never underestimate the power of driver engagement delivering maximum enjoyment in a modest package that you can drive on public roads without having to obliterate speed limits to achieve it. there are a lot of great cars and bikes out there that can do this, those are the ones to own.
Very true. I probably had more fun driving my Fiat X1/9 back in the day than I do now with my Porsche Boxster 3.2 given you had to really max out the Fiat to make good progress whereas the Porsche will exceed legal limits in second gear and yet the best of it is when the engine goes above 4000rpm and the variocam gets going.
The Grand Prix was rather a "poor man's Maserati Ghibli!". It was aimed at the Opel GT, Saab Sonnett III and Lotus Elan in the USA. After the Lombardi Grand Prix was phased out, Ferrari revised the basic formula with a midships 5.0-liter flat-12, enlarged the coupe to fit a new in-house chassis and updated the styling to create the 512 Berlinetta Boxer, starting in 1975. After that Ferrari rebuilt the car with more modern, completely different styling as the Testarossa.
I owned one of original John Rich OTAS cars (lime green), noted above, bought in 1971 and I actually picked up the car at the boatyard in I believe San Pedro, California and drove it back to the dealership to be prepped, in the San Fernando Valley, on Ventura Blvd, where Mr. Rich had a dealership devoted to this sports car. For the times, an amazing car. I got between 39-42 mpg. The cornering abilities were amazing, even for today, more than 50 years later. Two different cars rear ended other vehicles while driving alongside my car, while looking at the car while driving. I drove the car for more than 60,000 miles before selling the car to go out of state for graduate school. For the 1970's here in California, the car was an amazing design. Other than custom upholstery, wheels and shocks, the car suffered no mechanical problems in more than 3 years of ownership. No air-conditioning and it did get hot during the summer. The side windows did not fully roll down due to the design of the doors. I did replace the rear bumper several times as the rear bumper was held on by two screws and was made of very flimsy fiberglass. The front bumper was a painted black metal tube, also held on by a couple of screws. Back then I paid $3,500 for the car, new, the same price as a Datsun 240Z.
Possibly this beautiful little Lombardi was doomed because Fiat itself decided to produce the 850 Sport. I had one of the coupe models of the Fiat, and it was a real blast to drive. I've seen one of the OTAS cars here in San Francisco. It's lovely. Thanks for this YT clip!
Fiat also made the 850 Spider two-seat roadster on this same 850 base platform. The 817cc engine was designed for the Fiat for US import; the Lombardi piggy-backed off that. I had a yellow1968 Spider, and maintaining it taught me more about auto repairs than any car before or since! It was an absolute blast to drive, though, when it ran.
Neat cars, I've seen a few over the years. The Fiat 850 Coupe, who's mechanicals this car used, is a personal favorite in the same mold and hopefully one day I'll own one.
The similarities comes from the time period thinking of Italian design houses. The Saab Sonett III was a clever revision and re-skin of the Sonett II that was done by Coggiola, while the original Sonett II was a more home spun design made by the Swedish Illustrator and industrial designer Björn Karlström. I'd say that Coggiola did a pretty good job, considering they had to use the body hardpoints of the Sonett II, the Sonett III is a much more cohesive and accomplished and design.
When I lived in Cyprus, as a young soldier, I was based for a short while in Nicosia, where I attended the School of Oriental Languages and learned basic Turkish. Demetriou's lime-green Lombardi-FIAT was often parked up around the corner from the school, although I never saw him. I loved its minute dimensions and sleek outline and would have loved to have had the chance ti drive, or be driven, in it....
They also imported a handful of Right hand drive cars into Australia. You just don't get a sense of how low and small these were unless you see them in real life. I wish I still had mine 😞
That's where the inline 4 sits, perpendicular to, and behind the rear axle . The Fiat X1/9, and most other inline 4s, these days, are mounted transverse, for better packaging, leaving less overhang. All the other cars built from Fiat 850 components, including the 850 itself, have the same issue.
I've always wanted that car! The design is so very strange because on pictures it looks all wrong and unproportional. Bring a human in to stand beside the car for scale or put it besides another car and it makes perfect sense because it's such a tiny tiny tiny car! And it looks awesome! Especially the rear quarter view and with the Abarth oil cooling heat sink sticking out from underneath the rear.
It's a good point - the proportions are at least partially dictated by the need for a person to actually fit inside it. The Lombardi Grand Prix looks fine in real life, as we intuitively understand that small cars can't be merely scaled down copies of larger cars - as the occupants aren't scaled down also.
My mum had an 850 sport, we'd see it parked up while she was shopping on way home from skool,wood lift the front and turn it round with me mate's to trick her 😂
It's to try and get around copyright law in the hope that UA-cam's algorithms don't realise that this AI channel is scraping content from real people. This channel already has copyright strikes against it.
2:55 wasn't the original Fiat 850 front suspension double wishbone with a transverse leaf spring? I've only ever seen one Lombardi Grand Prix in the wild, in a carpark circa 1980s.
Good, interesting and very comprehensive video! It would be nice though, if you do a video about an Italian car, too learn the right pronounciation of the names involved!
I had no commercials, it's called UA-cam premium, $13.99/month, best way to not waste $14 at a fast food place. Not the creators fault, it's UA-cam that puts the ads in. Don't punish the creator, for the ads.
Barbarian, this car is a little work of art. Just what was possible with the small amount of power. You should be sentenced to a Pontiac Aztek as a daily driver. Today's cars look more like goods.
Imagine this car with a turbo 2 rotor rotary making around 200Hp. Fun!
Hang on!
What about a superbike engine 😍
@@aikotachibana1816Suzuki Hayabusa, yes.
@@markstopkey4085 Or even better - a 340-bhp Mazda Wankel rotary from the Rx-7 RE Super G!
never underestimate the power of driver engagement delivering maximum enjoyment in a modest package that you can drive on public roads without having to obliterate speed limits to achieve it.
there are a lot of great cars and bikes out there that can do this, those are the ones to own.
Very true. I probably had more fun driving my Fiat X1/9 back in the day than I do now with my Porsche Boxster 3.2 given you had to really max out the Fiat to make good progress whereas the Porsche will exceed legal limits in second gear and yet the best of it is when the engine goes above 4000rpm and the variocam gets going.
That's why I've still got my 1999 MX5 Mazda.
Never fails to put a grin on my face.
The Grand Prix was rather a "poor man's Maserati Ghibli!". It was aimed at the Opel GT, Saab Sonnett III and Lotus Elan in the USA.
After the Lombardi Grand Prix was phased out, Ferrari revised the basic formula with a midships 5.0-liter flat-12, enlarged the coupe to fit a new in-house chassis and updated the styling to create the 512 Berlinetta Boxer, starting in 1975. After that Ferrari rebuilt the car with more modern, completely different styling as the Testarossa.
I owned one of original John Rich OTAS cars (lime green), noted above, bought in 1971 and I actually picked up the car at the boatyard in I believe San Pedro, California and drove it back to the dealership to be prepped, in the San Fernando Valley, on Ventura Blvd, where Mr. Rich had a dealership devoted to this sports car. For the times, an amazing car. I got between 39-42 mpg. The cornering abilities were amazing, even for today, more than 50 years later. Two different cars rear ended other vehicles while driving alongside my car, while looking at the car while driving. I drove the car for more than 60,000 miles before selling the car to go out of state for graduate school. For the 1970's here in California, the car was an amazing design. Other than custom upholstery, wheels and shocks, the car suffered no mechanical problems in more than 3 years of ownership. No air-conditioning and it did get hot during the summer. The side windows did not fully roll down due to the design of the doors. I did replace the rear bumper several times as the rear bumper was held on by two screws and was made of very flimsy fiberglass. The front bumper was a painted black metal tube, also held on by a couple of screws. Back then I paid $3,500 for the car, new, the same price as a Datsun 240Z.
Possibly this beautiful little Lombardi was doomed because Fiat itself decided to produce the 850 Sport. I had one of the coupe models of the Fiat, and it was a real blast to drive. I've seen one of the OTAS cars here in San Francisco. It's lovely. Thanks for this YT clip!
Fiat also made the 850 Spider two-seat roadster on this same 850 base platform. The 817cc engine was designed for the Fiat for US import; the Lombardi piggy-backed off that. I had a yellow1968 Spider, and maintaining it taught me more about auto repairs than any car before or since! It was an absolute blast to drive, though, when it ran.
Everyone - AI generated content is taking your eyeballs! PSA!!
having owned a fiat 850 spyder, a can imagine the fun of this little gem.
What made the VW bug so much fun to drive was: you had to use 100% of the engine, 100% of the time. You were involved with the driving experience!
Wing vents , a feature lost but not forgotten . No ash trays no wing vents , how far we have fallen .
Makes the Europa look frumpy .
Most cars do that!
Neat cars, I've seen a few over the years. The Fiat 850 Coupe, who's mechanicals this car used, is a personal favorite in the same mold and hopefully one day I'll own one.
It’s such a masterpiece in packaging and design
The SS model would be fantastic to own Gorgeous car!
I wonder if the Grand Prix was the inspiration for the Saab Sonett III? They look very similar.
The similarities comes from the time period thinking of Italian design houses. The Saab Sonett III was a clever revision and re-skin of the Sonett II that was done by Coggiola, while the original Sonett II was a more home spun design made by the Swedish Illustrator and industrial designer Björn Karlström. I'd say that Coggiola did a pretty good job, considering they had to use the body hardpoints of the Sonett II, the Sonett III is a much more cohesive and accomplished and design.
When I lived in Cyprus, as a young soldier, I was based for a short while in Nicosia, where I attended the School of Oriental Languages and learned basic Turkish. Demetriou's lime-green Lombardi-FIAT was often parked up around the corner from the school, although I never saw him. I loved its minute dimensions and sleek outline and would have loved to have had the chance ti drive, or be driven, in it....
There is still a lime green one in Cyprus
Wow! reminiscent of 914s, Lotuses, X 1/9s and Opel GTs.
e barth ? Abarth.
They also imported a handful of Right hand drive cars into Australia. You just don't get a sense of how low and small these were unless you see them in real life. I wish I still had mine 😞
Want!
As a Fiat 850 fan in the US, I am pretty sure that the displacement on those was raised to 903 cc, to meet the US market emission standards.
I like the concept, but that rear end is way too chunky. It makes it look like a VW kit car in the rear, to me.
That's where the inline 4 sits, perpendicular to, and behind the rear axle . The Fiat X1/9, and most other inline 4s, these days, are mounted transverse, for better packaging, leaving less overhang. All the other cars built from Fiat 850 components, including the 850 itself, have the same issue.
Looks a bit like a Ferrari 365 GTB
To me, the Lombardi FL1 looks a little bit like the first Pontiac Fiero.
I know you mean that the Fiero looks like the Lombardi, and about 12 other Italian cars, that were built way before GM muffed the Fiero.
@ramblerdave1339 I stand corrected
I've always wanted that car! The design is so very strange because on pictures it looks all wrong and unproportional. Bring a human in to stand beside the car for scale or put it besides another car and it makes perfect sense because it's such a tiny tiny tiny car! And it looks awesome! Especially the rear quarter view and with the Abarth oil cooling heat sink sticking out from underneath the rear.
It's a good point - the proportions are at least partially dictated by the need for a person to actually fit inside it. The Lombardi Grand Prix looks fine in real life, as we intuitively understand that small cars can't be merely scaled down copies of larger cars - as the occupants aren't scaled down also.
I had only heard of the OTAS version.
My mum had an 850 sport, we'd see it parked up while she was shopping on way home from skool,wood lift the front and turn it round with me mate's to trick her 😂
Put a supercharger on it beast
It sounds cool as it is, with a supercharger....
Again an Italian car barely sized enough to contain the average Sicilian... Looks even tinier than the Renault Alpine
the yellow one looks damn stylish
Italian Lotus
What's with all the floating dust spots and hairs in the video? It's incredibly distracting. Nice car, though.
It's to try and get around copyright law in the hope that UA-cam's algorithms don't realise that this AI channel is scraping content from real people. This channel already has copyright strikes against it.
a rich man's Fiat 850....
2:55 wasn't the original Fiat 850 front suspension double wishbone with a transverse leaf spring? I've only ever seen one Lombardi Grand Prix in the wild, in a carpark circa 1980s.
I had heard of the Abarth Scorpione having struts but the Grand Prix had the transverse leafspring at the front like the Fiat 850. At least mine did!
@@markdymond5352 3 generations of Corvette had a transverse leaf spring for the IRS. On the C4, I think it was a fiberglass spring.
I thought the thumnail was a saab sonnet
It'll do 200...off a cliff
What happened to the Mini Marcos and some of the other brilliant kit cars of the 70s until the government killed the kit car industry?
Daytona from Temu
❤❤❤❤❤very interesting car and video , deserved a better engine.
Define "better"!
Good, interesting and very comprehensive video! It would be nice though, if you do a video about an Italian car, too learn the right pronounciation of the names involved!
Wow my motorcycles have more HP than that
A very informative post! Well done. 👍
THUMBS DOWN! Too many commercials!
I had no commercials, it's called UA-cam premium, $13.99/month, best way to not waste $14 at a fast food place. Not the creators fault, it's UA-cam that puts the ads in. Don't punish the creator, for the ads.
Hideous looking
Barbarian, this car is a little work of art. Just what was possible with the small amount of power.
You should be sentenced to a Pontiac Aztek as a daily driver.
Today's cars look more like goods.
@@mibnsharpals Aztec would be too nice. He deserves a Cybertruck.
🙂🙂
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 i see this detractor has been appropriately delt with, so ill just say on my way out it is a beautiful little car.
Pretty little thing for 1968. You, should have gone to specsavers 😂