Fiat 124 Sport Spider
Fiat 124 Sport Spider (CS)
Overview
Manufacturer	Fiat (1966–1982) Pininfarina (1982–1985)
Also called	Fiat Spider 2000[1] Pininfarina Spider (1982–1985)
Production	1966–1985
Assembly	Italy:Turin Italy:San Giorgio Canavese (Pininfarina)
Designer	Pininfarina: Tom Tjaarda (designer)[2] Franco Martinengo (design director) Battista Pininfarina
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-doorcabriolet
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related	Fiat 124
Powertrain
Engine	1,438 cc (1.4 L)I4 1,592 cc (1.6 L) I4 1,608 cc (1.6 L) I4 1,756 cc (1.8 L) I4 1,995 cc (2.0 L) I4 1,995 cc (2.0 L)turbo I4 1,995 cc (2.0 L)sc I4
Transmission	4-speedmanual 5-speed manual 3-speedautomatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	89.75 in (2,280 mm)[3]
Length	156.25 in (3,969 mm)[3]
Width	63.5 in (1,613 mm)[3]
Height	49.25 in (1,251 mm)[3]
Chronology
Predecessor	Fiat Pininfarina Cabriolet
Successor	Fiat Barchetta Fiat 124 Spider (2016) (Spiritual)

TheFiat 124 Sport Spider is aconvertible sports car marketed byFiat for model years 1966–1982 and by Pininfarina for 1982–1985 model years. Designed by and manufactured at the ItaliancarrozzeriaPininfarina factory, themonocoque, front-engined, rear-drive Sport Spider debuted at the November 1966Turin Auto Show with styling byTom Tjaarda.

Fiat later marketed the car as theSpider 2000 (1979–1982). After being retired by Fiat, Pininfarina continued the production of the model under its own brand asPininfarina Spider Azzurra for the North American market andPininfarina Spidereuropa for the European market for three more years, from August 1982 until 1985.^[4]

In 2015, asuccessor of the Fiat 124 Spider was presented at theLos Angeles Auto Show.^[5]

The Fiat 124 Sport Spider was designed by Pininfarina and styled in-house by Tom Tjaarda.^[6] The 124 Sport Spider,124 Sport Coupé and124 sedan share much of their running gear, and in the case of the coupé,platforms. The Sports Spider uses a shorter platform along with a shorterwheelbase, and in contrast to the Pininfarina-styled and manufactured spider, Fiat designed and manufactured the coupé in-house.

The succession of build series of the 124 were designated internally as AS, BS, BS1, CS, and CSA. AS models had a torque tube transmitting power to the rear wheels; this crack-prone design was replaced by a trailing-arm rear axle with the second series (BS) during 1969, which was manufactured alongside the AS for the first six months of 1970. The early AS cars also have smaller taillights, while the BS received a mesh grille and black-rimmed gauges inside. In July 1970, the 1.6-liter BS1 appeared; this model is recognizable by its twin humps on the bonnet and bumper overriders. The CS series Spider arrived during 1972. Also in 1972, a sports version of the Spider debuted, required for type-approval of its rally version, and was marketed as 124 CSA (C-Spider-Abarth). The vehicle has a capacity of 128 hp (94 kW). In three years, Fiat manufactured less than 1000 CSA models, which were intended for sale to individual clients.

The car was manufactured by Fiat (with a Pininfarina body) in Turin until October 1981, when Pininfarina took over manufacture in theirSan Giorgio Canavese plant. Serial numbers started over from zero, while the 11th digit in thevehicle identification number was switched from an 8 to a 5. The Fiat Spider 2000 ended manufacture in July 1982, and after the Italiansummer holidays, production of Pininfarina-badged cars commenced in its place.

Thefour-cylinder engine used in thespider andcoupé is adouble overhead cam, aluminumcrossflow head version of the sedan's pushrod unit. It started in 1966 with a capacity of 1438 cc, progressively increasing to 1608 cc in 1970 (although this was reduced to 1,592 cc in 1973), 1,756 cc in 1974, and finally 1,995 cc in 1979. TheFiat Twin Cam engine was designed by ex-Ferrari engineerAurelio Lampredi. Bosch fuel injection replaced the previously used Weber carburetors midway through 1980. In 1981 and 1982, Fiat USA, Inc. partnered with Legend Industries to create around 700 turbo models for US markets. A supercharged model called "Volumex" also was offered toward the end of production; it was sold only in Europe, where it cost 35% more than a regular, fuel-injected Spidereuropa.^[a] This family of engines remained in production into the 1990s, giving it one of the longest production runs in automotive history. The double overhead cam (DOHC) version of the engine was the first mass manufactured DOHC to use reinforced-rubber timing belts, an innovation that came into nearly universal use in the decades after its introduction. Its derivatives powered race cars such as the Fiat 131 Mirafiori, 124 Special T, Lancia Beta Montecarlo, Delta Integrale, and many others.

Suspension is conventional by unequal-length wishbones and coilover damper at the front and by coil-spring live rear axle at the rear, which is located by a transverse link (Panhard rod) and two pairs of forward-extending radius rods to react to braking and acceleration forces, and to control axle wind-up.

The coupé and Spider were marketed in Canada and the US beginning in 1968. In 1969, the Spider featured four-wheel disc brakes, double overhead cams, hesitation wipers, steering column-mounted lighting controls, radial-ply tyres, and a five-speedmanual transmission. An optional three-speedautomatic transmission from General Motors was available from 1979 through 1985 for North America and Japan. The Spider's convertible top was known for its simplicity of use—allowing a seated driver to quickly raise or lower the top.^[8] When the engine was upgraded to 2.0 L, the model was renamed the Fiat 2000 Spider. For the 1980 model year, a version with a catalytic converter andBosch L-Jetronic fuel injection was introduced for California and optional in the other 49 states. For 1981, this engine, with 102 hp (76 kW), became standard fitment in North America.^[8]

Fiat subsequently stopped marketing the Spider and theX1/9—to have their marketing assumed by their respectivecarrozzerie.^[4] In Europe, theRitmo Cabrio was also marketed byBertone rather than Fiat itself.^[9] In the US, Fiat turned over marketing and support of the Spider and theX1/9 to International Automobile Importers, Inc., headed byMalcolm Bricklin.

Fiat Abarth 124 Rally
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door spider with fixedhardtop
Chronology
Successor	Fiat Abarth 131 Rally

The Fiat Abarth 124 Rally is a homologated version of the 124 Sport Spider, known also as "124 Abarth Stradale", introduced in November 1972.^[10][11]It receivedFédération Internationale de l'Automobilehomologation in thespecial grand touring cars (group 4) racing class, and replaced the 1.6-litre Fiat Sport Spider rally cars, which were then being campaigned. At the time, 124 had already won the 1972European Rally Championship at the hands ofRaffaele Pinto and Gino Macaluso.^[10]The 124 Rally was added to the Sport Spider range, which included the 1600 and 1800 models; the first 500 examples produced were earmarked for the domestic Italian market.^[11]

Amongst the most notable modifications over the standard Spider wereindependent rear suspension, engine upgrades, lightweight body panels, and a rigidhard top.

In place of the usual rearsolid axle, independent suspension from lower wishbones is used, with the original trailing arms, an upperstrut, and an antiroll bar. At the front, aradius rod on each side was added to the standard double wishbones.

The Abarth-tuned type 132 AC 4.000 1.8-litre, twin-cam engine was brought from the standard 118 to 128 PSDIN (94 kW; 126 hp)^[12] by replacing the standard twin-chokecarburettor with double vertical twin-chokeWeber 44 IDFs, and by fitting an Abarth exhaust with a dual exit muffler.^[10][11] The 9.8:1 compression ratio was left unchanged.^[11]

The transmission is the all-synchronised five-speed optional on the other Sport Spider models, and brakes arediscs on all four corners.Despite the 20 kg (44 lb) four-pointroll bar fitted,kerb weight is 938 kg (2,068 lb), roughly 25 kg (55 lb) less than the regular 1.8-litre Sport Spider.^[10]

The engine bonnet, boot lid, and fixed hard top arefibreglass, painted matt black; the rear window isperspex and the doors are aluminium. Front and rear bumpers were deleted and replaced by simple rubber bumperettes. A single matte-blackwing mirror was fitted.Matte-black wheel-arch extensions house185/70 VR 13Pirelli CN 36 tyres on5.5 J × 13" four-spokealloy wheels.^[10]Inside, thecentre console, rear occasional seats, and glovebox lid were eliminated; its new features were anodised aluminium dashboard trim, a small, three-spoke, leather-covered Abarthsteering wheel, andRecaro corduroy-and-leatherbucket seats as an extra-cost option.^[10]The car carries Fiat badging front and rear, Abarth badges, and "Fiat Abarth" scripts on thefront wings, and Abarth wheel-centre caps.Only three paint colours were available: Corsa red, white, and light blue.^[10]

In 1971, the 124 Spider was prepared for theInternational Championship for Manufacturers when Abarth became involved with its production and development. Abarth designer Ing. Colucci was responsible for getting the 124 Spider intoGroup 4 rally trim. Over this period, the Abarth Spider was relatively successful with wins at the 1972 Hessen Rally,Acropolis Rally, 1973 Polish Rally, 19th on the 1973 RAC rally, and seventh to mostly the Alpine Renaults on the1973 Monte Carlo Rally. The Spider continued to perform with first, second, and third in the 1974 eighth Portuguese TAP Rally, sixth in the1974 1000 Lakes Rally, fourth in the 1975 Monte Carlo Rally, and also withMarkku Alén driving the spider to third place. By 1976, the days of 124 rallying were numbered due to the appearance of the Fiat-Abarth 131.^[14]

The Spider was sold from 1966 for European and US markets, but from 1975 until 1981, they were produced only for the US market. In 1981, they were reintroduced in Europe until the end of production in 1985. Almost 200,000 Spiders had been manufactured, with 75% for the US market. The nine models of the spider are the AS, BS, BS1, CS, CSA (Abarth), CS1, CS2, CS0, and DS.

The 124 name was revived in 2016 through a joint venture with Mazda, using the newMazda MX-5 platform. After considering possibly marketing the result as anAlfa Romeo Spider, the car was brought to the market as a Fiat. It was unveiled at theLos Angeles Auto Show in November 2015 and made available in late 2016.^[16] The engine is a turbocharged 1.4MultiAir with 160 hp (119 kW) from the Fiat range.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFiat 124 Sport Spider.

• Fiat 124 Abarth Rally Gr.4 (FCA)
• Pininfarina Spidereuropa (FCA)

• Fiat vehicles
• 1960s cars
• 1970s cars
• Cars introduced in 1966
• Cars powered by longitudinal 4-cylinder engines
• Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
• Convertibles
• 1980s cars
• Pininfarina vehicles
• Cars discontinued in 1985

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