saved a lot of engine space. Secondly, it employed the most space-efficient suspensions - MacPherson struts - in all corners. Behind the engine (and also the front of the car), there was enough space for a considerably large luggage compartment. Tricks can also be found in the location of spare tyres and fuel tank - the former was located behind the right seat and the latter was behind the left seat, just in front of the engine compartment !

All these ideas came from Bertone, so did the exterior styling. X1/9 was originally designed as a convertible. Due to the foreseeable stricter safety regulations in USA (which would be the most important market), Bertone switched to targa arrangement, whose removable roof panel could be stored in the front boot. Targa design also enhanced beauty, without much sacrifice of airy feel. As a whole, the exterior design was among the very bests. Probably no alternative could be more suitable to reflect its nimbleness, lightness, innovation and mid-engined feature.

Between 1972 and 1978, X1/9 was powered by a 75 hp 1300 c.c. engine. In 1978, a 85 hp 1500 c.c. unit was used instead. In European versions, such power outputs were sufficient to cope with the lightweight body. But customers across the Atlantic found them inadequate since tougher emission regulations cut power to 66 hp and 67 hp respectively. Nevertheless, its excellent steering feel and grip helped restoring the lost ground. Moreover, compare with MGB and MG Midget (its main rivals in the United States), its mid-engined layout and beautiful styling gave it considerable marketing advantage. As a result, it enjoyed sale success in the America and nearly all cars were shipped there.

As time went by, no significant changes were made. Although engine grew from 1300 c.c. to 1500 c.c. by stroke-out (so that the exterior dimensions other then height of the engine remained unchanged ), it was just sufficient to cope with the tougher and tougher emission regulation, forget the improvement in performance. Therefore customers looked elsewhere. In the late 70s, the rust problem which appeared in all Fiat models also troubled X1/9. Fiat’s image and reputation suddenly slumped in the US and finally killed the X1/9, as well as Fiat US actually.

After 1982, X1/9 survived for several years under the name Bertone X1/9, which was built completely by Bertone. However, sales was very limited.