The
Fiat 124
By
Peter Jones
The
Geneva Motor Show in March 1966 saw the introduction of the 124 Saloon which
replaced the 1300/1500 a range that had been in production since 1961.
The 124 had an all-new body and a four-cylinder 1200cc engine, also new.
The saloon model was followed by a station wagon in November, 1966 at the
Turin Show. At the same show the
124 Spider made its début. The
body was designed by Pininfarina and the engine was a 1438cc four-cylinder with
a toothed belt to drive the twin overhead camshafts.
It also had a five speed gearbox. There
are some that describe this car as the Italian M.G.
I personally regard it as much more, it had a maximum speed in excess of
100 mph for a start. The most
notable thing to point out as far as Great Britain is concerned is that, as far
as I know, not one was ever sold in this country new, and yet there are a great
many running about, personal imports, which only goes to show this was a missed
marketing opportunity by Fiat.
The
124 Sport Spider
The
124 Sports Coupe was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1967.
The body was designed by the  Fiat Styling Centre and Fiat built the car
themselves. 1968 saw the
introduction of the 124 Special, an addition to the range.
It had the 1438cc engine, four headlamps and body modifications.
In 1969 both Coupe and Spider were slightly revised with body
modifications and the engine size raised to 1608cc.
1970
saw the update of the 124 Special and Special T, the “T” standing for Twin
Cam. It was powered by the 1438cc
engine and had substantial body changes. This
form of the saloon was able to reach 100mph, which although it doesn’t sound
much now, in 1970 was terrific.
|
124
Special (1968 - 1970) |
124
Special & Special T (1970 - 1972) |
In
1972 the whole 124 Saloon range underwent a facelift with minor engine changes
and upgrades producing better performance.
In l972 the Sport Coupe was also face lifted with again, more engine
tweaks and upgrades. The largest
available now being 1800cc. The
Spider remained unchanged except for the availability of the 1800cc engine.
124
Coupe (1972 - 1975)
Pininfarina in 1972 exhibited a prototype competitor version of the 124
Sport Spider then introduced the car  as the 124 Abarth Rally.
This car lived up to it’s name for it was rallied with notable success.
1975 saw the end of the Abarth Rally series and 1982 the end of the 124
Spider. If they put it back into
production today with latest manufacturing materials, I would buy one – if I
could afford it.
This
however, is not the end of the 124 Story. For
all the manufacturing presses, equipment etc. were then sold to Russia where the
Lada based on the 124 was produced for even more years to come but then that’s
another story!
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