Greater bravery was needed for the Multipla I would say, with the interior looking like a Dalek that had fallen off a shelf....all apart from the exterior.
Had a yellow 20v Turbo between 2014 and 2018. It was my daily and I put over 40000 miles on it. Loved that engine. Its origins were from a diesel engine that went into some Fiat vans I believe! The power delivery, the noise. Even drove from North Yorkshire to France for a camping holiday when the kids were young. When we got down to Dover we'd averaged 37mpg which is pretty good to be fair. It was rock solid reliable too. And a specialist changed the cambelt for £350, not £1200 like Fiat did. I loved the design but the wife hated it. She clearly has no taste. Well, she did marry me😅
I don't think your wife have no taste. I think she prefers a SUV rather than a coupe. In your case, she married the personality of you, not so much your physical outlook. 😊
No, originally 1996 a petrol. 2.0 20V 5 cyl with or without turbo. Debuted in Fiat Coupe, Bravo HGT and Lancia Kappa. Later stroked to 2.4 petrol (170hp) in the Stilo Abarth. THEN later as 2.4 diesel 5cyl in said Lancia, Thesis and Alfa 156, GT, 166 etc
Do you think Fiat Chrysler will lose their way under Stellantis? You can say what you like about the quality of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, RAM and Jeep products but they are were always distinctive and bold products for the most part -- you might not buy the cars for their quality, but there were lots of other reasons to buy them. There's a worry that the conservative PSA influence will doom the ex-FCA brands IMO.
I was staying at the hotel In Spain where the European launch took place. Woke up to see the car park full of a rainbow of glistening Fiat Coupes. A sight I will not forget any time soon….
They had lovely interiors, those old Fiats. I had a Bravo and something else I forget... I remember the interiors being great! Very distinctive. Orderly and subtle. Though the electronics were... Well they were Fiat! When the right lights were on and the wrong ones were off, they looked wondeful.
The engine wasn't developed for the coupe (or even Fiat) though, it was a Lancia engine that was first used in the Kappa. The engine lived on in turbo form in the later Lancia Thesis and that was procuded until 2007. So the lifespan was quite a bit longer than just 5 years. Great engine though and loved it in my formerly owned moon grey 20v turbo plus.
I have a broom yellow Turbo Plus, and I think it looks great in that colour from all angles. The later wheels and bodykit transform the car. It wasn't actually built by Fiat - it was handbuilt by Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, who also built Ferraris in the same factory.
True on the build and I think Pininfarina did the car´s interior design as well but the Fiat Coupé was designed in house at Fiat Stile, led by Chris Bangle, I think?
The 20V lived on as a 2.4L naturally aspirated version in the Fiat Stilo (2001-2009). There was even a Michael Schumacher special edition Stilo with this engine in 2004. Also the 2.4 5 cylinder diesel that went on until 2010 in the Alfa 159, Brera, Spider was a very close relative to this. To the point were various stuff like exhaust headers and exhaust gaskets are interchangeable.
I have just sold my Stilo Abarth after 12 years as my everyday driver. Still going strong. The only things to fail were crank position sensor, a coil and thermostat. All easy fixes. Timing belt much easier to do on Stilo.
I got the car cheap because it had 87 errors on the computer. It turned out all that was wrong was a loose battery clamp and a cheap battery. Fitting a new clamp and decent battery solved the problem.
There's a yellow 20v turbo rotting away next to my local Chinese takeaway...... I always feel sad for the 20v when I pick up my beef and Black bean. Great stuff as always Jack buddy 👍
I had one of the first 20v Turbos from new at the very beginning of ‘96, absolutely thrashed it to within an inch of it’s life for 65,000 miles and I had one hose burst on the car in that whole time and nothing else. The car had an inch off all round with some springs and a mild chip, it was absolutely ballistic, handled really well for what it was and I enjoyed every minute of it.
What killed the engine wasn't the engine itself, it was the engine bay. In order to perform the full service it was (according to book) a full engine out affair and at the wrong end of £1000 in early 00s money - every few years. Once that small detail became commonly aware nobody wanted one. The residual value of cars fitted with it bombed to the point they were unsaleable. Ignoring all advice I bought one of the last 20v engined cars (Marea Weekend - a wonderful stealth estate) and while I loved the car, the servicing and repair was punishing for a car worth nothing after 3 years... The engine continued in the Lancia range for some time in 2.0 turbo and 2.4 litre guise - notably in the Fiat Stilo (not the Brava/Bravo)
@@Trappygit That's because they didn't remove the engine - they dropped the engine mount off the side and let the engine twist in the bay. Made the job of a belt change in-situ possible but had a tendency to destroy the beautiful welded tubular exhaust manifold (any other engine would had used a cast manifold...) The same approach is used to service the 500 with similar problems if done badly
Glorious cars! Why these haven’t become a highly valuable classic is beyond me. Sharp chassis, superb engines (especially the 5 cylinder 20v Turbo), and, in my view amazing styling inside and out. I drove a 20v Turbo once - acceleration through the gears was brutal - loved it. And all the design details - stunning, and a reason why I love Italian cars!
Unfortunately it is hard for anything wearing a FIAT badge to become a highly valuable classic, particularly in English-speaking zones. Which is nice for those of us who do understand.
Still a proud owner of a 20VT+. Here in Malaysia the Coupes were the Alpha car amongst Fiat owners and were very popular. In fact, Malaysia recieved the last production batch of the 20VT+ and the car has a legendary status here. That 5pot engine never fails to bring a smile to my face, and she's still the one car where I catch myself driving without the radio on.
The coupe turbo is an absolute gem. A true joy given to those of us not put off by the servicing / reliability scare stories. Get a good one and enjoy it while you can. You won't be disappointed. I did Tresaith to Bournemouth in well under 4 hrs in a magical evening drive to meet a non existent scaffolder but I didn't care because it was so enjoyable and stress free. Go on. You know you want to ?
I love how they made a relatively inexpensive and unremarkable on paper car feel like a priceless concept car someone got lucky to find, and that interior is a masterpiece!
As with some other Bangle designs it gets better as it ages, like a fine wine. That said I still think it's sister car, the Alfa GTV, has the edge in looks. A GTV with the Fiat engine would have been my perfect car at the time (V6 Alfa is ridiculously thirsty), but I still loved my Fiat.
Lovely car, the Coupe. Always fancied one of the those but, sadly, couldn’t afford it. I did have a Bravo HGT, from new (which has the same floor pan), for nine years and loved it. As you say, its all about that fabulous engine - torquey, with a fabulous soundtrack. Sadly it was saddled with a rather ponderously slow and long-legged gearbox, when it really needed a much snappier one - there were some very good ones in Alfa’s of the time. The box was prone to baulking 3rd and 5th quite badly if rushed. The return spring for reverse broke, which was a known weak spot and is buried right at the centre of the box… There was no recall for it, either. Another problem with the Bravo HGT was it was the factory suspension set up was a little soft. I fitted mine with the Abarth lowering spring set which didn’t firm-up things much at all. Then I had a Koni adjustable kit fitted, which transformed things quite a lot. Body control was vastly improved, which was to be expected, but what I didn’t expect was vastly improved ride quality! I swear the kit also greatly improved overall performance though better traction. Easily outran a Mk5 Golf GTI, which surprised the hell out of me. The big problem with the 5 cylinder engine, though, is its size. The cam belt end is right up against one of the monocoque legs, so a belt change means lifting the engine up a bit - ideally, out altogether. This means a Fiat dealer charged just under £800 for a cam belt change - in 2005! Add to that a main service, and you’ll be charged around £1200 - which I was (admit I threw money at my cars in those days). No-one tells you that when you buy the car, funny enough. I think that is most probably one of the main reasons this engine was eventually discontinued. The big problem with Fiat Group at the time, as I understood it from motoring articles, was Fiat, Alfa and Lancia were essentially competing with each other, in the same price bands, and diluting overall sales potential - and the management of the Group were at a loss as to how to - er - manage that. Also, while I agree the whole Group was producing very interesting cars at the time, the output seemed a little erratic - like a huge blob of lovely coupes, all at the same time. I’m sure you, and others bothering to stay with me (thanking you, by the way), are ahead of me in thinking that the way to position and differentiate the three Group brands was obvious to anyone with two grains of common sense. Fiat Group completely missed the boat with Lancia on the 1990s - something that was staring them right in the face. At the very height of its powers, it had one of the ultimate halo cars of all time - the Integrale Evo’s I and II. They should have made Lancia the high-tech 4-wheel drive car brand of Italy. This would have been completely in keeping with the history of Lancia. Instead, the Group left that to Audi, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Alfa should always have remained the out-and-out sports car brand, aiming to be a BMW alternative. It’s taken the Group far too long to get around the that market position. Fiat should remain the ‘everyman’ brand, producing sporty small hatches like the 500 and Punto (why is there no Punto?…). Lastly, Abarth should not be a stand-alone brand. Previously, all Abarth tuned Fiats and Lancia's have always been referred to as a ‘Fiat/Lancia [insert model name] Abarth’. It just sounds right, because it is. Like the Mustang should be a FORD Mustang. That was the whole point - they are the ‘obtainable’ performance car. I fear the Fiat Group decision-making at the time was a bit too hap-hazard. Unfortunately, things are now far worse for Fiat Group. Stellantis are just a bunch of clueless accountants. When announcing the new Lancia Ypsilon hatchback racing programme, who does Stellantis get to do the press introduction? A real racing driver with true Lancia form, like Miki Biasion? No - the CEO of Stellantis thinks he should do it himself, of course! The conceit of the guy is just insulting - he’s there at the front-and-centre of any racing programme Stellantis commissions. Sorry everyone - I’ve only gone on like this because I love Italian cars so much.
The Marchionne era, when Fiat stopped being a car manufacturer and transformed into a finance company;. everything that mattered was money... I had a fiat dealership, was in love with the brand, had a Uno D, 147 D, a Tempra 2.0, and a Marea 2.0, but all things come to an end... when Fiat launched the Palio/Siena lineup they asked the water pump provider to manufacture 1 M pumps @ 50 pounds each, and so the manufacturer put the effort and the quality behind... the next year fiat said: "ok, we didn't make 1 M cars, but this year we'll do, we promise... but we need the pump to cost 45 pounds..." so the guy reluctantly dropped the price... the next year "ok, we din't make 1 M cars, only 100 K, but this is the year, I promise! but we need the price to be 40 pounds..." The guy said to himself: "F%$k it" and he made a 40 pound water pump that run well for a couple of years... I know the guy who made the pumps, all in my hometown, and I also know how they treated their dealership network... How long did the stilo sell?; The Marea?, Tempra? how big the lineup today? The Stellantis move is purely financial, keeping the bits that sell and discarding the ones that not....
What are you rambling about... you really think FIAT or any comparable car manufacturer paid anything even remotely in the neighbourhood of 50 GBP for a waterpump ever?
I had a 99 reg Bravo HGT 155. Lovely motor. And did two timing belts without engine out. I also often wondered why this engine only lasted a few years in production. But I think the coupe was fiats last great car. Unfortunately I never owned one though. The limited edition 230 HP looked fab.
On a whim , and shortly before Covid hit , I bought a one owner and very well maintained 20VT . I loved the car. Fantastic fun to drive either tootling along or pushing on . Not the best handling car , drive a Boxster for that , chalk and cheese . Very clever limited slip diff so torque steer hardly there unless you’re really pressing on . Seats 4 and a decent sized boot. A slightly loose gear lever feel but delicious to use . A smooth as silk engine with a MAGNIFICENT sound. The radio was rarely switched on . And the car looked so different than other cars. I spent a fair bit on precautionary maintenance but the car’s bodywork was beginning to rust and living in the New Forest couldn’t use the car’s performance much ,so I reluctantly sold the car . The new owner has been in touch and I’m very pleased to say has restored the bodywork ( and no doubt some other stuff ) so my former car is in very good hands I’m pleased to say . Is the car ugly ? From some angles yes . A Pininfarina badge because he did the internal styling . I always thought the car had a rather dated look . Compare it to a Audi Quattro produced a decade or do earlier or a Fiat X19 20 +years earlier. Any 5 ( or 3 cylinder engine ) with a manual box makes a car journey special . Drove a really battered loan car 3 cylinder Polo diesel a couple of years ago and loved it . Never knew that the 20VT had a faster steering rack so I learnt something from Number 27’s video ! Must say that the 20V in the video looked in great nick. Andrew Frankel of Autocar once said he doubted the 20VT had 220 bhp. He thought it had more !
The first time I saw one of these Fiat Coupe I was just a kid in a sea side holiday ... All of a sudden I saw one, all red just like this..and I shouted in awe: ---"Look!!! A FERRARI 🤩...." 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
One of my all-time favourites and biggest dream cars--I know that's odd considering they're not all that expensive or rare, but as a minimum wage nobody in the 2020s where cans of tomato sauce get 50 cents more expensive every week and wages go up fifty cents every five years, well.
It's amazing how much influence the size of the wheels has, and the trackwidth, on the overall look of a car. I remember when we went from the Golf III to the IV, from wheely bin to monster truck it seemed. Sometimes bigger really is better. There's too big as well. It now takes two mechanics to offer up a wheel to the axle. Some garages don't do it by hand anymore with those 20 inchers. This Fiat? The small wheels do me in, like an elderly douarière hobbling on stilettos in the snow
Certainly no oil painting and hasn't improved with age for me. I do however really like the interior design and agree with you about those extra little exterior design details, quite special. Nice on your reviews if you gave us an uick look at boot/hatchback area too. Keep up the great work though Jack, everyday is a school day for 90s cars for me 😊
I always liked it, though it's nostalgia rather than having improved with age. The real reason I wouldn't buy one, though... Another marmite car - a Volvo C70 coupe with the T5. They're much easier to work on, sound at least as good and I actually really like how they look. In honesty, though, I know the fiat will always be the cult classic of the two.
Had a 1998 Fiat Coupe turbo 20v ink jet metallic color. Absolute joy to run it on the autobahn here in Germany. It was slightly tuned, and the suspension had been beefed up and lowered. Also had larger special alu-rims with racing tires. Drove it for about 3 years, then traded it off for a more normal limo after son was born.
"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion." Francis Bacon This is a quote Jeremy Clarkson also memorably used about another Italian coupe.
Fiat Coupé is not even jolie-laide, it´s entirely itself. If Gandini had signed it off, it would be considered one of his best (I´m not massively into Gandini fan, tbh!)
I used to own a 20v turbo. Standard it had horrible suspension. But with a nice turbo, retune and adjustable suspension.... It was a true delight. Shame they are so expensive and collectable now.
I didn't find the suspension particularly bad. It did need fresh wishbones on a regular basis though, and the handling would get quite scary when the bushes got tired.
I was visiting Scotland from the US when these things had just come out and convinced a salesperson to let me take a 20v Turbo for a test drive. I loved it! Great power and super fun to toss around. I'm an Alfa guy, and drove a GTV of the same era, and I remember the Fiat as being quicker and more fun.
I absolutely and totally adore the styling of this car, Peak Bangle 🤩 But I thought I heard you say Audi had a five cylinder so they could mount it as a transverse engine, alas Audi motors are longitudinal
When they came out the design looked super-modern, especially in the bright colours - yellow, red and blue. I test drove one of these and loved it, but family needs forced me into a Fiat Marea Estate, with the same engine - which was great.
Efficiency and emissions may have made the five-cylinder unprofitable, but the sound is also part of the driving experience. As the driver of an old Volvo five-cylinder, I can say that this sound still brings a smile to my face. Almost like the Busso V6 in my Alfa 156 did back then.
Had two, one turbo one vis.. Lovely car , Tipo platform same as the GTV , all the same foibles but with that lovely 5 cyl burble..The viscodrive system is brilliant and they're usefully quick. With some suspension upgrades and some turbo and mapping work they can be made to be "very " quick ..
You are correct - Farina did only produce the body for this car - but jack didn't say that Farina designed this car. Farina's design submission for this FIAT project was later used for the Peugeot 406 Coupè (that he showed a quick 'still' photo of, at 13:39).
Actually, this 5 cylinder engine was used in the Bravo as well. And the styling is almost brutalist gorgeous in a way that only Italian cars can be, like "Il Mostro", the Alfa Romeo SZ. Badass styling, throaty engine and genuinely a museum piece
I ran of these for 3 years, it was a superb GT that could eat miles in total comfort and at great speed. Whoever owned it before had "enhanced" it a little, including removing the 155mph limit. It was knocking on supercar performance. I loved how it looked, how it drove and how it sounded.
The coupé was designed by Chris Bangle I guess. The most desirable Fiat Coupé are the turbo versions, incredible torque and power though their main drawback - to me - is the FWD. I'm dreaming of a Fiat X1/9 with the coupé engine ;-) Cuore Italiano!
Thanks for bringing this excellent little coupé out for a drive. The interior was a minor triumph. It was great to have Fiat going off at a bit of a tangent in those days. I bought and enjoyed a top spec Multipla for nine years and it was such a clever design. The coupé also dared to be different and perhaps we should be more grateful for the flair of those more daring designers.😢
The most "DESIGN" excelled focused car in its segment in its era. Nothing matched it in creativity and progressive design terms! Superb first-rate engines as is usual for Fiat.
Drank oil in crazy quantities and had a dipstick that was hard to read. Manifolds cracked. Rear round light corroded. Various buttons fell in the dash. Mine melted a piston (failed knock sensor we think). Fabulous car - crazily quick.
I had a Bravo HGT, Coupe 16v Turbo and 20v Turbo. The Bravo was a refined hot hatch, especially in light blue with leather interior. The 16v Turbo was the rawest of the three and 20v Turbo, with leather interior, was frenetically fast and at the same time refined and GT-like.
BK IN 2005 I TRADED IN MY ROVER 216 GTI TWIN CAM FOR A 97 PLATE BRAVO HGT WITH THE 1ST VERSION OF THE ENGINE 147 BHP COMPAIRED TO THE LATER 154 BHP WITH VIS ( VAIRABLE TIMING) GORG CAR IN ICE BLUE AND WITH JUST 41K MILES. HAD THE BELT, PUMP AND TENSIONER DONE, WITHOUT DROPING THE ENGINE FOR 500 QUID AT A VERY BESPOKE ITALIAN SPECIALIST IN WORCESTER. WHAT A CAR. AND IN 2014 GOT A YELLOW 154 VIS COUPE
Things I recalled from the 20vt forums. Original exhaust manifold cracking on early cars. Oil loss through the turbo seals as the turbo only had a 270 degree thrust bearing rather than 360. Any issues with then oil loss, due to seals degradation exacerbated by the shallow sump and limited oil capacity could lead to low oil or oil starvation and bearing damage. The only useful looking wheels are the bigger 16"ers. Though they all have an interesting 4x98mm PCD when most other things around were 4x100 or 5x100. Brembo brakes suffering galvanic corrosion of the pad runners vs the alloy caliper leading to seizing pads. Exhaust tip rusting off after a few years and blowing the rear dam away with hot exhaust gases unless replaced before it failed. 20VT in Portofino Blue with black leather looks stunning in sunshine. The 20VT was the go-to car in the late 90s, early 00s for EVO mag to set a baseline for far more exotic cars. Some of their comments lead me to reassess as the "the way it continues to build speed above 100mph" etc, comments aren't something to ignore if one is prone to "emotional throttle footing". And the 5 cylinder soundtrack would obviously not encourage that.....!
I love the distinctive design - far better looking than the Peugeot, which to me is a bit anonymous. I also love the painted metal on the dash - a nod to 60's Alfa's.
I've always felt the Bangle design is spot on, and the 'slashed' arches are a bit of a nod to the Gandini Countach arches on some other Italian exotica.
I absolutely love these cars, had one for 15 years. I can fully understand the cars still having a lot of support and attention. Second hand these cars always seemed like an absolute bargain, but they were quite expensive to keep and not everyone was prepared for that. Cars that were run on a tight budget inevitably suffered. Fortunately there are people out there who are prepared to spend significant sums restoring, and keeping these cars alive but it is unlikely this spend will ever reflect in the cars value. Many cars of a similar age to the Coupé have increased in value significantly and are considered by many as collectable. For me the little Fiat Coupé is better than those cars, indeed it was so good, at what it did, that the only car I could ever replace it with was a MK3 TTRS, a car that was 20 years its junior.
I really like this car,I liked them when they were current and it's aged well, it's the antithesis of all the bloated "cross over " rubbish on our roads today.
Have had 3 20v turbos and now still have a 20v na(with variable intake system). Love these cars, so different looking and all of ours have been ultra reliable. One issue when these were new was the rumoured £2k cambelt service. That put the fear into non company car drivers. I believe the Fiat Ducatto van used the same engine😮
I had a vis model and if you know the right people a cambelt plus water pump and tensioners was £350. Dealers claimed it was an engine out job but that is nonsense, I had my 20v for 4 years and no issues
I own a 20vt coupe, absolutely amazing car, its literally art on wheels, from every angle it has the most beautiful lines and striking yet unique styling, design that just makes todays motors look hideous. Those that say its ugly clearly have no sense of style and probably drive something like an ugly suv of today! Wherever i drive my 20vt people comment, take photos of the car in fact it gets far more attention than many supercars of today! Amazing car!
Thank you for another great episode. Some ten years or so I was thinking of buying a Coupé or a Barchetta for a fun summer car. The Coupé had the performance but I chose the Barchetta for the looks, and the possibility to drive with the top down. Still love both of the cars
Dream car for me! Got a ride in one years ago by a mad man that drove way too fast on city streets at night... Thing was like a gokart, it was crazy, I was not happy about how he was driving but... what can ya do.... It might have had some upgrades, I'm not sure, I remember it had a brace in the engine bay that did not look standard, so maybe it had suspension upgrades too, it just drove great! This was a very long time ago now...
I'm a big fan of the Coupe, particularly in that fantastic blue. Also a HUGE fan of the Multipla though, equal measures of genius and madness! BTW, the BL "Wedge" (ADO71) was available with a transversely mounted 2.2 inline 6
The problem with the : 16V / 16VT / 20V....is that they were on 15" wheel's , which look far to small for the body. Put : 16" Plus wheel's with the 225 section tyre's on this 20V and see the difference to the appearance ( front / back / sideways ). A big bore ss exhaust completes the transformation into mini exotic .....Good vid. PS: the truncated cut off boot / trunk was purely for aerodynamics , helping the car to 0.31cd...or slippery as.
The engine out issue to replace the cam belt on the 20V was solved by a guy in Birmingham, known by the Coupe owners club. He made up a few tools to make it straightforward and charged me £150 to sort it the same day. Mine was the Portofino metallic blue effect, 1st time I saw one I had to have one. As you've said interior a bit cheap, exterior rear 3/4 view is transformed with this colour. Also w/dealers picked one up and chipped it with Presley at the helm, mighty fast after that!
I to this day have 2 20vt's one in bright yellow and one in midnight blue, one is a Plus. Yes a love or hate car visually, but always a great car with that 220hp 5 cylinder song edging you on to just enjoy its offbeat sound. Yeah a love or hate car, guess which camp I live in. Thank you for the review, I enjoyed very minute of it.
Owned a 20VT. Loved every minute. Great power for mortal folk. Handles brilliantly for your everyday person. Funnily enough, it was reliable and contrary to popular belief, easy enough to work on. Ugly? Well, that’s subjective. Compared with modern cars, it’s gorgeous
I used to have this car 20v Turbo Coming to think of it this car was fast 💨 Not my fastest car but it was quick back then Never broke down on me , only once a fuse went on the fuel pump, it took a while to figure it out. 220 bhp mines was running standard
I've always loved the look of this FIAT Coupe, especially in yellow. it somehow reminds me of the Strada though I haven't got a clue why? if I had a barn somewhere it would be on my shopping list
For me is absolutely stunning, especially the final versions 20V Turbo Plus and Limited Editions with the exterior sports package. What an absolute beast!
What do you mean by that? You like it when it feels like the throttle pedal doesn't do anything, then suddenly the turbo sh*ts all the power possible in your neck? 🤔
It does look gawky with the small wheels, and the turgid colour doesn't do it any favours. In acid yellow (or maybe it should be Giallo Triplo Strato!) it looks stunning. As to the Multipla, I loved that too, I'd still love either in my garage (that I don't have!)
Love the colour, it's mine, do agree the looks aren't enhanced by the wheels. Maybe one day will change to a set of Turbo wheels. Very much enjoying as it is.
Never drove the 20v, but I did run a 16v Turbo for 4 years. Rocket ship of a car with a brilliant turbo rush at 3k. Well, it was the same Lampredi designed engine that was in the Integrale! Loads of space inside and amazing looks. You could tell it was coach built by Pininfarina. Always felt special
I have always liked these, and think it was on of Bangle's best designs. If it was RWD they would be revered as classic coupes now. And a better handling car.
The Coupe was arguably Chris Bangle's best design. I had a base model second series 16V car for a few years. I quite liked most of it: reliable, relatively inexpensive, good performance, fairly fuel-efficient, easy to find in the parking lot, good handling, huge fuel tank. On the bad, I hated the soft-touch plastics, the headlights tended to go yellow and require buffing annually, and it had issues with water intrusion.
I felt the same when it came out: didn't like the styling and wondered what they were thinking but it grew on me. At the very least the Fiat Coupé is interesting to look at and to some that's far more important than being boring.
Great cars, I had the 20V Turbo, that I bought ex demo after going shopping for a Tipo, Yellow so the flying banana it was. Loved it, only downside was it had a really poor turning circle.
teh engine was also used for the Lancia Lybra (till 2005) and Kappa, also as a 2.4. The 2.0 was a very reliable engine. My Lybra went to 365,000km till sadly a head gasket gave way on French autoroute...a beauty of an engine.
It has quite a spicy growl to it, one thing you can say about the styling is that it isnt boring or formulaic which is a quality all of its own. Also that Dodge at 5:15 😍
Lol I loved my P reg Fiat cinqucento 1.1 Sporting in red and it was my firtst car when i was 18 and my neighbour had the Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo in red at the same time and I loved the turbo and was something I aspired to as a young lad but at the time insurance was just too much as my Cinqucento was 900 pounds back then in 97 as a 18 year old lol good times gone but not forgotten.
One of the most distinctive and memorable cars of its time - glad FIAT were brave enough to make it.
Do you mean ugly?
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k The word he meant, "maybe not", the car, definitely so.
Greater bravery was needed for the Multipla I would say, with the interior looking like a Dalek that had fallen off a shelf....all apart from the exterior.
@@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars Agree with that for sure.
@@gottliebdee263this was the prettiest fiat ever, and guess what, it was designed by Pininfarina. Tutte le altre fanno caghèr 😂
Had a yellow 20v Turbo between 2014 and 2018. It was my daily and I put over 40000 miles on it. Loved that engine. Its origins were from a diesel engine that went into some Fiat vans I believe! The power delivery, the noise. Even drove from North Yorkshire to France for a camping holiday when the kids were young. When we got down to Dover we'd averaged 37mpg which is pretty good to be fair. It was rock solid reliable too. And a specialist changed the cambelt for £350, not £1200 like Fiat did. I loved the design but the wife hated it. She clearly has no taste. Well, she did marry me😅
Oddly they sound like a BMW straight 6.
Lively, raspy, distinctive.
I don't think your wife have no taste. I think she prefers a SUV rather than a coupe. In your case, she married the personality of you, not so much your physical outlook. 😊
nope, Fiat Powertrain engine
No, originally 1996 a petrol. 2.0 20V 5 cyl with or without turbo. Debuted in Fiat Coupe, Bravo HGT and Lancia Kappa.
Later stroked to 2.4 petrol (170hp) in the Stilo Abarth.
THEN later as 2.4 diesel 5cyl in said Lancia, Thesis and Alfa 156, GT, 166 etc
You weren’t getting 37 mpg out of that, your calculations are off.
12:20 Who tf wants an italian sports car that "plays it safe"?? I want my italian sports cars to be flamboyant, and this Fiat does just that!
Do you think Fiat Chrysler will lose their way under Stellantis? You can say what you like about the quality of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, RAM and Jeep products but they are were always distinctive and bold products for the most part -- you might not buy the cars for their quality, but there were lots of other reasons to buy them. There's a worry that the conservative PSA influence will doom the ex-FCA brands IMO.
This was a cheap sports car
I was staying at the hotel
In Spain where the European launch took place. Woke up to see the car park full of a rainbow of glistening Fiat Coupes. A sight I will not forget any time soon….
Wow that interior is absolutely stunning!!!!!
They had lovely interiors, those old Fiats.
I had a Bravo and something else I forget... I remember the interiors being great! Very distinctive. Orderly and subtle.
Though the electronics were... Well they were Fiat!
When the right lights were on and the wrong ones were off, they looked wondeful.
Stilo! That was the other one! 😂
They also had some great leather interiors. Really nice place to be.
Always makes every drive a special occasion, unlike the Puma/Calibra/Corrado/406 coupe dashboards.
The engine wasn't developed for the coupe (or even Fiat) though, it was a Lancia engine that was first used in the Kappa. The engine lived on in turbo form in the later Lancia Thesis and that was procuded until 2007. So the lifespan was quite a bit longer than just 5 years. Great engine though and loved it in my formerly owned moon grey 20v turbo plus.
I have a broom yellow Turbo Plus, and I think it looks great in that colour from all angles. The later wheels and bodykit transform the car. It wasn't actually built by Fiat - it was handbuilt by Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, who also built Ferraris in the same factory.
And Peugeot s 406 Coupe 👍
True on the build and I think Pininfarina did the car´s interior design as well but the Fiat Coupé was designed in house at Fiat Stile, led by Chris Bangle, I think?
Correct. @@martinrichardhorrocks9869
Do you want to buy an 8 spoke wheel 'just in case '?
Pininfarina didn’t “build” anything, he designed it
The 20V lived on as a 2.4L naturally aspirated version in the Fiat Stilo (2001-2009). There was even a Michael Schumacher special edition Stilo with this engine in 2004.
Also the 2.4 5 cylinder diesel that went on until 2010 in the Alfa 159, Brera, Spider was a very close relative to this. To the point were various stuff like exhaust headers and exhaust gaskets are interchangeable.
Stilo Abarth.
Wondeful pedigree.
I have just sold my Stilo Abarth after 12 years as my everyday driver. Still going strong.
The only things to fail were crank position sensor, a coil and thermostat. All easy fixes.
Timing belt much easier to do on Stilo.
I got the car cheap because it had 87 errors on the computer.
It turned out all that was wrong was a loose battery clamp and a cheap battery.
Fitting a new clamp and decent battery solved the problem.
That engine was also in Lancia Thesis.
There's a yellow 20v turbo rotting away next to my local Chinese takeaway...... I always feel sad for the 20v when I pick up my beef and Black bean. Great stuff as always Jack buddy 👍
Save it 😢
‘When I pick up my Beef and Black bean’ 😆😆😆😆😆
I had one of the first 20v Turbos from new at the very beginning of ‘96, absolutely thrashed it to within an inch of it’s life for 65,000 miles and I had one hose burst on the car in that whole time and nothing else. The car had an inch off all round with some springs and a mild chip, it was absolutely ballistic, handled really well for what it was and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I have to disagree that it's ugly. It's just unconventional looking. It's looks great to me. I love it.
What killed the engine wasn't the engine itself, it was the engine bay. In order to perform the full service it was (according to book) a full engine out affair and at the wrong end of £1000 in early 00s money - every few years. Once that small detail became commonly aware nobody wanted one. The residual value of cars fitted with it bombed to the point they were unsaleable. Ignoring all advice I bought one of the last 20v engined cars (Marea Weekend - a wonderful stealth estate) and while I loved the car, the servicing and repair was punishing for a car worth nothing after 3 years...
The engine continued in the Lancia range for some time in 2.0 turbo and 2.4 litre guise - notably in the Fiat Stilo (not the Brava/Bravo)
I bought mine in 2004 and cambelt changes were £399 back then if you went to any of the specialists.
@@Trappygit That's because they didn't remove the engine - they dropped the engine mount off the side and let the engine twist in the bay. Made the job of a belt change in-situ possible but had a tendency to destroy the beautiful welded tubular exhaust manifold (any other engine would had used a cast manifold...)
The same approach is used to service the 500 with similar problems if done badly
Still about that now. Full service with every filter and plugs plus all belts for around £600. Had four still got one.
@@julianbrown1331 they all have a cast manifold.
@@julianbrown1331 yes did one the engine was half out
Had no idea about the flash of colour on the badges. That makes me love it even more.
One of my favourite features, rarely ever mentioned in reviews, just shows the attention to detail by the designer/details designer.
Chris Bangle's 1st piece of design madness, cool, super cool.
Glorious cars! Why these haven’t become a highly valuable classic is beyond me. Sharp chassis, superb engines (especially the 5 cylinder 20v Turbo), and, in my view amazing styling inside and out. I drove a 20v Turbo once - acceleration through the gears was brutal - loved it. And all the design details - stunning, and a reason why I love Italian cars!
Unfortunately it is hard for anything wearing a FIAT badge to become a highly valuable classic, particularly in English-speaking zones. Which is nice for those of us who do understand.
The performance of a 20V Turbo sold me the idea of having one of these. A couple of years ago found this one just 3 miles from me.
Still a proud owner of a 20VT+. Here in Malaysia the Coupes were the Alpha car amongst Fiat owners and were very popular. In fact, Malaysia recieved the last production batch of the 20VT+ and the car has a legendary status here. That 5pot engine never fails to bring a smile to my face, and she's still the one car where I catch myself driving without the radio on.
Still looks gorgeous in my eyes :) I had to seriously show restraint and not buy a Barchetta when I first saw one though.
I agree with you about the interior, very attractive!
Chris Bangle was the chief designer for the project, before moving to BMW
And he brought that Bangle butt to BMW 😢
The coupe turbo is an absolute gem. A true joy given to those of us not put off by the servicing / reliability scare stories. Get a good one and enjoy it while you can. You won't be disappointed. I did Tresaith to Bournemouth in well under 4 hrs in a magical evening drive to meet a non existent scaffolder but I didn't care because it was so enjoyable and stress free.
Go on. You know you want to ?
I love how they made a relatively inexpensive and unremarkable on paper car feel like a priceless concept car someone got lucky to find, and that interior is a masterpiece!
A Chris Bangle oddball design, but I like it!
As with some other Bangle designs it gets better as it ages, like a fine wine. That said I still think it's sister car, the Alfa GTV, has the edge in looks. A GTV with the Fiat engine would have been my perfect car at the time (V6 Alfa is ridiculously thirsty), but I still loved my Fiat.
Far better than his BMWs for sure.
@@robertkirchner7981 Bangle BMWs are positively attractive compared to some of the BMWs they make nowadays!
The Fiat Brava and Bravo of the 1990s were fantastic cars
I had the fiat bravo diesel awesome car
I have a white brava 1.6 amazing car
Lovely car, the Coupe. Always fancied one of the those but, sadly, couldn’t afford it.
I did have a Bravo HGT, from new (which has the same floor pan), for nine years and loved it. As you say, its all about that fabulous engine - torquey, with a fabulous soundtrack. Sadly it was saddled with a rather ponderously slow and long-legged gearbox, when it really needed a much snappier one - there were some very good ones in Alfa’s of the time. The box was prone to baulking 3rd and 5th quite badly if rushed. The return spring for reverse broke, which was a known weak spot and is buried right at the centre of the box… There was no recall for it, either.
Another problem with the Bravo HGT was it was the factory suspension set up was a little soft. I fitted mine with the Abarth lowering spring set which didn’t firm-up things much at all. Then I had a Koni adjustable kit fitted, which transformed things quite a lot. Body control was vastly improved, which was to be expected, but what I didn’t expect was vastly improved ride quality! I swear the kit also greatly improved overall performance though better traction. Easily outran a Mk5 Golf GTI, which surprised the hell out of me.
The big problem with the 5 cylinder engine, though, is its size. The cam belt end is right up against one of the monocoque legs, so a belt change means lifting the engine up a bit - ideally, out altogether. This means a Fiat dealer charged just under £800 for a cam belt change - in 2005! Add to that a main service, and you’ll be charged around £1200 - which I was (admit I threw money at my cars in those days). No-one tells you that when you buy the car, funny enough. I think that is most probably one of the main reasons this engine was eventually discontinued.
The big problem with Fiat Group at the time, as I understood it from motoring articles, was Fiat, Alfa and Lancia were essentially competing with each other, in the same price bands, and diluting overall sales potential - and the management of the Group were at a loss as to how to - er - manage that.
Also, while I agree the whole Group was producing very interesting cars at the time, the output seemed a little erratic - like a huge blob of lovely coupes, all at the same time.
I’m sure you, and others bothering to stay with me (thanking you, by the way), are ahead of me in thinking that the way to position and differentiate the three Group brands was obvious to anyone with two grains of common sense.
Fiat Group completely missed the boat with Lancia on the 1990s - something that was staring them right in the face. At the very height of its powers, it had one of the ultimate halo cars of all time - the Integrale Evo’s I and II. They should have made Lancia the high-tech 4-wheel drive car brand of Italy. This would have been completely in keeping with the history of Lancia. Instead, the Group left that to Audi, Mitsubishi and Subaru.
Alfa should always have remained the out-and-out sports car brand, aiming to be a BMW alternative. It’s taken the Group far too long to get around the that market position.
Fiat should remain the ‘everyman’ brand, producing sporty small hatches like the 500 and Punto (why is there no Punto?…).
Lastly, Abarth should not be a stand-alone brand. Previously, all Abarth tuned Fiats and Lancia's have always been referred to as a ‘Fiat/Lancia [insert model name] Abarth’. It just sounds right, because it is. Like the Mustang should be a FORD Mustang. That was the whole point - they are the ‘obtainable’ performance car. I fear the Fiat Group decision-making at the time was a bit too hap-hazard.
Unfortunately, things are now far worse for Fiat Group. Stellantis are just a bunch of clueless accountants. When announcing the new Lancia Ypsilon hatchback racing programme, who does Stellantis get to do the press introduction? A real racing driver with true Lancia form, like Miki Biasion? No - the CEO of Stellantis thinks he should do it himself, of course! The conceit of the guy is just insulting - he’s there at the front-and-centre of any racing programme Stellantis commissions.
Sorry everyone - I’ve only gone on like this because I love Italian cars so much.
Nice comment.
The Marchionne era, when Fiat stopped being a car manufacturer and transformed into a finance company;. everything that mattered was money... I had a fiat dealership, was in love with the brand, had a Uno D, 147 D, a Tempra 2.0, and a Marea 2.0, but all things come to an end... when Fiat launched the Palio/Siena lineup they asked the water pump provider to manufacture 1 M pumps @ 50 pounds each, and so the manufacturer put the effort and the quality behind... the next year fiat said: "ok, we didn't make 1 M cars, but this year we'll do, we promise... but we need the pump to cost 45 pounds..." so the guy reluctantly dropped the price... the next year "ok, we din't make 1 M cars, only 100 K, but this is the year, I promise! but we need the price to be 40 pounds..." The guy said to himself: "F%$k it" and he made a 40 pound water pump that run well for a couple of years... I know the guy who made the pumps, all in my hometown, and I also know how they treated their dealership network... How long did the stilo sell?; The Marea?, Tempra? how big the lineup today? The Stellantis move is purely financial, keeping the bits that sell and discarding the ones that not....
What are you rambling about... you really think FIAT or any comparable car manufacturer paid anything even remotely in the neighbourhood of 50 GBP for a waterpump ever?
@@narvul 75 dollars in 1997 in Argentina, try not to defend those thieves, are you working for the italian crap makers?
I had a 99 reg Bravo HGT 155. Lovely motor. And did two timing belts without engine out. I also often wondered why this engine only lasted a few years in production. But I think the coupe was fiats last great car. Unfortunately I never owned one though. The limited edition 230 HP looked fab.
The LE had exactly the same power plant at 217bhp.
Only the Italians and the French take chances on car design. The Italian because they are talented artists; The French because they are French.
On a whim , and shortly before Covid hit , I bought a one owner and very well maintained 20VT .
I loved the car. Fantastic fun to drive either tootling along or pushing on . Not the best handling car , drive a Boxster for that , chalk and cheese . Very clever limited slip diff so torque steer hardly there unless you’re really pressing on . Seats 4 and a decent sized boot. A slightly loose gear lever feel but delicious to use . A smooth as silk engine with a MAGNIFICENT sound. The radio was rarely switched on . And the car looked so different than other cars.
I spent a fair bit on precautionary maintenance but the car’s bodywork was beginning to rust and living in the New Forest couldn’t use the car’s performance much ,so I reluctantly sold the car . The new owner has been in touch and I’m very pleased to say has restored the bodywork ( and no doubt some other stuff ) so my former car is in very good hands I’m pleased to say .
Is the car ugly ? From some angles yes . A Pininfarina badge because he did the internal styling .
I always thought the car had a rather dated look . Compare it to a Audi Quattro produced a decade or do earlier or a Fiat X19 20 +years earlier.
Any 5 ( or 3 cylinder engine ) with a manual box makes a car journey special . Drove a really battered loan car 3 cylinder Polo diesel a couple of years ago and loved it .
Never knew that the 20VT had a faster steering rack so I learnt something from Number 27’s video ! Must say that the 20V in the video looked in great nick.
Andrew Frankel of Autocar once said he doubted the 20VT had 220 bhp.
He thought it had more !
Thanks, this car is mine. Shame it rained on the journey to Jack as I'd spent much time making it look spotless.
It was a great era of Italian design! The Alfa 156, 159, Brera, Fiat Coupe and Barchetta. But the German builders had the reputation for reliability.
The first time I saw one of these Fiat Coupe I was just a kid in a sea side holiday ... All of a sudden I saw one, all red just like this..and I shouted in awe:
---"Look!!! A FERRARI 🤩...."
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
One of my all-time favourites and biggest dream cars--I know that's odd considering they're not all that expensive or rare, but as a minimum wage nobody in the 2020s where cans of tomato sauce get 50 cents more expensive every week and wages go up fifty cents every five years, well.
Not everyone likes the Chris Bangle exterior design but the Pininfarina interior is universally loved.
Yes, very marmite design.
It's amazing how much influence the size of the wheels has, and the trackwidth, on the overall look of a car. I remember when we went from the Golf III to the IV, from wheely bin to monster truck it seemed. Sometimes bigger really is better.
There's too big as well. It now takes two mechanics to offer up a wheel to the axle. Some garages don't do it by hand anymore with those 20 inchers.
This Fiat? The small wheels do me in, like an elderly douarière hobbling on stilettos in the snow
Have driven the Turbo Plus extensively, loved it, such a great car, definitely a future classic!
Certainly no oil painting and hasn't improved with age for me. I do however really like the interior design and agree with you about those extra little exterior design details, quite special.
Nice on your reviews if you gave us an uick look at boot/hatchback area too.
Keep up the great work though Jack, everyday is a school day for 90s cars for me 😊
I always liked it, though it's nostalgia rather than having improved with age.
The real reason I wouldn't buy one, though... Another marmite car - a Volvo C70 coupe with the T5. They're much easier to work on, sound at least as good and I actually really like how they look.
In honesty, though, I know the fiat will always be the cult classic of the two.
Had a 1998 Fiat Coupe turbo 20v ink jet metallic color. Absolute joy to run it on the autobahn here in Germany. It was slightly tuned, and the suspension had been beefed up and lowered. Also had larger special alu-rims with racing tires. Drove it for about 3 years, then traded it off for a more normal limo after son was born.
"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion."
Francis Bacon
This is a quote Jeremy Clarkson also memorably used about another Italian coupe.
Fiat Coupé is not even jolie-laide, it´s entirely itself. If Gandini had signed it off, it would be considered one of his best (I´m not massively into Gandini fan, tbh!)
I used to own a 20v turbo. Standard it had horrible suspension. But with a nice turbo, retune and adjustable suspension.... It was a true delight. Shame they are so expensive and collectable now.
There're not expensive. £5000 will get you a decent one.
I didn't find the suspension particularly bad. It did need fresh wishbones on a regular basis though, and the handling would get quite scary when the bushes got tired.
5000 for a decent one? You seem to have an odd definition of „decent“.
Misha Charoudin just made a video with a Fiat 20V coupe too.
I was visiting Scotland from the US when these things had just come out and convinced a salesperson to let me take a 20v Turbo for a test drive. I loved it! Great power and super fun to toss around. I'm an Alfa guy, and drove a GTV of the same era, and I remember the Fiat as being quicker and more fun.
I absolutely and totally adore the styling of this car, Peak Bangle 🤩
But I thought I heard you say Audi had a five cylinder so they could mount it as a transverse engine, alas Audi motors are longitudinal
When they came out the design looked super-modern, especially in the bright colours - yellow, red and blue. I test drove one of these and loved it, but family needs forced me into a Fiat Marea Estate, with the same engine - which was great.
Me too. LOVED IT! Went all over Europe in it covered 80k miles in our ownership a GREAT car
One of the kind...
Efficiency and emissions may have made the five-cylinder unprofitable, but the sound is also part of the driving experience. As the driver of an old Volvo five-cylinder, I can say that this sound still brings a smile to my face. Almost like the Busso V6 in my Alfa 156 did back then.
Had two, one turbo one vis..
Lovely car , Tipo platform same as the GTV , all the same foibles but with that lovely 5 cyl burble..The viscodrive system is brilliant and they're usefully quick.
With some suspension upgrades and some turbo and mapping work they can be made to be "very " quick ..
Yep!! Think I might have to own one for a while.. hard to get a good one now though!
@@Number27 You'll enjoy it no doubt , the problem is selling on afterwards , they're not everyone's cup of espresso..😎
AFAIK, this car was not designed by Pininfarina. Chris Bangle was the FIAT designer back then and Pininfarina just produced the body.
You are correct - Farina did only produce the body for this car - but jack didn't say that Farina designed this car. Farina's design submission for this FIAT project was later used for the Peugeot 406 Coupè (that he showed a quick 'still' photo of, at 13:39).
It was only coachbuilt by pinin, thus the badge. 100% bangle in house fiat designed
what a coincidence that I just reached out to you about my Delta with the same engine and platform and now I see your video about the coupe
Great review, thanks! Imho very dark or very bright colors and the 'double' more open 4-spoke turbo wheels make an enormous difference.
The 4 spokes certainly look better I agree. This is my car, 16 inches could be an upgrade when funds allow.
Actually, this 5 cylinder engine was used in the Bravo as well. And the styling is almost brutalist gorgeous in a way that only Italian cars can be, like "Il Mostro", the Alfa Romeo SZ. Badass styling, throaty engine and genuinely a museum piece
I ran of these for 3 years, it was a superb GT that could eat miles in total comfort and at great speed. Whoever owned it before had "enhanced" it a little, including removing the 155mph limit. It was knocking on supercar performance. I loved how it looked, how it drove and how it sounded.
The coupé was designed by Chris Bangle I guess. The most desirable Fiat Coupé are the turbo versions, incredible torque and power though their main drawback - to me - is the FWD. I'm dreaming of a Fiat X1/9 with the coupé engine ;-) Cuore Italiano!
Thanks for bringing this excellent little coupé out for a drive. The interior was a minor triumph. It was great to have Fiat going off at a bit of a tangent in those days. I bought and enjoyed a top spec Multipla for nine years and it was such a clever design. The coupé also dared to be different and perhaps we should be more grateful for the flair of those more daring designers.😢
The most "DESIGN" excelled focused car in its segment in its era. Nothing matched it in creativity and progressive design terms! Superb first-rate engines as is usual for Fiat.
Drank oil in crazy quantities and had a dipstick that was hard to read. Manifolds cracked. Rear round light corroded. Various buttons fell in the dash. Mine melted a piston (failed knock sensor we think). Fabulous car - crazily quick.
I had a Bravo HGT, Coupe 16v Turbo and 20v Turbo. The Bravo was a refined hot hatch, especially in light blue with leather interior. The 16v Turbo was the rawest of the three and 20v Turbo, with leather interior, was frenetically fast and at the same time refined and GT-like.
BK IN 2005 I TRADED IN MY ROVER 216 GTI TWIN CAM FOR A 97 PLATE BRAVO HGT WITH THE 1ST VERSION OF THE ENGINE 147 BHP COMPAIRED TO THE LATER 154 BHP WITH VIS ( VAIRABLE TIMING) GORG CAR IN ICE BLUE AND WITH JUST 41K MILES. HAD THE BELT, PUMP AND TENSIONER DONE, WITHOUT DROPING THE ENGINE FOR 500 QUID AT A VERY BESPOKE ITALIAN SPECIALIST IN WORCESTER. WHAT A CAR. AND IN 2014 GOT A YELLOW 154 VIS COUPE
Things I recalled from the 20vt forums.
Original exhaust manifold cracking on early cars.
Oil loss through the turbo seals as the turbo only had a 270 degree thrust bearing rather than 360. Any issues with then oil loss, due to seals degradation exacerbated by the shallow sump and limited oil capacity could lead to low oil or oil starvation and bearing damage.
The only useful looking wheels are the bigger 16"ers. Though they all have an interesting 4x98mm PCD when most other things around were 4x100 or 5x100.
Brembo brakes suffering galvanic corrosion of the pad runners vs the alloy caliper leading to seizing pads.
Exhaust tip rusting off after a few years and blowing the rear dam away with hot exhaust gases unless replaced before it failed.
20VT in Portofino Blue with black leather looks stunning in sunshine.
The 20VT was the go-to car in the late 90s, early 00s for EVO mag to set a baseline for far more exotic cars. Some of their comments lead me to reassess as the "the way it continues to build speed above 100mph" etc, comments aren't something to ignore if one is prone to "emotional throttle footing". And the 5 cylinder soundtrack would obviously not encourage that.....!
My mother had a Coupe 20V exactly like this around 1997, same colour, same trim, the NA 20V sounded awesome, much better than the Turbo.
The original owner kept this for 17 years, all receipts of work done have remained with the car.
I love the distinctive design - far better looking than the Peugeot, which to me is a bit anonymous. I also love the painted metal on the dash - a nod to 60's Alfa's.
I've always felt the Bangle design is spot on, and the 'slashed' arches are a bit of a nod to the Gandini Countach arches on some other Italian exotica.
You are right about those arches😮
I absolutely love these cars, had one for 15 years. I can fully understand the cars still having a lot of support and attention. Second hand these cars always seemed like an absolute bargain, but they were quite expensive to keep and not everyone was prepared for that. Cars that were run on a tight budget inevitably suffered. Fortunately there are people out there who are prepared to spend significant sums restoring, and keeping these cars alive but it is unlikely this spend will ever reflect in the cars value. Many cars of a similar age to the Coupé have increased in value significantly and are considered by many as collectable. For me the little Fiat Coupé is better than those cars, indeed it was so good, at what it did, that the only car I could ever replace it with was a MK3 TTRS, a car that was 20 years its junior.
👋🏻
I really like this car,I liked them when they were current and it's aged well, it's the antithesis of all the bloated "cross over " rubbish on our roads today.
Have had 3 20v turbos and now still have a 20v na(with variable intake system). Love these cars, so different looking and all of ours have been ultra reliable. One issue when these were new was the rumoured £2k cambelt service. That put the fear into non company car drivers.
I believe the Fiat Ducatto van used the same engine😮
I had a vis model and if you know the right people a cambelt plus water pump and tensioners was £350.
Dealers claimed it was an engine out job but that is nonsense, I had my 20v for 4 years and no issues
@@bettyswallox1240 yes, plenty of specialists will do the job by moving the engine to one side and for under £500.
Hope you’re still enjoying my old VIS @bockersjv still miss that car an awful lot.
Favourite car I’ve ever owned.
That's the very first time I read someone stated the Coupe, especially the 5s are reliable. 🤔
Loved the Fiat Coupe from the first time I saw one in CAR magazine back in the 90s. Wish I'd been brave enough to buy one !
It's not too late to buy one.
Buy one now! It's a great bit of kit, and of course typical FIAT trouble free.
I own a 20vt coupe, absolutely amazing car, its literally art on wheels, from every angle it has the most beautiful lines and striking yet unique styling, design that just makes todays motors look hideous. Those that say its ugly clearly have no sense of style and probably drive something like an ugly suv of today! Wherever i drive my 20vt people comment, take photos of the car in fact it gets far more attention than many supercars of today! Amazing car!
Thank you for another great episode. Some ten years or so I was thinking of buying a Coupé or a Barchetta for a fun summer car. The Coupé had the performance but I chose the Barchetta for the looks, and the possibility to drive with the top down. Still love both of the cars
Dream car for me!
Got a ride in one years ago by a mad man that drove way too fast on city streets at night... Thing was like a gokart, it was crazy, I was not happy about how he was driving but... what can ya do.... It might have had some upgrades, I'm not sure, I remember it had a brace in the engine bay that did not look standard, so maybe it had suspension upgrades too, it just drove great! This was a very long time ago now...
I'm a big fan of the Coupe, particularly in that fantastic blue. Also a HUGE fan of the Multipla though, equal measures of genius and madness!
BTW, the BL "Wedge" (ADO71) was available with a transversely mounted 2.2 inline 6
Yes the Sprint Blue which was only available on the 20VT was the colour to have
The problem with the : 16V / 16VT / 20V....is that they were on 15" wheel's , which look far to small for the body. Put : 16" Plus wheel's with the 225 section tyre's on this 20V and see the difference to the appearance ( front / back / sideways ). A big bore ss exhaust completes the transformation into mini exotic .....Good vid. PS: the truncated cut off boot / trunk was purely for aerodynamics , helping the car to 0.31cd...or slippery as.
I had a coupé 1.8 16V from new in 1997 til 2014. The best car a ever had. Now i have the 1998 20V Turbo. I loved it, stunning car
The design is unique, but I like it. Then again, I drive a Subaru Baja. Fiat did go above and beyond with the little details. Thanks Jack!
Had to look up the Baha!! It’s definitely distinctive 😃
One of the best dashboards of the 90s
The turbo didnt have an LSD, it had a viscous coupling (called Visco-drive). There are options from Quaife though 👍🏻
The engine out issue to replace the cam belt on the 20V was solved by a guy in Birmingham, known by the Coupe owners club. He made up a few tools to make it straightforward and charged me £150 to sort it the same day. Mine was the Portofino metallic blue effect, 1st time I saw one I had to have one. As you've said interior a bit cheap, exterior rear 3/4 view is transformed with this colour. Also w/dealers picked one up and chipped it with Presley at the helm, mighty fast after that!
I to this day have 2 20vt's one in bright yellow and one in midnight blue, one is a Plus. Yes a love or hate car visually, but always a great car with that 220hp 5 cylinder song edging you on to just enjoy its offbeat sound. Yeah a love or hate car, guess which camp I live in. Thank you for the review, I enjoyed very minute of it.
This was a great looking car when it came out. Especially in yellow. Probably the only car Chris Bangle really designed on his own.
I remember these very well back in the day. The competitor at the time was the Alfa Romeo GTV.
Owned a 20VT. Loved every minute. Great power for mortal folk. Handles brilliantly for your everyday person. Funnily enough, it was reliable and contrary to popular belief, easy enough to work on. Ugly? Well, that’s subjective. Compared with modern cars, it’s gorgeous
I used to have this car
20v Turbo
Coming to think of it this car was fast 💨
Not my fastest car but it was quick back then
Never broke down on me , only once a fuse went on the fuel pump, it took a while to figure it out.
220 bhp mines was running standard
English correction: “Just TOO Bold?”
I've always loved the look of this FIAT Coupe, especially in yellow. it somehow reminds me of the Strada though I haven't got a clue why? if I had a barn somewhere it would be on my shopping list
For me is absolutely stunning, especially the final versions 20V Turbo Plus and Limited Editions with the exterior sports package. What an absolute beast!
I had both a 16v Turbo, and a 20V turbo. Apart from the sound I prefered the 16V turbo. It had a much more crazy, traditional turbo power delivery.
What do you mean by that? You like it when it feels like the throttle pedal doesn't do anything, then suddenly the turbo sh*ts all the power possible in your neck? 🤔
It does look gawky with the small wheels, and the turgid colour doesn't do it any favours. In acid yellow (or maybe it should be Giallo Triplo Strato!) it looks stunning. As to the Multipla, I loved that too, I'd still love either in my garage (that I don't have!)
Love the colour, it's mine, do agree the looks aren't enhanced by the wheels. Maybe one day will change to a set of Turbo wheels. Very much enjoying as it is.
Great cars and engines….❤❤. The LE and Pluses were by far my favourites…
Great video as always 👏 I’ve always wanted to drive one of these 😅
Never drove the 20v, but I did run a 16v Turbo for 4 years. Rocket ship of a car with a brilliant turbo rush at 3k. Well, it was the same Lampredi designed engine that was in the Integrale! Loads of space inside and amazing looks. You could tell it was coach built by Pininfarina. Always felt special
I have always liked these, and think it was on of Bangle's best designs.
If it was RWD they would be revered as classic coupes now. And a better handling car.
Ace cars, always fancied one, or swapping the 20v Turbo unit into something else, Bravo Mk1 or 147 maybe
That engine was present in various models. Even in the Marea...
5:15 yet again I find myself delighted by the oncoming traffic (x2) - thanks Jack!
The Coupe was arguably Chris Bangle's best design. I had a base model second series 16V car for a few years. I quite liked most of it: reliable, relatively inexpensive, good performance, fairly fuel-efficient, easy to find in the parking lot, good handling, huge fuel tank. On the bad, I hated the soft-touch plastics, the headlights tended to go yellow and require buffing annually, and it had issues with water intrusion.
When they are running well they are amazing.
I felt the same when it came out: didn't like the styling and wondered what they were thinking but it grew on me.
At the very least the Fiat Coupé is interesting to look at and to some that's far more important than being boring.
Great cars, I had the 20V Turbo, that I bought ex demo after going shopping for a Tipo, Yellow so the flying banana it was. Loved it, only downside was it had a really poor turning circle.
I had a yellow bravo hgt 155 . The engine noise was my favourite and the gearstick arched over 👍
teh engine was also used for the Lancia Lybra (till 2005) and Kappa, also as a 2.4. The 2.0 was a very reliable engine. My Lybra went to 365,000km till sadly a head gasket gave way on French autoroute...a beauty of an engine.
It has quite a spicy growl to it, one thing you can say about the styling is that it isnt boring or formulaic which is a quality all of its own. Also that Dodge at 5:15 😍
Lol I loved my P reg Fiat cinqucento 1.1 Sporting in red and it was my firtst car when i was 18 and my neighbour had the Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo in red at the same time and I loved the turbo and was something I aspired to as a young lad but at the time insurance was just too much as my Cinqucento was 900 pounds back then in 97 as a 18 year old lol good times gone but not forgotten.
When I was on work experience I had a fleet car that had this engine in a Marea. Cracking engine. Just slightly let down by the rest of the car.
Loved the look, loved the car. Friends had various engines… but I don’t remember the 5 cylinder ever sounding like yours did ? Something aftermarket ?