The 131 Sport is crap!

[kev131]

The 131 Sport is crap! It was a cynical and ill thought out showroom special designed to capitalise on its much more capable, competition developed, cousin from Abarth.  The fact that it lasted in production for 4 years is surprising given its many faults.

When the 131 was first designed, the basic car shape was not intended with a sporting variant in mind. Along with the 127 Sport, it was the first ?sport? version of an ordinary Fiat for years that didn?t have its own body shape. Stickers, plastic, velour, weird wheels and laurel wreaths were all thrown at this pair of hot shots in an attempt to create distinct and top of the range models. Where the 131 was concerned, ?stand out from the crowd? colour schemes and a few nods towards sportiness such as a stubby gear lever, a spoiler and wheel arch extensions, aggressively styled headlights and a grill that was compared with the fascia of a transistor radio were expected to convince customers that the higher price was worth spending. Of course having a 2000TC badge on each rear quarter helped in the showroom too as the customer must have felt that they were getting something close to the Ford killing rally version. Once you sat inside the soft yet sporting seats with head rests all round, tinted glass, door mirrors like the Abarth, a better stereo that was expected (in some markets) was all it would take to convince the prospective buyer that this was a car for all purposes and would be a good companion for their lifestyle. ?Where do I sign up???

In reality, the 131 Sport was excessively noisy (inside it had the dubious distinction of being the noisiest car to travel in that was available to buy new at the time, according to a magazine test) and unrefined and the dash and trim buzzed and rattled at all sorts of engine and road speeds. It was slow compared with its main competition. The RS2000, Dolomite Sprint, BMW 320, Lancia Beta 2000, etc could all out accelerate the heavy Fiat. Its top speed (claimed to be 180 km/h by Fiat) was never achieved in any credible road test and the maximum speed in gears was quite low necessitating two changes up to 100 km/h. At least changing gear was a pleasure with that small sporty gear lever. The brakes were not up to the performance that the car did have. Discs the same size as were fitted to Fiat 127s and rear drums easily faded and didn?t have the required emergency stopping power for the car?s weight. What about the back axle ? Initially designed for lower powered versions and not upgraded for the 115 bhp Sport. Fiat obviously were not too concerned about their customers once the cars were a few years older. Flimsy seat trim, a body with corrosion friendly water traps, weak door frames and questionable electronics all helped to degrade the owner?s pleasure from the car. I wonder how many new owners bought another new 131 Sport. I suspect very few. The replacement model (Supermirafiori 2000) was a much softer and refined car and was probably a reaction to the rather crude Sport.

So why do we love these cars and in my case why is it my all-time favourite? From some angles it is plain ugly. The design can lack an integrated look especially with the different wheel arch heights from front to rear. In bright light the front treatment with its large gaps and rather gormless mis-matched headlights looks like something designed in the dark! However from some angles and in certain colour schemes the car looks like nothing else on the road. It has a menace and look of sporting intent quite unlike any other car that doubles as a method of family transport. Once you open the wide door and settle into the inviting and luxuriously covered seats, let your hands settle on an ergonomically sound controls layout and fire up that gruff yet tuneful twin cam, you know this journey will be different than in any other car. Press the clutch and select first gear with just a minimal adjustment of your hand. Build your speed keeping the revs between 2 and 4 thousand RPM in each gear surprising yourself that not only do you not need to brake for corners, but that you can actually embrace them in a level and grippy well balanced behaviour, one where you can feel what each wheel is doing through a large steering wheel giving lots of feedback.  Perfect visibility out of a glassy cabin lets you observe all potential hazards and although manoeuvers such as overtaking require advance planning, the whole experience is satisfying and engaging compared with a modern car. In fact you are probably covering ground a lot less efficiently and more slowly than a modern car but you ?feel? as if you?re driving quickly. The harder you drive the car and the more the gearbox and other oils warm up, the better the car performs. It seems to thrive on spirited driving especially on open sweeping bends. It?s easy to provoke oversteer which can be caught quite easily with an adjustment to the throttle or a change in steering wheel input ? In fact balancing this car on the edge of its grip (at least on standard suspension and tyres) is one of the many fun things to do in this car. Much has been written on the engine powering the car but aside from the wonderful sound, the characteristic that constantly catches me out when I?ve not been driving it for long is its flexibility. You really can drop your speed as low 30km/h in fifth gear and then accelerate without hesitation.

And at the end of all the fun, you can still pick up 3 adult sized passengers (and their luggage) and travel across a continent in relative comfort and still be able to drink, dine and dance at your destination. The ideal cruising speed is 140/150 km/h to avoid the dashboard buzzes although at that speed you won?t see the strained necks of the car?s admirers as it roars by! A road tester from C & CC described the car in a triple test with the Dolomite and Escort as the best all rounder and suited to the business man with a family who liked a sporty drive?..which is exactly the profile of my Dad ?.who I still blame for my obsession with this crap/great car!

Did Fiat intend that the car would perform so well? It could easily have been just a short lived caf? cruiser or posers car with its blue/green/orange bumpers and very quickly found out as very in-substantive. I?d argue that the lack of mechanical development for the Sport compared with other models in the range, points to it being just a lucky happenstance that the marriage of the engine with a car that was already well behaved resulted in such a satisfying driving experience. The showroom appeal add ons seem strangely to also have stood the test of time. Make your own mind up whether the car is crap ?or just great

[idahobrava]

I'll vote with GREAT,  The 131 from my experiences has never failed to amuse me and make for a very pleasant,  sporty, and at times thrilling ride.  It's not all about speed but a combination of handling and useability.  Mike Stinson

[Thotos]

Nah! They're real crap. Just get rid of yours and give them all to me. I'll save you all the troubles and misery.... 

[jasonh131]

Great  anything but a ford or BMW

[Phil]

Nah! They're real crap. Just get rid of yours and give them all to me. I'll save you all the troubles and misery.... 

Good idea Theo - Kev can I take yours off your hands 

[simon131]

I wouldn't start to bad-mouth other manufacturers Jason. You never know who you're going to upset.

[irisheyes]

I couldn't have said it better myself. You certainly covered some of the sentiments in my 'tale of two sports' story and blew it up to a much bigger and better read.

Is the 131 crap? By todays standards and even if I hate saying so myself, it sort of is.

However, at the time both of us were probably in our informative years, that was the current state of play and therefore was something to drool over. Could have easily enlarged the droolometer to cover higher end Porsches, Astons and the like, but the 131 sport was, at the time, a realistically achievable target, grabbed me by the nads and wouldn't let go till I had one.

Do I still love them? Absolutely Yes . But not for what they are today (did I say crap) but what they did to me in the early 80's.
Maybe these type of feelings ever only happen once and for me, maybe the Sport just happened to be there at the right time.

[williefiat]

Hi All.
Kev for one brief moment i taught you were going to sell your Sport it is just as well i read the whole
Story .
      Willie.

[bellamacchina]

A 131 Racing is EMOTION

[kev131]

Hi All.
Kev for one brief moment i taught you were going to sell your Sport it is just as well i read the whole
Story .
      Willie.

Quite the opposite - I'm continuing to spend money on improvements Willie - These cars can be a bit of a money pit but in this context the cost doesn't mean that much.

I had intended to put these thoughts down on "paper" for some time - It is such a compromised car and easily dismissed by those not bitten by the bug!!!

It seems that we're not alone in liking these cars as more and more seem to be coming into Ireland.... One day we'll have a line up of Sports that should get us into the Guinness book of records!!  

[mirafiori76]

The 131 Racing was my first love...and it will be my last 

[mirafiori76]

Kev,

Do you have any idea why the 131 Racing/ mirafiori Sport was designed/constructed?

[daverwd]

My first car at 19 was a silver 131 sport ... to me back then it was the coolest thing on 4 wheels back in 1989 nothing came close.. my dad & uncle would of had 5 different 131 twin-cams between them over the years but neither of them ever got a sport... I couldn't believe my luck when I fell on this fully resprayed 131 sport with 2 brand new doors for the sum of ?950 of my hard saved cash...
Never have I felt the same magic for a car as my 131 sport..
Loved it then ... Love it now.. 
Think she ended her days  in Mayo as a friend of mine saw it several years later
blocking a gap in a field

[kev131]

Sounds like you need another one Dave!!! 

I never saw that pic before - great to have it after all this time and ?950 was a bargain. How did you insure it at 19 though? What did you replace it with?

[kev131]

Kev,

Do you have any idea why the 131 Racing/ mirafiori Sport was designed/constructed?

Mike I'd love to know. I have an article from a dealer only magazine that announced the launch of the two Sports dated 1978. I'll have a look and see but I guess it was to capitalise on the rallying success. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when the design committee came up with those wild colour schemes!!