46 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
These cars were, and still are, well considered by the cognoscenti. Both
Michael Schumacher and John Barnard — he of Ferrari Formula 1 design
fame — drove themOnly a few minor details distinguish the two cars:
badging, which includes the word ‘turbo’, or denotes
the number of valves, is the only immediately visible
clue as to which is which.
Fiat’s five-cylinder 20-valve model was released in- This car had one more cylinder and slightly
more power (164kW), but Tony’s is ‘chipped’ and
now produces 176.7kW. This goes to the road
through a six-speed gearbox. Apart from a slightly
stiffer chassis, thanks to an extra strut, the chassis
engineering remains the same as that of the first
car. This model has a stronger brake set-up, and the
interior appointments are uprated a little with leather
and cloth seats.
The legacy
Fiats are Italian cars, and, as such, have a head start in
the race to becoming a classic, but, without a doubt,
the coupé is now well on its way to that status. A look
around the cars-for-sale sites internationally testifies to
this, and prices are on the way up.
These cars were, and still are, well considered by
the cognoscenti. Both Michael Schumacher and
John Barnard — he of Ferrari Formula 1 design fame
— drove them. This no doubt had something to do
with their employer at the time, but they both also
had their reputations to manage, and would not have
driven anything unsuitable. It’s obvious that, with this
car, Fiat made something very suitable.