Societa Anonima Fabrica Italiana di Automobili Torino
It seems ironic that the largest and most
established of all Italian auto manufacturers is arguably
the least well known in Australia. Fiat have entered
into the Australian car selling foray, most notably
when selling the
X1/9, but unlike Alfa Romeo have retreated
from the Australian marketplace for many years, until recently.
And so I labored over whether Fiat should be listed
in the Heritage section of the Unique Cars and Parts
web site, but as I researched their origins I became
more and more convinced that indeed Fiat should be here,
and is a most worthy inclusion. If you read this article,
by the end I hope you will agree.
Owners of a Fiat can be thankful that, reasonably early
on, the management decided to use that moniker rather
than their original company name - “Societa Anonima
Fabrica Italiana di Automobili Torino”.
Around
the same time Fiat’s management also decided that
Fiat would join other marques at the race track, convinced
that race success would result in vehicle sales - a
theory that still holds true to this day. Success came
quickly when, in 1907, Felice Nazzaro won the
Targa
Florio, the Kaiserpreis and the French GP!
The Balilla And Mille Miglia Models
Fiat’s first sports-car was the “Balilla”,
a car derived from the small saloon design of the same
name. Balilla, incidentally, was the name given to Mussolini's
young soldiers – but quite what the two have in
common remains to us a mystery. The Balilla Sports had
a four-cylinder 995cc OHV engine good for 36bhp.
Perhaps
not breathtaking output, but when combined with a slim
1350lb weight and four speed gearbox the Balilla was
a solid if not lively performer. There were a number
of modem refinements, including hydraulic brakes, and
when the car was first shown in Milan in 1933, at a
price of 14,900 lire, it caused a sensation among buyers.
The subsequent release of the “
Mille Miglia”
model was a further evolution of the original, and not
only featured a more powerful engine but a lovely “torpedo”
body style. After the war followed the short-lived 1100S
and ES models, born out of the very specialized 508CMM
coupes of 1937, however the first true post-war sporting
Fiat was the 8V, shown for the first time at the Geneva
Motor Show in March 1952.
The 2 Litre V8
The 8V was powered by a 2
litre 70-degree V8 pushrod engine good for between 105
and 115bhp (depending on the tune), the latter version
making the car good for a top speed of around 120mph.
Not a leader in technical innovation, Fiat were none
the less quick to adapt to the new technologies of the
day, particularly when the engineers saw merit; and
so the 8V used a tubular chassis with coil sprung/wishbone
independent suspension.
The 8V’s body was extremely
aerodynamic, the narrow-cabined fastback design usually
incorporating staggered seating, although several specially
styled coach-built bodies were also manufactured. In
all, only 114 8V’s would be built over a 2 year
period, and it’s most notable achievement remains
the outright win in the 1956 Italian sports-car championship.
To follow the 8V, Fiat then built a series of cars
based on the basic under-pan and engineering of the
ubiquitous 1100s, 1200s and 1500s. All featured coil
sprung suspension and rigid rear axles. Most unusual,
and least successful, was the “Trasformabile”
of 1955-1959, although cabriolets built between 1959
and 1966 sold in large numbers.
The Osca Twin-Cam Engine Sets A Fiat Design Precedent
Fiat styled and built
the bodies in-house, most models being equipped with
Fiat engines borrowed from other models; but arguably
the most exciting and therefore most collectable of
this series was the 'Osca' engined version, which was
fitted with a sweet spinning 1491cc engine, which by
1962 had grown in size to 1568cc and was good for a
healthy 90bhp.
The engine was purpose built by Osca,
the twin-cam design setting a design precedent for all
future Fiat engines to come. And, beating much of the
competition, in 1965 Fiat standardized a five-speed
all-synchromesh gearbox.
The next notable models to be released by Fiat include
the Coupe and Spyder versions of the rear-engined 850
models, which were built from 1965 to 1973, both models
good for an impressive top speed of around 90mph. These
were quickly followed by the 1966 derivatives based
on the 124 saloon, the “Sport Spyder” and
“Sport Coupe”.
The Coupe was based on the
standard saloon under-pan, the four-seater styled by
Fiat; the body of the open two-seater “Spyder”
was instead styled and built by Pininfarina. At launch
both cars used a 1438cc engine, some also featuring
the five-speed transmission first seen in the previous
1500 and 1600 cabriolets.
Over the years, the engines were enlarged, first to
1608cc, then to 1756cc (and alternatively to 1592cc),
five-speed transmissions were standardized, along with
minor styling changes, but the Spyder carried on alone
after 1975, eventually having its engine enlarged to
a 1995cc twin-cam version, with a turbocharged derivative
built for the US market.
This would eventually be re-launched
as the “Pininfarina Spyder Europa” in 1982
and, if sales volumes are the mark of a cars success,
then these model Fiat’s were indeed extremely
successful.
The Abarth Rally Spyder
Between 1972 and 1975 Abarth developed a lightweight
specialized version of the Spyder, which featured independent
rear suspension and, during it’s last year of
manufacture, optional four-valve cylinder heads; all
were used almost exclusively for rallying.
To help Ferrari achieve a 'homologated' engine for
use in Formula 2, Fiat assumed manufacturing of the
Dino V6 engine. The re-designed engine (small modifications
being required to enable efficient mass-production)
was then supplied to Ferrari, but some were kept for
use in their own front-engined cars, the “Fiat
Dino’s”.
Pininfarina Spyders, Bertone Coupes
Pininfarina then styled Spyders
for Fiat, while Bertone penned the longer-wheelbase
Coupes, with both versions undergoing final assembly
by Fiat. Both cars used the highly acclaimed Fiat 2
litre quad-cam engine mated to a five speed transmission,
unfortunately however they retained rigid rear axles.
In spite of the Coupe being good for a top speed of
127mph it remained only partially successful, no doubt
because of the high price. By the end of production,
nearly 5000 Dino’s (mostly coupes) had been built.
Three years later, the Mk. 2 Dino’s were put
on sale, this time with the 2.4 litre iron-block version
of the engine, a new ZF five-speed transmission, and
at long last coil spring semi-trailing link independent
rear suspension – borrowed from the 130 saloon.
The Maranello Built Mk.2 Dino
In 1969 Fiat acquired a 50% stake in Ferrari, and so
it seemed logical for assembly of the 2.4’s to
be undertaken at their Maranello assembly plant. Extremely
collectable today, some 2398 coupes and 420 Spyder’s
were manufactured before production ceased in 1973.
It is interesting to note that the engine was also to
be used in the Lancia Stratos rally car of 1974-75.
To replace the long running Fiat 850 Spyder, the company
undertook development of a mid-engined sports-car –
no doubt influenced by their association with Ferrari.
Although first thought of as being a private venture
by Bertone, instead they worked together with Fiat and
created the 1972
X1/9.
The X19, Brimming With Ingenuity
The design talent from both factories
ensured the little two-seater
X1/9 was brimming with
ingenuity; particularly in regards to stowage space,
available at both the front and rear of the car. The
wedge-nose shape of the car may date the car by today’s
standards, however at the time it ushered in a futuristic
look of tomorrow being adapted by most all sports-car
manufacturers.
The first X1/9s had 1290cc engines,
but from the end of 1978 this was increased to 1498cc,
and linked to a five-speed transmission. The latter
engine was good for 85bhp and gave the car a top speed
of 105-110mph (168-177 km/h).
Clever design features
were in abundance, and included such things as the
use of four-wheel independent suspension, a removable ‘Targa’ style
roof panel which could be stored in the front luggage
compartment, and a spare wheel housing in a compartment
behind the seats, accessible through the passenger
compartment. And, as did the 124 Spyder before it,
the X1/9 would become the ‘Bertone’ in
1982.
Fiat may not be the first marque you would think of
when talking about collectable cars, nonetheless it
remains an enduring brand (particularly in Europe) with
a rich history, undeniably helped by its association
with Ferrari. The pretty Spyder’s, while rarely
seen on Australian roads, are highly prized and remain
a great drive in true Italian sports car traditions.
