Fiat 131 Abarth Racing 2000/TC: grey coupe from Italy
The Fiat 131 is a family sedan manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1974 to 1984 after its debut at the 1974 Turin Motor Show. Available as a two-door and four-door saloon and 5-door estate across a single generation, the 131 succeeded the Fiat 124.
The 131 was also marketed as the Fiat Mirafiori, after the Turin suburb where the cars were manufactured. Initially, the 131 was offered with 1.3 L and 1.6 L overhead valve engines and the range received revisions in 1978 and 1981. Production reached 1,513,800.
In 1976, 400 examples of the Fiat 131 Abarth Rally were built for homologation purposes. These cars were built in a cooperation between Fiat, Bertone and Abarth. Bertone took part-completed two door standard bodyshells from the production line in Mirafiori, fitted plastic mudguards front and rear, a plastic bonnet and bootlid and modified the metal structure to accept the rear independent suspension. The cars were fully painted and trimmed and then delivered back to the Fiat special Rivalta plant where they received the Abarth mechanicals.
The street version of the car used a DOHC 4 valves per cylinder derivative of the standard twin cam inline-four engine, equipped with a double downdraught 34 ADF Weber carburetors producing 140 PS (138 bhp; 103 kW) at 6400 rpm and 172 N⋅m (127 lb⋅ft; 17.5 kg⋅m) of torque at 3600 rpm.
The street cars used the standard gearbox with no synchromesh (Rally type regulations required the use of the same type of synchromesh on the competition cars as on the street versions) and the hopelessly underdimensioned brake system of the small Fiat 127.
Competition cars used dry sump lubrication and eventually Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. In race specifications, the engine produced up to 240 PS (237 bhp; 177 kW) in 1980, being driven to World Championship status by Walter Röhrl.
