Photography by Federico Vandone Dell'Acqua
Stylist Tom Tjaarda was the man behind the fabulous design of the Fiat 124 Spider. It’s a fact that most people are likely aware of. But only very few know that just a few years before his death in 2017, the maestro managed to create and build a very special Spider looking exactly as he had wanted it to.
Torinese lawyer Filippo Disanto owns the 124 Tjaarda Rondine, a one-off created jointly by Disanto and his friend Tom Tjaarda. When we call Filippo to arrange the shoot, he tells us he’s in Alassio at the Mediterranean coast, some 180 kilometers away, so we could meet in Monte Carlo if we wanted to.
Come again?
The man’s got a one-off car hand-built by Tom Tjaarda and he goes on holiday in it? “Of course,” Filippo confirms, and it’s impossible to miss hearing him smile through the phone. “I cover several thousand kilometers in the car every year. It’s there to be driven.”
A few weeks later, we meet on one of those burning-hot summer days in Filippo’s hometown of Turin, right in front of Castello del Valentino. It was here nearly 60 years ago that the Fiat 124 Spider was launched to the world at the 1966 Turin Motor Show.
Three years earlier, the Dutch-American Pininfarina design boss Tom Tjaarda had been catapulted on the scene with his breathtaking concept car, the Chevrolet Corvette Rondine. Most notable was the rear treatment with the slightly inward-tapered rear wings that would reappear as a signature detail on many later Tjaarda creations. During his famed career, he also penned, among many other designs, the De Tomaso Pantera, Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 and, perhaps surprisingly, Ford Maverick.
Yet most Fiat Spider fans have never heard of a 124 Spider Rondine. Filippo explains: “This car was built only a few years ago. It’s based on a U.S.-market Fiat 124 Spider, but the design is 100% Tom Tjaarda. Tom and I built it together between 2009 and 2013. Since then, I’ve done over 50,000 kilometers in it.”
Turns out the Disantos and the Tjaardas have been friends for decades, with Filippo and Tom enjoying a special connection for more than 30 years. The 52-year-old Filippo explains: “I often talked with Tom about his designs. When he was charged to create the Fiat Spider while working for Pininfarina in the 1960s, he wanted to translate many of the original Chevrolet Rondine elements into the smaller Fiat scale. However, Fiat was having none of it. Especially the striking front end, with the half-covered eyelids and the wide chrome grille, turned out too expensive and too complex to produce for a mass manufacturer like Fiat SpA.
“In addition,” he continues, “the front would have made the car 40 centimeters longer, which was a big thing in those days.”
What led to this project, and why did it start with a U.S.-market car? Before Tom and Filippo hatched their idea, an American Fiat owner from San Diego had started his own transformation on a 1981 chassis, but he soon realized the complexities involved.
The workshop he used then found a contact for Tom Tjaarda, who told his friend Filippo. Both liked the idea of bringing it to life. “For Tom and myself, this was a dream come true,” Filippo explains. “Tom made all the drawings himself. He wanted to show what his original would have looked like had the Fiat bean counters not stopped it in its tracks.”
Tjaarda’s personal involvement was the only way the Torinese avvocato (“I don’t enjoy being a lawyer very much,” he quips) was able to turn this project around. It was only because of Tom’s involvement that many stakeholders agreed to be part of this project and offered attractive pricing. The body was made out of steel by a retired carrozziere from Turin, with the assembly taking place at a local body building firm. “We first shopped around and listened to many suppliers,” Filippo recalls. “Some wanted close to €100,000, while in the end we made it happen with just around €30,000.”
Despite its unique gestation, the Fiat Rondine Spider is immediately recognizable as a 124. One cue is the classic Coke-bottle hip, a Tjaarda signature detail that originated in the Corvette Rondine.
At the front, however, nothing was left untouched. Most striking are the retracting eyelids hiding four headlights instead of the original two. Those were built from scratch using parts from an industrial motor. Bumpers, grille and fenders were all made to fit the new front.
Also new is the forward-opening hood. At the back, the Rondine (“swallow’s tail”) remains, but Tjaarda developed unique taillights with smoked glass–the only elements looking out of place in his otherwise very ’60s design.
Even the gas tank is new. Filippo’s mini Rondine received a larger tank made of stainless steel and placed it in the trunk area. The fuel filler lid has been centrally placed behind the passenger.
There is also no cover for the convertible top when open. “Tom didn’t want one,” the owner confirms. “He wanted the mechanics to remain visible as they were. He designed every element of this car.”
While Filippo proudly shows us the car, his mobile phone rings: It’s Signora Tjaarda, Tom’s widow.
His spirit is everywhere in this car, beginning at the front and all the way to the back, in the dark taillights or the paintwork in bronzo. On the inside, the original Spider is almost unrecognizable. Light-beige leather with sensual dark-brown inserts dominates the landscape. On the seats, it’s three dark stripes that also extend from the footwell through the door cards and onto the small rear bench.
“I built the dashboard myself,” Filippo notes. “It’s a custom design to accommodate the instruments with their chrome bezels, which have been sourced from a Fiat Dino.” Even the ignition was moved to the center of the car as in some British sports cars. A chromed starter button has been added next to the shifter.
And the drivetrain? “I am afraid we went a bit to town on that one,” Filippo admits. Instead of the original 2-liter engine that, in U.S. trim, only offered 80 horsepower, the addition of a 40 DCNF Weber carburetor and other measures help up that number.
It’s clear how much Filippo enjoys his car and that he loves sharing his joy. When he hands me the keys and sits down in the passenger seat, his pride is mixed with anticipation. When I turn that delicate metal key and press the starter button, I quickly realize that this procedure, which was denied the production version, is part of the experience.
The four-cylinder comes to life with a deeper burble through the ANSA exhaust pipes than the standard model. The five-speed manual transmission and clutch remain unchanged, which means we drive off without any fuss. The significantly higher torque–about 110 lb.-ft., Filippo estimates–makes it a breeze to maneuver.
We move quickly through the Torinese afternoon traffic, change lanes, accelerate into tiny gaps. Driving this car is hugely entertaining, while the late and relatively affordable production does away with the awe we’ve come to show older and important classic cars.
“Tom wanted driving this car to be fun,” Filippo shouts over the engine and the wind buffeting in the cabin. “He loved driving it and didn’t shy away from flooring it.” The steering, while heavy at speed, is now light and pleasant, while the reasonably narrow tires–185 fronts, 195 rears–make holding a straight line easy.
As we come to an underpass, the owner cheers me on to shift down a gear. “In the galleria,” he says with glee, “you have to step on the gas, fully. Now come on, go!”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. Surrounded by concrete walls, the rear end of the Tjaarda Spider hunkers down and the front lifts while I open the throttle fully. The walls reflect the sound of the last six decades. There’s a burble and a roar that make the Spider sound significantly more grown-up than its standard sibling. Filippo is delighted, grinning from ear to ear. And Tom would have loved it.
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