The Awesome Fiat 131 Abarth
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- The Fiat 131 Abarth brought to the gradual phasing out of the Lancia Stratos while arguably still unbeaten, perhaps contributing to the latter's legendary status. From 1978, the racing departments of Lancia, Fiat, and Abarth were merged into a single organization, with the Lancias initially confined to the European Rally Championship and then retired altogether, leaving to the 131 Abarth the task of winning the World Rally Championship.
This was a task that the 131, despite its humble family car roots, fulfilled very effectively indeed. #classiccars #wrcrally #abarth #motorsport
Three constructors' world titles between 1977 and 1980, countless placements and victories in the Italian and European circuits, the 1978 Drivers' Cup for Markku Alén, and the World Rally Drivers Championship won by Walter Röhrl in 1980.
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Great !!! As every young Boy in Germany in the early 80s, I was a fan of the icon Walter Röhrl. Due to the fact, my grandfather and my father drove Fiat & Alfa Romeo since the 60s, the 131 Abarth was my dreamcar after Röhrl wons the title. My father bought the burago 1/24 in the blue & yellow design of OLIO FIAT for me. And I still own it !
Cool! I’m sure that Walter Röhrl “sold” quite a few Fiats back then in Germany!
@@Matteo_Licata ..yes. You"re right. Fiat had a good time in Germany in the 80s, a good sporty image. There even was a edition called " 131 Sport Walter Röhrl " to buy. Based on the 131 Sport ( 131 Racing in most countries) with Rallyelamps and more spoilers. Official available at every Fiat Dealer.
My father owned a 131 Mirafiori, too (before switching to Lancia). That’s why I have a soft spot in my heart for this unassuming, boxy sedan, forgiving it for pushing the iconic Stratos off its throne.
what an amazing time for FIAT and Lancia. I love this era and these cars.
Fiat 131s was my first car and beside the rust and erratic electrics it was a pure joy to drive. Pickup my first date and now my wife 🙂
One of the key ingredients to the 131's rally successes was its advanced chassis technology with fully adjustable suspension geometry. This allowed to set up the car for optimum grip and handling for each type of road surface, an approach that was unseen in the 1970's rally world where rigid rear axles were still the norm. Chassis technology in rallying only really started taking off with the 131. In my view, its contribution to the sport is often overlooked but was just as relevant as Audi's 4WD technology. Thanks for this video.
I mean, stratos already had both. I bet the frame on the stratos was even more rigid than on 131 and also had better front end suspension with double wishbones instead of mcpherson strut like on 131
Along with Pirelli P7 asymmetric tyres, and putting the navigator in middle of the rear seating area. Italian enthusiasm and understanding of what is required to make a vehicle go quickly, was at the time unmatched.
If I remember, it was Andy Dawson who converted an Escort to coil spring suspension as a Grp5? entry.
If the Escort did not have the BDA/BDG power unit, the 131 would have won every championship it entered
Completely agree.
Beautiful 131, I have a 1975 Fiat 131S Marafioti built in 1975. One family owned since 1976. If anyone interested.
Probably not only me who had one of these in the Polistil Slot Car race-track back as a kid in the early 80s. Loved these and I guess it made me a big Fiat-fan for a period :) Still think that in raceversion they look *really* good even today :) Thanks for the historylesson (and for bringing back some good memories)
They were in Alitalia colors if I remember right, I had a 911RSR in Martini colors and a 3.0 CSL in M-sport colors.
Very cool! Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
I remember this car, a rally racer at the L.A. auto show, this would have been 1978 or 79. As a kid all the gauges and the awesome look was amazing and since we had the home version a 124 coupe I thought we were cool! My dad from 78 to ‘86 f.ix i.t a.gain (over and over) t.ony! 😂 Still to this day a loved car in our heart, miss it!
Cool, thank you for sharing these memories! 👍
The Lancia 037, The 131, the Stratos, Fulvia and Integrale - when the Italians put their mind to it they could make some awesome rally cars.
12 - 124 Abarth Spiders had the 16 valve engine with Kuglefischer Mechanical Injection at the end of the 1975 season.
My friend had a 1981 2.0 liter twin weber..it was quick
Fantastic.
Beautiful Matteo ....although not as respected as the beautiful Lanca Stratos, these are as utterly drop dead gorgeous as they are effective ....
Tiny in real life too compared to a modern ....
It would be nice to see one of the 400 road going versions of the 131. I didn’t know they existed.
I've seen a few, being here in Italy... But always at shows, never on the road!
@@Matteo_Licata I have seen one. It is pink.
Silverstone auctions have one for sale in the UK right now. Guide price 120 grand.
OK, not an abarth but There once was an orange and black 131 Mirafiori Sport parked outside a house close to the primary school I used to attend (circa mid 1980s). It was a delight to see amongst the British Leylands, Fords and Vauxhalls on the estate.
Ah, the Racing! That looked quite cool, and survivors have become quite collectable
There are a couple of FIAT Dino powered 131s out there somewhere, I'm looking for them.
Great video!👍
But there is one question still bothering me. Why did they make it look like a 124? Previously I thought that the 131 Abarth was just a rebadged race-prepared 124. Now I know I was wrong the question still stands.
I have to wonder how many hard points from the 124 carried over into the 131.
I seem to remember there was a Fiat 131 based prototype called Abarth 035, which could be an interesting link to the Lancia 037. The Abarth 035 was a Fiat 131 with much wiedened wings and a 2.0L 16v supercharged engine, which is very much the engine we then saw in the 037. As well in 1981 Fiat launched a road version called the Fiat 131 Volumetrico Abarth, which also had a 2.0L 16v supercharged engine and was produced in only 200 units.
To be honest I am not sure of the details of this project, what was its aim and why was it dropped. But this sounds as if the 131 was the first idea for a Fiat/Lancia groupB car.
As well in this context it would be interesting if you know anything about Abarth project numbers. 035 = a Fiat 131 supercharged, 037 the Lancia Rally, 038 the Lancia Delta S4, make an interesting order that makes a lot of sense, however these are the only Abarth project numbers I know about.
I didn't mention the Volumetrico Abarth and the 035 because those were different cars, even though both were based on the 131, of course. Regarding the Abarth project codes, they simply had a sequential numerical order, it didn't matter whether one car was related to another or not.
@@Matteo_Licata Thank you for the info, and for your fantastic videos
Ford payed fiat in 1979 A big amount of money to fiat not to contest some of the rally rounds and still fiat came 2nd in the WRC so for me fiat 131 abarth won all 77 78 79 and 1980 that's 4 WRC.
131アバルトラリー、TAMIYAにプラモデルがあった
131アバルトラリーは、ストラトスを殺した車で有名
Fiat HQ in Turin at the beginning of the seventies:
- Just how boxy the new 124 replacement needs to be?
- Yes...
- OK, it's a three-box-design, but you need to specify how boxy you want it...
- Yes...
- OK, Boss, whatever you say...
- Yes!
😂😂😂
It's one of those cars where the sleekest model is the station wagon with its' sloping rear end.
Thought these cars fantastic. In the UK , the Ford Escort ruled the rallying scene , with Ford providing fantastic spares back up via their RS dealership’s. The Escort had the Cosworth developed BDA ( belt driven engine series A ) with 16 valves , the 131 then came out with the Arbarth adaption on the fabulous Lampredi Fiat Twin Cam . The body adaption by Bertone looked great , the rear suspension I thought similar to the Fiat 130 / Dinos being independent with coil springs Love them . The road cars , possibly through their rarity, are commanding exotic car money and more, £150,000- £180,000 , incredible. The standard 131 may have been geared for the fleet market against cars such as the Ford Cortina which were the best sellers during the 1970s in the UK , but the car was more effective in the handling department than many other fleet market orientated cars . Our famed road tester, LJK Setright , of CAR magazine, said the Mirafiori performed beater in all departments , outright speed , acceleration, braking, handling , road holding, comfort , the lot. Pity so few left in the UK , Rust issues etc. 😢
Here in Italy the 131s didn't rust as quickly as they did in the UK (but still did so!), but they have become deceptively rare too, simply because nobody cared enough to keep them. By the way, it's really impressive how effective those Mk2 Escorts were against the 131 Abarth, despite an arguably less sophisticated design
@@Matteo_Licata Absolutely Matteo! The Ford Escort Rallye Sport models were extremely effective in both Mk1 and Mk2 models throughout the 1970s. Although simply engineered , macpherson struts at the front, leaf springs at the rear , they showed good wheel geometry and were very rigid yet very light also being smaller than the 131 they were especially successful in the UK as the rally stages were often narrower and tighter than others on the continent. I wanted Fiat to do well in the 1970s , as my love was for Italian cars, my father owning a 125 Special 1608cc, 5 speed etc of 1971 vintage before an Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina 1973. However, when I 1st learned to drive (1979) I had British cars, my 3rd being a Ford Escort Mexico with the warmed up 1600 OHV cross flow, which was a quick and reliable car for me. I had Italian cars from 1982 -2010.
Much as I see the Stratos as a dream car and simply adore the "budget Dino" genius of the X1-9, I accept that the FIAT board were right about the 131. Ford knew it (Escort) ; Chrysler knew it (Sunbeam); GM knew it (Chevette and Ascona). Rally success sells cars and there is money in succeeding with volume models.
There are parallels in DTM, BSCC and elsewhere.
Yes, the 131 was aesthetically about as anodyne as a car can be. But partly because its origins were so drab, the 131 Abarth had an ethereally majestic quality that went beyond looks. It will never turn heads like a Stratos or an 037 (or even an R5 Turbo), but it is still a beast, a monster and a legend. In era, it looked slightly frail in comparison to the rally specials of other marques, but clearly it was not. Money helped, but the basic design must have been pretty sound.
The Alitalia livery just adds to the nostalgia - the very, very few road-registered models that made it to the UK seemed to be in the strange, slightly matte "London brick orange" that seemed the brand-standard colour for early 131s. Another good video about a very nice car. Bravo!
Indeed. Racing the 131 made a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint at the time, when rallies were growing in popularity and legends were being made. The Escort is still beloved to this day largely because of its rally exploits, after all!
A legend between two others!!!
What an Era for the Italian motorsports!
Oh man, your just knocking out all my favorites, one after the other.👍👍
The Alitalia livery looks just perfect on the 131, what a great car. Thank you so much for another cool video. Ciao 🙋♂️
It does indeed! Thank you!
I think it really makes a difference, because it is now painted on 3 boxes instead of a streamlined aircraft... 😁
To bad the fibreglass bodywork isn't really that affordable for a Fiat 131. I'm currently building a fiat 127 from 1972 where absolutely no fibreglass bodypanels are obtainable because noby makes them. Still looking for fibreglass panels.... You wouldn't happen to know a place where these are available? Eeven sacond hand will do? Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your appreciation, and good luck with your cool project! Unfortunately, I don't know where to find 127 parts though
@@Matteo_Licata Your welcome! And as for the luck: Going to need it. Parts are getting scarce.
As for my question: It was worth a try! Thanks anyway. Or as you would say: Grazie Mille!
I'm currently also investing options of fitting a different front altogether: A Delta front, a 131 front or a A112 front, but even those are hard to find in Fibreglass. If not nonexistant....
As for the golden age of rally: thats most definitely in the past, although I must say that current speeds are up there with the old Group B cars if you look at stage times. The enjoyment is different story altogether though!
Now I have to go found a scale model of 131 rally to accompany in my showcase all the Lancia rally legends!
Preferred the 131 Abarth over the Escort RS. From reading Luciano Greggio's book on Abarth, am rather confused over the motor that powered the Simca-Abarth 1300 GT. On first impressions one would expect it to be powered by a redesigned Simca engine, however the book claims it was actually powered by a motor loosely based on the 982cc Fiat Abarth 1000 Twin-Cam Bialbero unit.
I've never had much of an interest in Abarth's pre-Fiat days, so I don't know those cars well enough to answer your question.
I'm 52 but as a kid I use to think the coolest greatest etc car was the 131 supermirafori 2000 TC specially in orange.
I'm nearer 70 and I feel the same.
I Really Love This ....Thnvs Matteo ..
I'm kicking myself thinking that car had no appeal to me when I was in my twenties! Some friends had some and the one I was lusting after was the Delta Integral, neither of which I owned. Oy!
The car looks archaic, but it seems it served as inspiration to 1970s and early 1980s Japanese style. And it looks like the flared wheel arches were later appropiated by the Soviets for the Lada 2105 VFTS, also a Fiat descendant.
Great video, also which museum is this?
That’s Turin’s Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, where an exibition about rallying history will run until May 2023
The best looking rally car of the 70's,brilliant specification. Imagine how well it'd go if someone managed to fit a 2litre fuel injected BDG into it
There's a guy in the US building a tribute car to this that is awesome. You can find the build thread on therangerstation forums (Ford Rangers and Bronco II's). I posted this video there.
Cool, I’ll check it out 👍
Watch Paolo Diana with his modified FIAT 131 on YT. He and his car are amazing.
El número 1 de la serie color Rojo está transformado a un modelo réplica del de allitalia,un crimen
Where is this filmed? It looks awesome...
Turin’s Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile. There’s an exhibition of these rally cars running until May
Great video! I remember the sticker on the rear window of my parents 1980 131 Supermirafiori 2500 diesel 😀❤️
Thank you! I remember those stickers too. As I remember the cool-looking bonnet bulge the Diesel model had due to the bulk of the Sofim engine!
@@Matteo_Licata yes, it was very cool! And we had the double round headlamps too, like the Abarth 😉
Thanks again for a superb video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
i remember back in the day a local man bought one of these new and sold his old ferrari as part of the deal
Wow, that’s a cool story!
I remember as an 8 year old salivating through a shop window at this model car made by Burago. This livery along with the Martini one were so distinctive. I never got this model car but dad bought me the Fiat 127 rally version.
The BBurago models were a staple of my childhood too… Even though I think the Polistil were better. Polistil went under too soon for me to have many though. If I remember well, the BBurago model of the 131 had the earlier Olio Fiat livery with yellow over dark blue…
I used to like the Polistil models - their Rover SD1 and safari Land Rover models were excellent. I think they also made a line of motorbikes as well?
As always a great video Matteo! On another note eagerly awaiting the 28th of November for the plans of relaunching the Lancia brand under Stellantis...??
Thank you! Yes, I'm curious about what they're gonna announce about Lancia, but I don't actually expect much for the "Design Day." It takes time to make new cars, so the most I expect to see is one or more concept cars teasing future products, but nothing really tangible. As far as I know, the new Ypsilon won't come until 2024, with a big saloon following in 2026...
@@Matteo_Licata I hope there wil be a glimpse of the near future regarding design/cars. Today it is the 115th birthday of Lancia. Lancia sempre!!
OK for the first 4 years but after that don't open both front doors at the same time!
I had the Matchbox rally one!But I loved the Orange Mirafiori Sport in real life!Great again Matteo👏👏👏
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
In my dream, lottery numbers garage, are Strada Abarth. And one of these. If I do win, you will hear about it. Such a massive collection of Italian cars in a hangar, I will fly you in, and pay for a 5 star hotel! Number 1 and 2 cars, will be my Fiat Seicento Sporting with 53.6bhp, and my 1984 Alfasud with 95.999999999999bhp 😂I absolutely adore your videos 😀
Thank you very much and wish you best of luck with that lottery win then! :) Glad you enjoy so much my videos, more coming very soon!
I have a BBurago 131 Abarth Rallye in silver and red "Jolly Club" livery. I do recall the blue and yellow Olio one as well.
I had a Polistil Stratos in Alitalia colours as a young boy. It was my absolute favourite. They did a really nice 128 Rallye as well.
Very cool! Loved the Polistil models, I liked them better than the BBuragos, even though those where cool too
Thanks for the Abarth insight!
My 131 was tamer, it had the 1.6 liter engine. The engine was very elastic and the car nicely quiet with the outstanding five-speed gearbox. My brother-in-law had the 132 but I preferred my 131.
Very nice!
Wow
I had a 131 station wagon in the early 1990s, with the effervescent 85 horsepower 1.6 engine. It was bouncy in the back when unladen, but pretty nice if you put some weight into the storage department; even then, a real-wheel drive car was a pleasant change. And the gearchange was a great clicky, snickety-snack affair. There was something about it that made the relationship to the Abarth conceivable. However, after a while, it refused to start in the cold and wet. There were lots of mean part-time punks living in our neighborhood back then, and they took out their bad energy on my poor Mirafiori which was standing around most of the time, vandalizing it beyond economic repair, so I had to junk it. One of the sadder episodes of my car-owning life.
Ouch, sorry your 131 met its demise that way! I admit I’ve never driven nor even sat in a 131, and these have become deceptively rare here in Italy too, because nobody kept them
@@Matteo_Licata Thank you!
I see that Autoscout24 has a handful in northern Italy, but they are mostly the first-generation ones that look very much like a 124 from the inside. Mine was a much-modernized Supermirafiori, for what that was worth.
The ultimate FIAT,Forza azzurri
Love this car, I built a Italeri model of it many years ago that unfortunately got broken. Thank you for doing a video on it.
Glad you liked it!
It’s all about those wheel arches! Sounds good too!
Loved the 131 Abarths much like the Escort a very ordinary family saloon turned into something exceptional. Always has a greater appeal in the showroom if the ordinary driver can drive one if it's still called the sanw model.. Sounded superb.
I owned a Fiat 131 S Racing two litre painted in this precise Alitalia rally colors and drove it for 23 years before selling it after it was fully refurbished. I miss this car very much.
That must have looked very cool 👍
Este video resume una gran parte de mi niñez y mi juventud. Hoy en día sigo encantado con los Alfa clásicos y sigo amando los 911, los buenos italianos y labsaga Gti del Golf. En mi casa tuvimos el 131 e 1.6 95cv y el Supermirafiori D Sofim. Historia pura. Italianos y alemanes, lo mejor!!!. 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Hoy en dia sigo y seguiré disfrutando mi mk7 Gti 220 manual.
The 131 has always been my favourite rally car.
Here in Australia I owned a mk2 Superbrava years ago, I loved that car
The first car I ever drove alone after getting my license was my brothers two tone 131 Supermirafiori. I had so much fun with that car on the dirt roads around where I grew up. My own Alfasud was getting some badly needed welding before it could be driven and to be honest, the RWD 131 was a lot more fun than the FWD Alfasud.
I bet it was! These RWD Fiats were the car of choice for stunt driving shows when I was growing up, but they are deceptively rare now, as nobody really kept them.
@@Matteo_Licata I know. I remember there were plenty of them around in the 80s but now there's perhaps one or two present at our italian car meet every spring.
a Pure Rally Legend
Many years ago I new someone who had a 131 twin cam,, brilliant car ,,rust in peace,,old fait 😞😞😞😞😞☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️ from northern Ireland
My father had one in 82 in red with Alitalia side lining. I really love that car
my brother had a gray Fiat 131 racing 2.0L ! he mounted the engine hood from the Rally car. The rear end light were from the Supermirafiori 1.6L TC sold in Swiss. Don't know if they had the same rear lights in Italy.
I owned a 131 Sport for 5 years from 1982. It was perfect for zipping along the open road in the UK. I often would take it out just for a drive to enjoy the handling and wonderful 5 speed gearbox.
Very cool! The Sport was never a common sight here in Italy, which is a pity, as it was the coolest 131 this side of the Abarth!
I remember having a toy car of these as a kid and inexplicably i fell in love with it ! I don't know how because from a design perspective the 131 was quite similar looking to a Lada Riva!!! but somehow the Italians just made it look more sexy!
Both the 131 and the 124 (the car the Lada was derived from) aren't exactly sexy, but the secret to good car design lies in the balance of proportions, and both models were expertly designed in that sense :)
Those cars had great paint jobs to advertise Alitalia. It made the simple box design of the bodies look much more attractive.
Indeed, the Alitalia livery looks very good on these
As a kid on my bedroom wall I had a picture of a 131 Abarth Rallye in the blue and white WRC rally colours that I got when visiting the Motor Show in Birmingham
Cool! Blue and white was the later livery, from 1980 to 1982, and it's perhaps the best looking
@@Matteo_Licata Most lads my age had topless models on the wall - I had a FIAT Lol
I remember when these were new. Road and Track did a great piece on them.
They had 50 series tires. For the street! Incredible.
Not that Walter Rohrl would be inconvenienced by it, but the rest of us were pleased that the 131 was so much easier to drive than the Stratos…
May I ask which museum that was filmed at? Looks like an excellent collection.
Turin's Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile. It's a temporary exhibition that will run until May
My first car was a Fiat 131 Supermirafiori 1600. After 4 years, the mileage counter turned full circle and the engine blue-printed, fitted with twin Weber 40DCOE, Bayless racing air filters, Abarth in-manifold, Koni adjustable shocks, Cromodora 4-1 extractor, Campagnolo magnesium rims. It griped the road like a leech and ran like a bat out of hell. I had it for 15 years.
Cool, that must have been awesome! 👍
Wow , just WOW.
What I would have done for such a configuration.
Such a pity you could not have held on to it.
P.S., I’d like your permission to borrow your phrase , “it gripped the road like a leech” .
So Stellantis - what have you done to promote Fiat's amazing history - the 500 doesn't really cut it !
From what I'm seeing, I don't think Fiat will ever be the large generalist brand it once was.
Fantastic.
I remember them being imported here to the USA in the 1980s. They were boxy but sexy 🙃😄. I always liked manual and responsive cars,, but USA went the big SUV route.
PS. They had the X1/9, and Spider here back then also!.. Now , Alfa and Fiat came again to USA, and it looks like the same , they may be leaving..🤥
Even though the Alfa’s sales number in the USA are small, they still are higher than they used to be in the past. So I guess that Alfa at least is going to stay, but we’ll see what the future brings
@@Matteo_Licata In retrospect it was a mistake to open a separate Fiat-Alfa dealer chain rather than putting them in Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers.
Co-driver sat in the rear on some events?
No idea about that
Yes. I remember of such an instance (I forgot the year and the event) where Christian Geistdorfer, Walter Rohrl's co-driver, sat at the back.
Now I got it. That was in the 1979 Safari Raly.