1979 Abarth 131 Group 4

Aurelio Lampredi began working at Ferrari in 1946 for a brief period of time, returning at the beginning of 1948 where he designed 3.3-, 4.1- and 4.5-liter displacement V12 engines which powered Ferrari's formula 1 effort during the 1950s. His work at Ferrari ended in 1944 when Ferrari acquired Lancia's racing team which included Vittorio Jano, formerly of Alfa Romeo. From there, Lampredi went to Fiat where he oversaw the company's engine designs until 1977. His designs at Fiat included the Fiat Twin-Cam and SOHC engines, which were used for most Fiat and Lancia automobiles for over three decades. When Fiat acquired Abarth & Company in 1971, he was made manager of Fiat's Abarth factory racing group from 1973 through 1982.

The Abarth factory facility accommodated around 350 staff in the 11,000 square meter space and primarily made engines for the Autobianchi 70 hp, exhaust systems for Fiat cars and other accessories, and was the 'racing department' for Fiat and Lancia. From here, the experimental department at Abarth created the Fiat Abarth 131 rally cars, along with the Lancia Stratos team cars.

The Abarth 131 Rally cars grew from humble beginnings; the Fiat 131 was a small-to-medium family saloon produced from 1974 to 1984. Introduced at the 1974 Turin Salone dell'Automoible exhibition, the Fiat 131 was the successor to the popular Fiat 124. It was offered as a two-door and four-door saloon and a 5-door estate. It was also known and marketed as the Fiat Mirafiori, after the Turin suburb where the cars were manufactured. The engines were initially 1.3- and 1.6-liter overhead valve units, later growing in size and power when the new twin-overhead camshaft heads were introduced in 1978. Some markets received the new sport version, the Volumetrico Abarth, introduced in June of 1981, with a supercharged version of the 2-liter twin-cam engine.

There were 400 examples of the Fiat 131 Abarth Rally created for homologation purposes. Built in 1976, they were a joint effort between Fiat, Abarth, and Bertone. Bertone received bodyshells from the production line and applied plastic mudguards, a plastic hood and boot lid, and modified the structure to accommodate the rear independent suspension. The dual overhead cam, four-valve per cylinder engine was a derivation of the standard twin-cam inline-four. It was given double-downdraught 34 ADF Weber carburetors and offered nearly 140 horsepower at 6400 RPM and 127 lb-ft of torque. This is where the tuning stopped, as the brake system was from the small Fiat 127 and the gearbox was from the streetcars without synchromesh.

The competition cars had Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection, dry-sump lubrication, and produced 237 horsepower.

200 examples of the Rally-developed supercharged Abarth variants, also known as the 2000 TC Compressore, were built as a homologation special and introduced in June of 1981. They had a 16-valve belt-driven twin-cam power unit with fuel injection and lightweight aluminum and fiberglass body paneling. The interiors were devoid of non-essential materials and fitted with a full roll-over cage and vinyl-covered sponge block rear stowage for crash helmets when not in use.

The Fiat Abarth Rallye 131 enjoyed a very successful and competitive racing career, winning the World Rally Championship no fewer than three consecutive times: in 1977, 1978, and in 1980 with drivers Markku Alen, Timo Salonen, and Walter Röhrl, among many others. The Fiat Abarth 131s won 18 World Rally Championship-qualifying rounds between 1976 and 1981. Markku Alen driving a works Fiat Abarth 131 won the Finnish Thousand Lakes Rally on four occasions, and the Portuguese Rally three times. Walter Rohl won the Greek Acropolis Rally, the Quebec Criterium Molson, the Monte Carlo, Portugal, Codasur, and San Remo Rallies. Also in Fiat Abarth 131, Fulvio Bacchelli won the South Pacific Rally, Timo Salonen won the Criterium Molson du Quebec, Jean-Claude Andruet another San Remo Rally, Bernard Darniche two editions of the Tour de Corse, Antonio Zanini the Rajd Polski, and Michele Mouton the 1978 Tour de France Automobile.


by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020

Related Reading : Fiat 131 History

The Fiat 131, introduced at the 1974 Turin Motor Show, was produced from 1974 to 1984. It was a replacement for the Fiat 124 and was available as a two-door and four-door saloon and 5-door estate. Initially, the 131 was powered by 1.3 L and 1.6 L single overhead camshaft engines. In 1978 and 1981, revisions were made. In total, 1,513,800 units were produced in Italy. The Fiat 131 featured a steel....
Continue Reading >>

1979 Abarth 131 Group 4 Vehicle Profiles

Recent Vehicle Additions

Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

1979 131 Group 4
$5,050-$109,806
1979 Abarth 131 Group 4 Price Range: $4,400 - $5,050

Compare: Lower | Higher | Similar

Other 1979 Fiat Models
$5,290 - $5,790

131

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
98.00 in.
4 cyl., 107.16 CID., 86.00hp
$3,958 - $3,958
98.00 in.
4 cyl., 107.00 CID., 86.00hp
$4,400 - $4,950
98.00 in.
4 cyl., 107.00 CID., 86.00hp
$4,400 - $5,050
98.00 in.
4 cyl., 121.74 CID., 86.00hp
$5,290 - $5,790
98.00 in.
$4,400 - $5,050
98.00 in.
4 cyl., 121.74 CID., 102.00hp
$8,190 - $8,390

Related Automotive News

RALLY GB - AFTER STAGE 3

Ford World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila lead Wales Rally GB after the opening mornings competition in which the squad won all three speed tests. The Finns head this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 3.3sec...

Rally Finland - After Stage 8

Ford World Rally Teams drivers maintained a strong pace to retain third and fourth in Rally Finland as the second leg progressed this afternoon. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila regained top spot in the internal Ford battle as they swapped places...
Citroen Shifts Into Racing Gear For 2012 Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Citroen Shifts Into Racing Gear For 2012 Goodwood Festival Of Speed

New Citroën Racing driver, Thierry Neuville, will be putting DS3 WRC through its paces on the hill climb %26 Forest Rally Stage Hot blooded 256bhp DS4 Racing concept making its UK premiere on the Citroën stand New Citroën DS5 taking part in the Mo...
Audi R18 e-tron quattro: heading for Le Mans with all-wheel drive

Audi R18 e-tron quattro: heading for Le Mans with all-wheel drive

In a month from now a prestigious success will be at stake for Audi. On June 1617, a hybrid vehicle could be winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time. Electrified drive and quattro all-wheel drive – what looks like two different worlds at first...
The Champion in Touring Car Racing : The BMW M3

The Champion in Touring Car Racing : The BMW M3

In August 1985, a rumour surfaced in motor magazine Auto-Deutschland which emanated from a new sports car. An A Group Car from BMW that was a thoroughbred racing car according to the rules but was also to be produced in a version licensed to drive on...

Vehicle information, history, and specifications from concept to production.