1959 Fiat 1200 TV Convertible

The design for the Fiat 1200 TV is generally attributed to Fiat's design director, Fabio Luigi Rapi, whose resume included the memorable Otto Vu. The underpinnings for the TV was shared with the 1200 Coupe and Sedan, but their popularity was completely different. Nearly 400,000 examples of the 1200 were produced but less than 2,350 examples were made of the Trasformabile. The Trasformabile had roll-up windows, a canvas top, and unique swivel-mounted seats.

This particular example is believed to have been delivered new to California and remained in the same ownership for approximately 30 years. In 2005, its third owner displayed the car at Concorso Italian, where it earned an award in the preservation class. In late 2005, the fourth owner commissioned a highly detailed restoration.

In 2010, the current owner treated the Spider to further mechanical refurbishment.

This car is powered by a 1221cc four-cylinder engine fitted with a Weber 2-barrel carburetor. There is a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2015