The 131 Sport is crap!

[daverwd]

Kevin let's just say it had book of a less powerful  2 door model.. ( I was only 19  )

I replaced it with a lancia delta GT...
Was a lovely car but never lived up to the 131.. rwd is so much more fun than fwd

[Thotos]

Kev,

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

I remember reading an article back in the days claiming that the 131 Racing/Sport was created to silence the many critics who lamented the loss of the 124 Coupe without a suitable replacement. But I don't believe that and I think, as Kevin said, it was to capitalise on the racing success of the model. Fiat are in the business of making money and not trying to make a few crazy people like us happy 

[Sev131]

I had my first Sport at 14. Use to sit in it in the garage all polished up inc the rust with my mates. At 18 my dad welded, painted and had it mot'd, taxed and insured and it went from there. I was a named driver. Kept it for a bit then my uncles Uno turbo was given to me. 20 years old and the turbo said it all....the 131 was crap and had to go. Sold it on and realised I made the biggest mistake ever. Anyway few years passed, Got married in may 2004, bought a red Sport in August and It all started again...I went Sport mad and ended up with 3 in a year...2 runners and one resto.

[mirafiori76]

Yes, the Racing/Sport was capitalised on the rallying succes of the Abarth.

As you probably know Fiat wanted to participate on rallying with a "family car". The 124 Spider was outdated and the Lancia Strato's was a purpose build rally car.
For homogolation 400 street versions of a rally model were to be constructed and in this case the 131 Abarth Stradale was designed. These were all distributed to the dealers in Italy, except for a handful that were sold to French dealers.
But the car was impossible to sell for dealers. The price was just too high. Some cars were even just sold in late 1978.
Btw, it's a fairytaile that 50 were withdrawn to be converted to Group 4 cars. As a matter of fact, Stradales don't even come near to the rally versions. Perhaps 10 % of parts are alike.
Then the 131 Abarth got world rally champion. And since Fiat has Always been only interested in selling cars, the Racing/Sport was constructed. A sporty version of the already excisting 2-door coach for a reasonable price. Not as spectacular as it's pre-decessor, heavier and not as fast because of the more economic engine.
It was all about selling numbers.

About the colors. Stradales were only available in three colors: Blue, Red and Yellow. The three colors in the Abarth badge.
The Racing/Sport came in totally different colors. More to the modern time standard and totally different to the standard versions. Three were available: Orange, black and gun metal with options for trimming in black and silver. Trimming in orange, green and ice blue were just examples in the folders and not a standard. Some buyers probably liked thosecolors and so they did a respray. Together with the 131 Sport, the 127 Sport was launched, only in orange and black.

A couple of years later the Racing/Sport was only available in silver. 50 old stock cars in gun metal that were still standing in the parking lot were withdrawn back to the factory to become Abarth Volumetrico's.

 

[kev131]

More good info but I think your colours are slightly incorrect.

131 Sport was available in silver, grey and orange from launch with black becoming available shortly afterwards. Factory versions with blue (silver body) and beige/gold trims (black body) were also available from Fiat but there is mystery about the orange and green bumpers. Some say they were for the Asian market only but you may be right that they were never officially available. The 127 Sport came in black, silver and orange only - no grey which is a shame as it would look great in that colour.

I didn't know the Stradale colours were based on the Abarth badge colours.

[mirafiori76]

Yes Kevin, you could be right about the silver. I probably should have said it was the only available color from 1980 and on.
The beige trimming was only for Britain and, i believe, for Germany. Altough it could very well have been gold. Perhaps someone could shine a light on this?
Here in Holland most Racings were in orange and some were in gun metal. Later on only in silver.

I'm not sure about silver for the 127 Sport 70 HP (1050 cc). I have never ever seen one. I know for sure the second (75 HP, 1300 cc) was available in a bigger color scheme.

[c.a.c131]

Yes Kevin, you could be right about the silver. I probably should have said it was the only available color from 1980 and on.
The beige trimming was only for Britain and, i believe, for Germany. Altough it could very well have been gold. Perhaps someone could shine a light on this?
Here in Holland most Racings were in orange and some were in gun metal. Later on only in silver.

I'm not sure about silver for the 127 Sport 70 HP (1050 cc). I have never ever seen one. I know for sure the second (75 HP, 1300 cc) was available in a bigger color scheme.

Gold bumpers & trims were sold in Irish market, German market and  in Malta too. Gun metal with pippin red velour and orange bumpers sold in Ireland too. 

[c.a.c131]

I seen a France 131 Racing very early 1978 in silver  a few weeks ago with silver bumpers and trims, they were painted black but silver plastic bumpers under the black paint, the grille had not been painted so it was the original silver & the seat belts front and rear were silver.

[131DHOC]

As far as I know abarth did also only one green stradale, which is still alive in his original colour and matching seat green stripe. But I have no pictures of it.

[david]

The Fiat 131 sport or racing is the best car I have ever driven and I am a mechanic so I drive everything.
As for all these people who go on about bmw's, merc's, audi's etc these days, I can only pity them as they have never driven a proper car and generally all modern cars are boring dull and souless.
I was contemplating buying a Fiat coupe 20 valve turbo but while being a good car by modern standards it just doesn't grab me like a 131 sport and I must admit I don't like front wheel drive but then I don't like the german rear wheel drive rubbish either so I think I will keep my 131 sport as I don't think there is a substitute.

[david]

mirafiori76,
                  There were 127 sports in silver in the UK, I had a W reg one (1980).
I think I still have the log book somewhere.

[mirafiori76]

mirafiori76,
                  There were 127 sports in silver in the UK, I had a W reg one (1980).
I think I still have the log book somewhere.

I didn't know that. Like i said, i have never seen one and i wasn't aware of the exsistance of silver 127 Sports.

[strada]

very interesting initial post, particularly the axle section, i remember, axle s exploding in "2door sports" as we used to call them quite regularly. and yes it desperately needed a longer 5th gear, (which the 2000super got).

 it was because they were crap that we loved them, and still do.. as a 17yearold in 1989, i didn't have rich parents to buy me a ?2000 w'reg mk 3 escort like my friends did so i bought a w'reg strada cl instead for ?350 OF MY OWN MONEY!! it was so much cheaper because it was generally thought of as crap by anyone you asked yet had 5thgear and rear wiper and was better looking and faster than the escort.

my ist foray into 131 ownership was when a faily tidy x'reg 1600 cl (7years old)was towed it to the garage i worked in with the OHV cambelt broken,  the owner said "ITS CRAP,do you want it for ?50" now even in 1990 it was n't particularly difficult to source a rotten 1600 tc and swop all the super bits on to the  tidy cl  shell, the V5 said cl so insurance was ?250 for an 18yearold!! i ended up with a very nice car (self funded) for less than 200 quid far cooler than the sierras and montegos my friends were now getting bank loans to buy,    crap? yes but wonderful, marvellous and utterly lovable in a way that  only"we" will ever know. the car was eventually sold on to fund my ist 105tc but a photo of it remains above my bed today, thats the difference beetween a fiat and a ford

[david]

Imagine getiing a bank loan for a montego !
We used to call them  "montebloodywontgos"   are there any left ?  I hope not....

[c.a.c131]

Imagine getiing a bank loan for a montego !
We used to call them  "montebloodywontgos"   are there any left ?  I hope not....

The word crap is to good a word to use about an Austin Montego I hope to that there are none left, exterminate every Montego