RE: SOTW: Fiat Coupe
Discussion
16v(Turbo) - more cambelt changes/lack of 5th cylinder/high mileage engines that been repaired post cambelt failure will die.
20v(Turbo) - Reliable but the list of parts that need replacing can be long. Poorly maintained examples are a money pit.
I had a 20v Turbo, LE and a PLUS (in that order). I still find it difficult to bring myself to buy anything with a 4 cylinder engine and I miss the LE with its boudoir interior.
20v(Turbo) - Reliable but the list of parts that need replacing can be long. Poorly maintained examples are a money pit.
I had a 20v Turbo, LE and a PLUS (in that order). I still find it difficult to bring myself to buy anything with a 4 cylinder engine and I miss the LE with its boudoir interior.
C.A.R. said:
I saw one of these in pearl white recently and thought it looked really good. Mild barry mods but otherwise really smart.
Where did you see that? The Pearl White model has an almost mythical status as it was never a UK colour offered by dealers. If it was a real Pearly, it would be one of maybe just 2 or 3 ever imported and would carry a very considerable premium over just about any other Fiat Coupe. I'd be very surprised if it were genuine and had been "barried".May of course have been a respray but even those are few & far between.
Had a 20V Turbo for a year or so. Always felt like it was going to break, but never actually did. Few electrical gremlins. Usual cracked exhaust manifold.
The engine was too much for the rest of the car in the wet but good fun otherwise.
Mate of mine had a 16V Turbo that was an mechanical and electrical money pit.
I would go for the 20V for the sheer fun factor and noise.
The engine was too much for the rest of the car in the wet but good fun otherwise.
Mate of mine had a 16V Turbo that was an mechanical and electrical money pit.
I would go for the 20V for the sheer fun factor and noise.
I've got one of these (20VT LE) and its one of the best cars I've owned. It has been very reliable, fun to own, sounds great and is full of character which you don't get with a lot of cars. Its also great to be able to keep up with much more modern machinery if you feel the need such as the current breed of hothatches for much less outlay.
There is a great owners club who are always helpful and organise events (www.fccuk.org/forum) and numerous specialists out there such as Motormech, Midlandcarservicing, Poweritalia and FCperformance.
These cars are also highly tuneable as well with 300bhp atainable without too much outlay (turbo and intercooler upgrade, remap). There are several supercar slayers about too with over 500bhp. Torqueitalia specialize in building performance engines for Fiat Coupe.
The big jobs that cost a bit of money are the cambelt, clutch, exhaust manifold and turbo so if you are looking at buying one see if these have been done recently.
There is a great owners club who are always helpful and organise events (www.fccuk.org/forum) and numerous specialists out there such as Motormech, Midlandcarservicing, Poweritalia and FCperformance.
These cars are also highly tuneable as well with 300bhp atainable without too much outlay (turbo and intercooler upgrade, remap). There are several supercar slayers about too with over 500bhp. Torqueitalia specialize in building performance engines for Fiat Coupe.
The big jobs that cost a bit of money are the cambelt, clutch, exhaust manifold and turbo so if you are looking at buying one see if these have been done recently.
I have a love / hate relationship with the styling of these. The back never looked right to me and the front lights were weird, so too the slashes. As the author says though, there is nothing overall that makes me dislike it.
Wouldn't swap it for my MR2 Turbo though - 1 second quicker to 60 in standard form and equally as tuneable.
The Fiat is rarer now though and the Pininfarina badge is something of a legend to have adorned on it.
Good shed - they just don't make cars like these any more.
Wouldn't swap it for my MR2 Turbo though - 1 second quicker to 60 in standard form and equally as tuneable.
The Fiat is rarer now though and the Pininfarina badge is something of a legend to have adorned on it.
Good shed - they just don't make cars like these any more.
Been an owner for over 4 years now and love these cars, look after them and they can be a reliable everyday proposition as well as practical. I think you'd really have to want a 16V though as the 20V cars are the same value (generally) and sound a lot better, a drive in a badly tuned 16V sent me to a 20V.
Poweritalia in Basildon stopped working on 16V cars a couple of years now but the other specialists like FCSS, Motormech etc will and I suppose you get all the integrale tuning guys as well.
I can't recommend the Fiat Coupe enough as it is still a great car and to be honest when was the last one you saw on the road?
Poweritalia in Basildon stopped working on 16V cars a couple of years now but the other specialists like FCSS, Motormech etc will and I suppose you get all the integrale tuning guys as well.
I can't recommend the Fiat Coupe enough as it is still a great car and to be honest when was the last one you saw on the road?
SMGB said:
I friend had a 20v from new in that blue that only the 20v turbos came in.
Sprint Blue. A friend of mine has two of these, a well-used red 20v Turbo that he uses daily and a pristine yellow 20v Turbo. I have been in the red one and it's pretty good. Previously he had a 16v Turbo which of course has the integrale-derived engine. I drove that one and it was a really nice car. He hasn't had all that many problems with any of them, they just need to be properly looked after.
I owned two previously, great cars in so many ways - looks, sound, performance and the FCCUK community. I wouldn't worry about one with miles, just look for one that has had as many of the common or large bills taken care of (manifold, oil cooler, clutch, cam belt, turbo, wishbones). If they were rwd I would probably still have one.
Dave
Dave
Have owned three of these and they are fantastic - so much character and style (especially inside) and with the sort of performance which modern hot hatches have only just caught up with 15 years + later.
BUT - I can't believe no one has pointed out the fact that Fiat no longer makes parts for these. Need a new oil cool (which eventually you will)?? Then it's either a scrap merchant or some kind of botch job. This is why numbers of Fiat coupes have suddenly dropped over the last couple of years and why i would never buy another one now.
If you absolutely have to, ignore the 16V advice. 20vt is better in every way and sounds fantastic. Check:
Clutch
Wishbones
Exhaust manifold
Oil cooler pipes
Cylinder compression
Turbo seals
Track rod ends
Wheel bearings
Then check the wishbones again as they will probably have perished whilst you were checking the other stuff. Great cars in their time but because Fiat are crap and always wanted to disown the car, no longer a viable proposition.
BUT - I can't believe no one has pointed out the fact that Fiat no longer makes parts for these. Need a new oil cool (which eventually you will)?? Then it's either a scrap merchant or some kind of botch job. This is why numbers of Fiat coupes have suddenly dropped over the last couple of years and why i would never buy another one now.
If you absolutely have to, ignore the 16V advice. 20vt is better in every way and sounds fantastic. Check:
Clutch
Wishbones
Exhaust manifold
Oil cooler pipes
Cylinder compression
Turbo seals
Track rod ends
Wheel bearings
Then check the wishbones again as they will probably have perished whilst you were checking the other stuff. Great cars in their time but because Fiat are crap and always wanted to disown the car, no longer a viable proposition.
Edited by macky17 on Friday 1st March 11:52
Oh, and shed has turned up a 20V before: http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=162&i=197...
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