This is the second installment of UMPH's coverage of Auto Italia, 2021, following on from an X1/9-only edition published a couple of days ago (please go to: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/auto-italia-2021-part-1-x-factor.html). It will be followed by posts focusing on Lancias, then Alfas and, finally, a couple of Ferraris, a magnificent Lamborghini Miura and a stately Maserati, the only examples of their respective marques that their owners left on display after the gongs were handed out.
As a long-standing Fiat fan, and having come from a family whose attraction to the brand also afflicts my father, brother and nephew, it was a great thrill to see such a perfect Series 2 850 Sports Coupe. Dad had an identical version in this very colour - Giallo Positano - purchased new from the Davies Brothers' dealership in Launceston, Tasmania, circa 1970. It wasn't his last Fiat, by any means, but it was clearly the very most beautiful in a lineup that also included a 1500, a 500, a 131 Mirafiori and an X1/9.
This is the Spider version of the 850 which, as far as I know, was never commercially available in Australia. The fact that this one's a left-hooker adds weight to this. My brother, who lived in Turkey for several years, still gets hot under the collar when he describes a neglected, badly decaying version that had become an ornament outside a service station not far from his house. He badly wanted to rescue it but, sadly, its owner wouldn't be convinced to part with it.
When the 850 Sport Coupe got too small for our growing family, it was replaced with a Mk 1 1500 like the one above. Ours was white with blacked-out 'C' pillars, courtesy of Dad and a rattle can, hubcap-less steel wheels, a wooden sports steering wheel and, I think, a dashtop-mounted tacho. It definitely had black vinyl bucket seats, possibly coupled with full-harness seat belts, and a four-on-the-tree manual transmission. I remember it had a nice exhaust note, too.
I wish we had also owned a 124 coupe but, to my great annoyance, we never did. However, one of my mates has a late 1960s' AC that was imported into Australia via France, when it was nearly new, and then converted to right-hand-drive. It now lives in a shipping container. One day he'll do it up. Or so he says.
 |
| Photo by Angus |
 |
| Photo by Angus |
Staying with the 124 theme, this is the Spider version of that model, sharing the coupe's engine, transmission and brakes. We didn't have one of these, either. I did nearly buy an ex-California car that was for sale here in Hobart, Tasmania, but couldn't bring myself to accept the pitiful trade-in that was offered for my Mk IIIA Austin Healey Sprite. Now I'm not so sure that was the right choice.
This is a 125 which is effectively a stretched, up-specced version of the 124 sedan. However, unlike the 124 sedan, the 125 shares the 124 coupe and sedan running gear, meaning that it's equipped with a twin cam motor, five-speed 'box and four wheels disc brakes.
He of the shipping container ex-Francais 124 AC had one of these, too. He tells of its at the time unparalleled luxury, featuring, as it did, a fully carpeted interior and boot, engine and boot courtesy lighting, a day / night prismatic rear view mirror, a capacious front parcel shelf and a very, very adjustable driver's seat. Compare those specs with what was - or more accurately, was not - available on your Holdens and Fords of that era!
Unfortunately, his was written off after a minor bingle, more on economic grounds than the feasibility of repairing it. He still misses that car.
The S 2300 coupe would have to be one of the most elegant Fiats ever! It's somehow very much of its era - the early 1960s - yet still timeless. I think I'd feel the need to dress sharply just to drive it; maybe a blazer, a pair of crisply ironed pants, a white shirt with an optional cravat, some loafers, and a pair of Persol shades to complete the look.
U M P H
(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)
Images by Alastair & Angus.
Comments
Post a Comment