3ma09

Fiat 131 return home after 35 years

Thursday 28th May to Sunday 31st May 2009

3ma09 was a pilgrimage of 131s to Turin in Italy to celebrate 35 years since the launch of the Fiat 131. There were participants from the UK, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Spain and of course Italy.

The 35th anniversary celebrations started on Thursday 28th May with a drive to Lake Maggiore and from there onto some twisty mountain roads for some spirited 131 driving.

The highlight of the four days of celebration was our visit to the Mirafiori factory and guided tour of the production lines as well as three laps of the test track in our own cars. Our Mirafioris were returned to their birthplace! A total of fourteen 131 Mirafioris were present during the factory visit on Friday 29th May.

Lunch was served for us at the Mirafiori Motor Village where our visit also doubled up as our static display show where the cars attracted a lot of attention from the visiting public.

The third day of 3ma09 was much more leisurely with our excursions limited to within Turin and the outskirts. In the morning we visited the "Museum of the Automobile" and after lunch in a local pizzeria we climbed the hill of Superga on the south bank of the Po River to the east of Turin. At 672 metres above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills which form an amphitheatre around the city of Turin. Superga is known as the site of many of the tombs of the kings of the House of Savoy, for the Basilica of Superga, for the Superga Rack Railway which connects it to the Turin suburb of Sassi, and for the Superga air disaster of 1949 in which almost the entire Torino A.C. football squad perished. Now the hill of Superga will also be known for being one of the places in Turin visited during 3ma09!

For the last day of 3ma09 we took a leisurely drive through Italy's wine region to Dogliani for a typically Italian lunch. Dogliani is a municipality in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin.

The 3ma Team

Previous News Items:

3ma - 2009

3ma 2008 - Another astounding success

3ma 2008 Driving Routes

07 November 2007 - 3ma 2008

25 May 2007 - 3ma 2007

03 May 2007 - Just two weeks to go

26 February 2007 - Gentlemen, book your rooms

25 January 2007 - 3ma Reconnaissance mission