Tag Archives: Fiat

Bangles Pick Up – FIAT Coupé (Type 175) 20v Turbo

After working on the Opel Junior Concept vehicle Chris Bangle moved to Centro Stile FIAT where he designed the body for, today’s featured, FIAT Coupé which was launched in 1993 after which Chris moved on to become one of the most talked about designers, in the last twenty years, at BMW.

The FIAT Coupé was originally powered by a turbo charged and normally aspirated variations of the 4 cylinder Twin Cam motor used in the Lancia Delta Integrale. By 1998 when todays featured car was built 5 cylinder turbocharged 20 valve engines had been introduced, the turbocharged variant on this car would have given over 200 hp a top speed of 155 mph and a rest to 62 mph time of 6.5 seconds.

Pininfarina was responsible for the design of the for the original Coupé interior which like the motors would receive numerous upgrades between 1993 and 2000 when production was terminated.

This appears to be an early 1998 car characterised by the non colour coordinated sill panels below the doors, the absence of red Brembo brake calipers indicates that it is unlikely to be one of the limited edition LE models.

While FCSS (Fiat Coupe Service Specialist) were responsible for converting this car which had a damaged roof, in the space of a week, this is by no means the only Chris Bangle design to become a pick up.

On April 1st last year BMW revealed a one off Bangle originated E93 BMW M3 Pick Up, complete with removable roof, towing hitch and a claimed 186 mph capability making it faster than even the legendary Australian HSV Maloo !

Thanks for joining me on this “Bangles Pick Up” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a MG badge engineered variation of what was Britain’s top selling car much of the 1960’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Sunlight Textile Services – Pegasus Sprint

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Last Saturday I had another 6am start, but this time not to go and spectate at an event but to act as a marshall for the The Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint run by the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club. Despite a healthy breakfast which included melon, tangerine, kiwi and a banana by the time I got through signing on I was ready to wolf down a traditional Full English Heart Attack in the Castle Combe Canteen. Even with long johns double layer trousers, three fleeces and a coat I was going to get cold under the cloudless skies with temperatures peaking at 8 degress C but with the wind chill factor making it feel like 9 below zero.

In between my second breakfast and the marshalls briefing I managed to snap Jack Taylors 1954 Lotus MG Mk VI this car is chassis #6-18 in theory the 24th Lotus ever built, it’s powered by an MG XPAG motor and appears to have a one off body, quite possibly by Williams and Pritchard though I have yet to confirm that.

Wondering around the pits during the half hour lunch break I managed to take a few more photo’s including John Marshall’s Lotus Mk VI, followers of my blogs at the much missed Rowdy.com, and I know there are one or two of you, will remember me originally mis recognising this car as a Lotus 7. Many mis recognitions since I have found out it was also originally supplied with an MG motor and gearbox which has since been swapped for a Ford 100E motor and Triumph gearbox. In John’s hands this car has won at least 54 trophy’s most no bigger than egg cups.

Perhaps the most extraordinary car and for my money cor of the day was Jeremy Hawkes 1933 MG K3, built as on offset single seater to compete at Brooklands where like the 24 litre “Napier Railton” it holds a record in perpetuity, for vehicles up 1100 cc / 67.126 cui having recorded laps in excess of 120 mph.

Anthony Smith brought his 1937 MG TA along to compete in the production road going A2 class.

This was only the second occasion on which I have ever seen a contemporary MG A Coupé this one was driven by Martin Wollacot in Class A2.

Regular readers might recognise this Bristol 403, which was not competing from the first Coffee Croissant and Cars blog I posted back in April.

SEAT’s León Cupra R (Typ 1M) was voted 7th best hatch back of all time in a poll conducted by Autocar in 2010, four years after production had switched to the newer Typ 1P. This 2004 Tdi Cupra R shows signs of how tricky the conditions were forcing the brothers who competed with it to go home after the practice sessions were completed to repair the damage which was incurred some where between Avon Rise and Quarry Corner during the second practice runs.

Richard Girling was running his 1st generation 2009 all wheel drive Nissan GTR R35 in the most powerful A4 road going series production class, his car left the factory with 478 hp and a conservative 193 mph capability matched by a rest to 60 mph of 3.2 seconds. Needless to say the car looked quick on the track.

Micheal Kason was running his 2 litre / 122 cui FIAT X1/9 in the modified limited prodiction class C3, notice it sits on slick tyres which would not have been easy to heat up in the prevailing conditions.

Running in the largest C4 modified production class were Andrew Fraser and Tim Painter in this 2004 Porsche (996) 911 GT3. This car is for sale at £37,500, if you would like Andrew and Tim’s phone numbers send me an e-mail and I’ll gladly forward the details, usual disclaimers apply.

Last runners of the day were David Hardcastle and Simon Allaby who were competing in the Revington TR / TR Register Sprint & Hillclimb Championship.

I did not manage to get many photographs of the on track action but while taking a break from marshaling duties I did get a photo of Ian Hall’s 5.2 litre / Darrian T98 GTR which set fastest time of the day by nearly ten seconds.

Thanks to a combination of few too many thrills and spills with short hours of sunlight competitors only got one timed run in before the event started to get too far behind schedule for everyone to get a second time in. Out at Tower we were great full for the hour or so this spared us standing in the delightful sunshine but freezing wind.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Sunlight Textile Services – Pegasus Sprint” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Shelby Pierce Arrow – Niello Concours at Serrano

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The weekend before last Geoffrey Horton took his Jaguar out of it’s garage for the last time this year to attend the Niello Concours at Serrano. He kindly sent today’s featured photographs for us to enjoy.

The achievements of Pierce Arrow and Carroll Shelby were being celebrated at Niello, above a 1933 Pierce Silver Arrow one of only three such 115 mph V12’s known to exist.

Suffering from slow sales of aero engines made under license from (French) Salmson in 1934 British Salmson extended it’s license deal to include local manufacture of Salmson cars. Above is a 1936 S4C similar to it’s French counterpart except that it has syncromesh on the top two gears of the gearbox. Around 250 S4C’s were manufactured from 1934 to 1938.

For a Delahaye the vehicle above is pretty tame, by Delahaye standards, I’m not sure of either the year, model or coachbuilder, looks most likely a 135 which could have been built 1935 and 1954. If you know which more please do not be afraid to chime in below.

As regular GALPOT readers will know Geoffrey Horton restored a rats nest back into a 1955 Jaguar XK140 FHC SE / MC which he now enters in Concours events. The 1956 example above has been in the same family since 4th January 1956, it is totally original and unrestored, as the owner says “cost of $90,000” and “cost of to keep it original, with sentimental value = priceless”

Not sure what this one is at the time of writing looks a little like a Mk 1 Triumph Spitfire with a lot of additional chrome, the wheels look like they come from a Berkeley. If you know what this one is please chime in below, it’s certainly not in my I-spy book of cars.

Carroll Shelby ordered two new Cooper Monaco’s beefed up to carry Shelby’s 289 Ford V8’s for the 1963 URRSC sports car championship.
Chassis #CM/1/63 seen here was driven by rapidly rising star Dave MacDonald to victories in both the 1963 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside and the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix at Laguna Seca which along which helped MacDonald secure the 1963 URRSC sports car championship.

The 1965 Shelby GT 350 was built to compete in the SCCA National B Production Championship with full race suspension larger oil pan and straight through exhaust side pipes. It was fitted with ‘only two’ seats to comply with the SCCA regulations. This particular copy, one of 562 built in 1965, has been in the same family since new.

For 1970 the US Department of Transport demanded extra visibility over the bonnet / hood of all cars and so all post 1970 model year Mercedes 280 SE’s received a lower grill than in previous years. The Low Grill 280 SE Cabriolet above is one of just 237 built in 1970.

Capable of reaching 60 mph in six seconds and covering the quarter mile in just 14.4 seconds the Ford Torino GT introduced in 1970 could be ordered with sports deck, hideaway head lamps and reflective side stripes, just like the one seen above.

The English Corvette as the Triumph TR8 was known was manufactured 1978 to 1982. This one would appear to be one one of the 2400 dropheads built between 1980 and 1982.

The Panoz Esperante can be ordered in GT, GTLM and GTS specs with an after market JRD upgrade available if you need the speed and have the budget to satiate it. The car above is a 2005 model is the first of 80 Supercharged GTLM models. Amongst Wild Bills other vehicles are an amphibious Amphicar and Messerschmitt Kabinen Roller !

And so it’s time to thank Geoffrey one the last time this year for his fabulous Concours d’Elegance contributions to GALPOT this year, there will of course be further contributions about individual vehicles, and hope that his Jaguar stays safe over the off season in anticipation of the 2013 California Concours d’Elegance season.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shelby Pierce Arrow” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Since writing this Geoffrey has informed me that the unidentified car that looks like a cross between a Triumph and a Berkeley is a 1956 FIAT 1200 TV Spider. We live and we learn ! Thanks again to Geoffrey.

Peraluman Zagato – Lancia Fulvia Sport 1.3

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The Lancia Fulvia Sport with an aluminium alloy body designed by Elio Zagato using Lancia Fulvia Coupé running gear was launched in 1965.

Initially Fulvia Sports were powered by an 88hp 1216 cc / 74.2 cui narrow angle, 12°53’28”, V4 with one overhead camshaft operating all the inlet valves and a second operating all the exhaust valves all of which operate in a single cylinder head thanks to the narrow angle of the cylinders.

The longitudinally mounted motor is canted over at 45 degrees from horizontal which allows a low bonnet / hood line. Often wondered if the Fulvia Sport influenced the headlight bezel design of the Datsun 120A-FII.

Today’s featured 1969 Fulvia Sport 1.3 is fitted with an 87hp 1298 cc / 79.2 cui V4 with the cylinder pairs inclined at just 12°45’28”.

Fulvia Sport’s were assembled at Zagato’s factory near Milan using Peraluman, a trade name for a aluminium alloy with up to 5.6% magnesium content which is easier to work and more corrosion resistant than ordinary a aluminium.

FIAT acquired Lancia in 1969 which appears to have led to later Fulvia Sports being fitted with steel bodies and aluminium doors which added overall weight but saved both material and production costs.

Peraluman bodied Fulvia Sports like the one seen here at the recent Simply Italian day at Beaulieu, are most easily distinguished by the small rear light clusters which do not wrap around the rear quarter panel. It is thought somewhere between 600 and 700 Fulvia Sports were manufactured.

Thanks for joining me on this “Peraluman Zagato” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow for Americana Thursday. Don’t forget to come back now !

When Is A FIAT A Ferrari ? – FIAT Dino 2.4 Spider

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With sales volumes falling production of the FIAT Dino Coupé and Spider was moved from FIAT’s production facilities in Turin to Ferrari’s at Maranello in 1969.

Amongst the changes to the specifications of the Maranello built FIAT Dino’s was an engine upgrade to the larger 178 hp 2.4 litre / 146 cui version of the Dino V6.

An iron block replaced the aluminium block of the smaller motor but aluminium heads were retained. Curiously although the FIAT and Ferrari, as used in the mid engined Dino 206 & 246 GT’s, motors all came from the same production line in Turin Ferrari always liked to quote higher hp figures for ‘his’ motors than FIAT.

The FIAT Dino’s Girling disc brakes are said to be interchangeable with those fitted to the de Tomaso Pantera and Lamboughini Miura.

With the Pininfarina bodied FIAT Spider being built along side the Pininfarina bodied 246 GTS there was not much to tell the two vehicles apart for anyone except the FIAT marketing department. Of the two models the FIAT Dino Spider with only 424 examples built is the rarer against 1,274 Ferrari Dino GT Spiders.

When production of the FIAT Dino Spider moved to Maranello the original live axle and leaf spring rear suspension was replaced with a coil sprung independent rear suspension which shares much in common with the FIAT 130.

Today’s featured 1970 model, seen at last years Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival was acquired as a non runner in 1987 and has been gradually restored ever since.

Thanks for joining me on this “When Is A FIAT A Ferrari” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

When is a Ferrari a FIAT ? – FIAT Dino Spider

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For 1966 the second tier open wheel Formula 2 regulations called for an engine size of up to 2 litres / 122 cui with a maximum of 6 cylinders based on a stock block of which at least 5,000 copies had been manufactured.

Ferrari had an engine of the requisite size and number of cylinders, known as the Dino V6 which had been evolving through sports car and formula one racing since 1957 to win the 1958 and 1961 World Drivers Championships and even the 1965 European Hillclimb Championship.

However Ferrari had not come close to manufacturing 5000 of any model at the time and so a deal was struck with FIAT to manufacture the FIAT Dino in sufficient quantities to meet the 5000 unit regulation required for Formula 2 homologation. In 1966 the FIAT Dino was launched as an open top spider with bodywork by Pininfarina, using a 158 hp 2 litre / 122 cui Dino V6 to power it. A coupé version was launched in 1967. Interestingly FIAT insisted on producing the Dino V6 engines in Turin to ensure there were no breaks in the supply, which was against plans envisaged by Enzo Ferrari who hoped to build the engines at Maranello.

The 1967 model, seen here at last years Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival, has belonged to the same owner since 1979, it’s motor was rebuilt in 2007 and according to it’s owner last year it had it’s distributor rebuilt and water pump replaced. Production of the 2 litre FIAT Dino was halted in 1969 and replaced by a larger variation which I’ll be featuring in two weeks.

Thanks for joining me on this “When is a Ferrari a FIAT ?” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Stunning Seicento – Tornado FIAT 600D GT Lotus Twin Cam

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Anyone one heading east along the A412 Uxbridge Road in to Rickmansworth would be forgiven for missing Fairway Tyres located in a building set back from the road with a forecourt.

It turns out this building is called Tornado House recalling Tornado Cars Ltd which once employed up to sixty people to manufacture around 600 sports cars from 1957 to 1964 that were marked under the Typhoon, Tempest, Thunderbolt and Talisman names.

Tornado went into liquidation in 1964 it would appear just after the introduction of a hot GT version of the FIAT 600D known as the Tornado FIAT 600D GT.

Around two and a half million FIAT (Seicento) 600D’s were manufactured between 1955 and 1969, powered by a water cooled straight 4 cylinder motor giving either 21 hp or 29 hp according to size, which lent itself to easy tuning with upgrades available from the likes of Carl Abarth.

The FIAT 600D, which sold for 590,000 lire new was also manufactured in Barcelona, Spain where it was marketed as the SEAT ( pronounced c @ ) 600, Kragujevac, in what is now Serbia where it was marketed as the Zastava 750.

As of 2011 it was thought only 65 road legal Seicento’s remain in the UK.

One of the Tornado FIAT 600D GT’s was acquired by David Render in 1965, readers, of the Lotus 76 and Lotus 77 posts, may remember that David was friends with Colin Chapman of Lotus Cars who suggested and arranged for Davids Tornado FIAT 600D to be fitted ….

… with a full blown Lotus Twin Cam motor normally found in the Lotus Cortina and Lotus Elan.

With over 100 hp on tap David’s little Tornado FIAT 600D GT became a pocket rocket…

with which he estimates he won over 50 trophies in the period he owned it. David’s car is seen here at the recent Middle Barton Garages silver jubilee celebration.

Please note Tornado Cars Ltd of Rickmansworth is not to be confused with Tornado Sports Cars of Kidderminster.

Thanks for joining me on this “Stunning Seicento” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Tag Archives: Fiat

Bangles Pick Up – FIAT Coupé (Type 175) 20v Turbo

The Sunlight Textile Services – Pegasus Sprint

Shelby Pierce Arrow – Niello Concours at Serrano

Peraluman Zagato – Lancia Fulvia Sport 1.3

When Is A FIAT A Ferrari ? – FIAT Dino 2.4 Spider

When is a Ferrari a FIAT ? – FIAT Dino Spider

Stunning Seicento – Tornado FIAT 600D GT Lotus Twin Cam