The introduction of the Fiat 124 was one of the most spectacular unveilings of all time. A 124 was dropped from a plane! In its first year, it was awarded the European Car of the Year award and was praised for its disc brakes, lightweight body, spacious interior, and advanced coil spring rear suspension. Under the hood was a 1.2-liter engine that produced a modest 65 horsepower. Though not a performance machine it did gain respectable reviews from Road & Track.
The 124 saloon was soon followed by the Sport Spider and Coupe variants. A luxurious and stretched version was introduced in 1967 and went by the name of 125.
Production of the 124 continued until 1974 when it was replaced by the 131.
The Fiat 124 Sport Spider was a 2+2 convertible that was introduced at the 1966 Turin Auto Show and was produced from 1966 to 1980. It was designed and manufactured by carrozzeria Pininfarina. From 1979 to 1982, the car was marketed and sold as the 2000 Spider. Pininfarina marketed the car from 1983 to the end of its production in 1985 as the Pininfarina Spider Azzura.
The convertible body was designed by Tom Tjaarda, who drew inspiration from his earlier designs of the Chevrolet Corvette 'Rondine' and Ferrari 275 GTS.
In 1975, the car was modified to comply with new United States regulations. At that time, no European version was produced. Sales in Europe resumed when Pininfarina took over production in 1983 under the name Pininfarina Europa Spider.
The Fiat Sports Spider, Fiat 124 Coupe, and the 124 Sedan shared much of their running gear. The Sports Spider rested on a shorter platform and a shorter wheelbase. The engine in the Spider and Coupe was a double overhead cam, aluminum crossflow head version of the sedan's pushrod engine. In 1966, it had a capacity of 1438cc which would progressively increase to 1608cc in 1970. It was reduced in 1973 to 1592cc only to increase to 1995cc in 1979.
Several years later, in 1981, on the 50th anniversary of Pininfarina, this fact was further emphasized by producing a Fiat Spider 2000 Pininfaria 50th (Golden) Anniversary Edition.
by Dan Vaughan