There's a Fiat 124 Spider in my driveway

Nick (picaso) Comstock wrote: In reply to Flight Service: In my mind the ND has already aged, when they announced the 124 it immediately made the ND look like an old failed design attempt that never lived up to it's expectations. The car aged, ungracefully, twenty years overnight.

Exact opposite for me. The ND looks like its own car, the 124 looks like someone was given a bunch of hard points and an old car and told "make it work". That's based on photos and on seeing some mules running around, I reserve the right to change my mind when I see it in the flesh. But the ND sure hasn't aged twenty years. It would have shamed a Ferrari in 1996, and it looks exotic today.

But I'm not old enough to remember the 124 fondly, that may be the problem And the existence of both cars is good - those that want retro get retro, those that want modern get modern. Kinda like the Golf and the New Beetle back in 2000. I bought a Golf

The ability to fit bigger tires than the ND is going to come down to the subtleties of the fender design. The ND can swallow a 245. From what I've seen, the interior is shared between the two cars.

I saw one of these "Fiatas" at the Chrysler/dodge/fiat dealership yesterday. Certainly not as clean looking as the Miata. Salesman says to me that I should buy the Miata because it's a stick.

This morning I drove it to our local Porsche Club of America's breakfast gathering. I think it grabbed more attention that the GT4 Caymans.

David S. Wallens wrote:

Klayfish wrote: I'm sorry, I can't help it. When I see a title that says something like "There is a Fiat in my driveway", my first instinct is to ask if it ran when parked.

That would be the 240SX....

Oooh project for sale?

nutherjrfan wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote:

Klayfish wrote: I'm sorry, I can't help it. When I see a title that says something like "There is a Fiat in my driveway", my first instinct is to ask if it ran when parked.

That would be the 240SX....

Oooh project for sale?

Sadly, yes, this one should go up on the block.

Nick (picaso) Comstock wrote: In reply to Flight Service: In my mind the ND has already aged, when they announced the 124 it immediately made the ND look like an old failed design attempt that never lived up to it's expectations. The car aged, ungracefully, twenty years overnight.

I have to agree, but then again, I'm 53 and have had 3 Fiat 124 Spiders, last one being one I restored in the mid 2000s. I've had little British cars and the Fiat with it's Pininfarina design, simply looked better to me than any other than the Michelotti TR6s, but it was still a better car than that Triumph.

The new Fiat simply looks more like a classic sports car than the new Miata, and luckily is about the same exact size as the tiny little old Fiat 124 that I had...

picture thread

crewperson wrote: I saw one of these "Fiatas" at the Chrysler/dodge/fiat dealership yesterday. Certainly not as clean looking as the Miata. Salesman says to me that I should buy the Miata because it's a stick.

You can get a stick in the Fiat, as well.

In reply to Chris_V:

That is about the only new retro vs old car comparison where the new one doesn't look bloated.

In reply to Chris_V:

If the new Fiat was offered in some of the more vintage colours (as the Fiat 500 is) it might help.

There are few automotive homages that actually age very well to me. I think they are cool for a year or two and then I find them too self-referential unless they actually progress in some meaningful way. Negative example is the New Beetle, positive example is the 911.

Dave wrote: In reply to Chris_V: That is about the only new retro vs old car comparison where the new one doesn't look bloated.

Indeed.

So how is it in the dirt or sand?

In reply to nderwater:

The tire width of the new 4s is the about that of 2 of the old ones.

The roof on the other hand is only marginally wider.

185 mm vs 305 mm.

Nearly double the rubber but almost triple the horsepower. The original 911 made about 150 hp, the current C4S makes 420 hp. Good thing modern rubber is so much stickier.

Sounds like an acceptable reason for the car to get fatter in my mind. Keep most of it the same size and just fatten up the important bits

Chas_H wrote: How about some photos of the undercarriage?

Your buddy is on a first date and you are asking for pics of her undercarriage?

PeterAK wrote:

Chas_H wrote: How about some photos of the undercarriage?

Your buddy is on a first date and you are asking for pics of her undercarriage?

Well, she IS Italian afterall.... Just take her to a nude beach, problem solved.

In reply to PeterAK:

He ain't my buddy until some photos show up. I've been looking at the top side of the Fiat for 6 months or so. The honeymoon is over.

So, we're trying to spec out the FM R&D car. I'm thinking a black Classico, as we're going to replace everything that makes an Abarth an Abarth anyhow. The car also comes in red and many shades of white and not quite white and grey.

What do you guys think?

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Spec it in red. Wrap the hood matte black with a very thin tricolore stripe, and put it on some gold painted wheels, preferably OZ Superturismos. Dominate the hearts of every car enthusiast who sees it.

G_Body_Man wrote: Dominate the hearts of every car enthusiast of a certain age who sees it.

Fixed that for you So, make a pseudo-Abarth. I checked, the Superturismo doesn't come in gold - but I think we might have some 6ULs in that color.

Dave wrote: In reply to Chris_V: That is about the only new retro vs old car comparison where the new one doesn't look bloated.

have to remember, the original 124 was a fairly large car for a 2 seater sports car.. and it's design had some serious creases in it.. so the basic design fits in well now as compared to trying to update an MGB

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Flyin fiat, i mean it works haha.

White, every car looks good in white.

When I think of Fiat 124 spyder I think red.

Keith Tanner wrote: So, we're trying to spec out the FM R&D car. I'm thinking a black Classico, as we're going to replace everything that makes an Abarth an Abarth anyhow. The car also comes in red and many shades of white and not quite white and grey. What do you guys think?

Wouldn't a grey car be very "livery" style since you guys did that ND that Mazda ripped the paint and bodywork design off of?

I'm not sure what car Mazda "ripped the paint and bodywork design off of" - what are you thinking of? Our NDs are bland colors because, well, those were the cars we could get. We've got a little more flexibility this time around so we can pick and choose the car more carefully. White, red or black is being considered. I've got a vote for white with an Alitalia livery which is interesting but might be tough to sell to the boss.

As for "Flyin' Fiat" - that name has been considered, but we don't want to make the 500 guys think we're planning on parts for that platform. So it's Flyin' Spider. Although we own both domains