RE: Fiat Coupe: Catch it While You Can

[fastgerman]

I'll take a Corrado VR6

[Leins]

I wonder if any owners are now train drivers too?

[James Junior]

JeffreyLebowski said:

I know it's fashionable to slag off Vauxhalls, but saying the Calibra has aged terribly is a load of crap, personally I think they're a sleek, handsome design for the era that with a more fashionable badge (and probably better driving dynamics, although I've never driven one!) would probably be sought after today.

I totally agree! I think the Calibra styling has really aged well actually and that its one of the best looking cars Vauxhall have made. Each to their own I guess.

[James Junior]

Zircon said:

I quite like these Fiats and am a fan of appreciating classics.

This model has definitely got a lot of appeal, I like the slash cuts and the 4 seater option is good. There is something charming about Italian coupe's.

If I was going to pick a cheap future classic I would take one of these over the Fiat every time though......

Mid Engined, Rear drive
245bhp standard
0-60 in 5.2
155 top speed
Infinitely modifiable
Superbly built



That said, the Coupe is a lovely car and very rare these days......

Edited by Zircon on Thursday 19th November 13:03

This in spades. I owned four MK2 MR2s over the years and am hankering after another turbo. Prices are back on the rise now that the Japanese import market is back up and running after years in the exchange-rate wilderness.

[andyps]

I've had my 20vt for over 11 years now and taken the mileage from 34k to 196k, still on the original engine, gearbox and turbo. It was retired from daily use 4 years ago to more gentler use a hillclimb car. All the positives which have been said about it so far I agree with, a practical GT car with decent interior space, good performance and handling which is fun and predictable. Costs are reasonable, a cambelt change costs around £500 and other parts are fine with a good network of specialists around.

Got to pick up the comparison with the MR2 - very different cars but interesting that one of those has been my main competition at Harewood Hill this year. By the end of the year I got beaten once so I was pretty pleased, particularly as the MR2 was running about 350bhp apparently and mine has just a gtec chip to add 20hp (and that probably only just about compensates for horses lost through the mileage on mine).

Really pleased to see a positive article about the value of these cars - it almost undermines my comments in the thread about the Silverstone Auction at the Classic Car show and Escort RS Turbo values!

[Gandahar]

daveco said:

Certainly a distinctive design but just like the Peugeot coupe of the same vintage the body-to-wheel size ratio does it no favours.

That's because Chris Bangle designed it, and I use the term very loosely , the guy who later made a BMW 5 series on 17 inch rims so slab sided it looked like it was running on 14 inch.

If you compare Wayne Cherries attempt with the Calibra, a poor car mechanically, but far far superior design wise....

The Fiat looks so plasticky and "designed" it's hard to know where to start.

[kambites]

Lovely things; I looked at them years ago when I bought the Corrado but the thing which put me off was the lack of a hatch-back. All in all I think the Corrado is a better car, but the Fiat certainly has its charms.

[Zircon]

andyps said:

Really pleased to see a positive article about the value of these cars - it almost undermines my comments in the thread about the Silverstone Auction at the Classic Car show and Escort RS Turbo values!

Yeah hopefully the 90's cars like these, MR2's, GT4's etc. will start to rise like the E36 M3. They deserve to.

[hoban81]

The Sprint Blue coupe belongs to me. Thanks PistonhHeads.

Great cars but can't afford to keep 2.

[British Beef]

James Junior said:

I totally agree! I think the Calibra styling has really aged well actually and that its one of the best looking cars Vauxhall have made. Each to their own I guess.

I also like the Calibra styling, simple and smooth, and with the V6 engine it made a good noise too.

A friend has the 20V LE Coupe, nice car. The timing belt can be changed without taking the engine out, but requires a good mechanic with ladyboy hand skills.

[Alex]

I had a burgundy red 20V Turbo from new.

Loved the styling, interior and engine. The handling was OK, but I never found it much fun to drive though the bends.

I traded it in for a Griff 500...

[white_goodman]

Itsallicanafford said:

its a bit confusing this article...20V N/a and turbo models were both available, as where 16V n/a and turbo models.

the 20V N/a was a good motor, with is offbeat 5 cylinder warble but the Turbo was something else. its ability to humble quite serious machinery was awesome...

Has anybody mentioned the magic 3rd gear yet?

Yes, I found that a bit confusing as well and could lead to someone who doesn't know much about them paying over the odds for a 20v non-turbo! Wasn't the 20v engine without the turbo also available in the Bravo HGT?

I'm not sure if this is right but I also heard that the earlier 16v turbo shared its engine with the Delta Integrale (which would make sense)?

My mum bought a new Cinquecento Sporting around the same time the Coupe was launched and a metallic blue Coupe Turbo was parked next to the Cinq in the showroom. I wanted one so bad and when I started driving (in the Cinq), I still thought they were awesome too.

If I recall, standard, a 20v Turbo was quicker than a standard Escort Cosworth and they were good value too. Later, I went through a bit of a VW phase and owned a Corrado VR6 but I still think these look better inside and out and quicker too.

[white_goodman]

James Junior said:

I totally agree! I think the Calibra styling has really aged well actually and that its one of the best looking cars Vauxhall have made. Each to their own I guess.

I agree that the original Calibra was a very nice-looking car (although not as gorgeous as the Coupe) but the facelift with that stupid V-shape grille that they put on everything back then and the spindly wheels post-facelift dated it horribly.

[muppet42]

My 20v and by 20v I mean naturally aspirated or 'NA'. The Turbo variants are normally known amongst the community as 20vt's...



...bought for £700 and might well need the cambelt doing very soon I reckon - had put it off due to the £500 indie cost BUT it's a great car and I can't think of one which gets as many nice comments and sounds as nice as this for the money. Sure, 28mpg but unlike the contempory GTV, it has back seats and a useable boot and a rather airy cabin, which is far better designed and put together in my opinion.

Handling, well, it's ok. The non-Brembo brakes on my NA are bloody awful, worst I've had since driving my Dad's old 1-litre Uno and the suspension is needing a refresh badly though it's partially done already.

Will be selling soon but mainly because I want someone to continue bringing it back to what it once was like I've started.

Oh and they're rather rare...only 327 NAs left according to How Many Left? About a third of the Turbos though obviously there's less LE and Plus models, probably even less 20vt6's

[_Neal_]

Leins said:

I wonder if any owners are now train drivers too?

Nicely done

I loved my (Sprint Blue, standard) 20VT - not cheap to run but not expensive either, and a really nice sporty GT that sounded good, was quick, handled and braked decently and was nice place to sit. As mentioned above, FCCUK is a really good owners' club and forum.

PS - As per the post above, the n/a versions are normally referred to as the "16v/20v" and the turbos as the "16vt/20vt".

[PHMatt]

j_s14a said:

How I miss the era of these cars. Just think of what's around today compared to then:

Fiat coupe
Alfa GTV
Corrado
Celica GT4
MR2
Calibra turbo
200SX
MX6
Prelude
FTO
audi S2

Modern cars are so boring.

Alfa Brerra
VW Schirroco
Toyota GT86
Vauxhall Astra GTC/VXR
Nissan 370z
Mazda MX5
Honda Civic Type R
Mitsi - not a fan - do they make anything anymore?
Audi - all kinds of fast cars in 2015

When you add in current Fast Fords, Renaults etc etc I can't really see why you think we're worse off now than then?

[PHMatt]

Gandahar said:

daveco said:

Certainly a distinctive design but just like the Peugeot coupe of the same vintage the body-to-wheel size ratio does it no favours.

That's because Chris Bangle designed it, and I use the term very loosely , the guy who later made a BMW 5 series on 17 inch rims so slab sided it looked like it was running on 14 inch.

If you compare Wayne Cherries attempt with the Calibra, a poor car mechanically, but far far superior design wise....

The Fiat looks so plasticky and "designed" it's hard to know where to start.

As a youth in the 90's I loved the Calibra. But lets not kid ourselves. It's a Cavalier with no back doors and slanty headlights.

The Fiat Coupe has a bit of penache. I've never owned one of either but have spent some time driving a veriety of Calibra's and having done that, wouldnt buy one.
The 2.0 is too slow. The V6 is disapointingly slow and the 4wd turbo is too delicate and too hard to modify.

[anonymous-user]

PHMatt said:

Gandahar said:

daveco said:

Certainly a distinctive design but just like the Peugeot coupe of the same vintage the body-to-wheel size ratio does it no favours.

That's because Chris Bangle designed it, and I use the term very loosely , the guy who later made a BMW 5 series on 17 inch rims so slab sided it looked like it was running on 14 inch.

If you compare Wayne Cherries attempt with the Calibra, a poor car mechanically, but far far superior design wise....

The Fiat looks so plasticky and "designed" it's hard to know where to start.

As a youth in the 90's I loved the Calibra. But lets not kid ourselves. It's a Cavalier with no back doors and slanty headlights.

The Fiat Coupe has a bit of penache. I've never owned one of either but have spent some time driving a veriety of Calibra's and having done that, wouldnt buy one.
The 2.0 is too slow. The V6 is disapointingly slow and the 4wd turbo is too delicate and too hard to modify.

You've just summed up perfectly why the Calibra has virtually vanished from the roads.

[PHMatt]

St John Smythe said:

PHMatt said:

Gandahar said:

daveco said:

Certainly a distinctive design but just like the Peugeot coupe of the same vintage the body-to-wheel size ratio does it no favours.

That's because Chris Bangle designed it, and I use the term very loosely , the guy who later made a BMW 5 series on 17 inch rims so slab sided it looked like it was running on 14 inch.

If you compare Wayne Cherries attempt with the Calibra, a poor car mechanically, but far far superior design wise....

The Fiat looks so plasticky and "designed" it's hard to know where to start.

As a youth in the 90's I loved the Calibra. But lets not kid ourselves. It's a Cavalier with no back doors and slanty headlights.

The Fiat Coupe has a bit of penache. I've never owned one of either but have spent some time driving a veriety of Calibra's and having done that, wouldnt buy one.
The 2.0 is too slow. The V6 is disapointingly slow and the 4wd turbo is too delicate and too hard to modify.

You've just summed up perfectly why the Calibra has virtually vanished from the roads.

There is a big phat ZERO on PH for sale. I should imagine the vast majority have rusted and blown transfer boxes (4x4 models) and so have been scrapped.

[cheddar]

white_goodman said:

Itsallicanafford said:

its a bit confusing this article...20V N/a and turbo models were both available, as where 16V n/a and turbo models.

Yes, I found that a bit confusing as well and could lead to someone who doesn't know much about them paying over the odds for a 20v non-turbo!

Agree with the above

When purchasing, there's a simple road test to confirm whether it's a NA 20V or Turbo 20V.

If the gauges look like this it's a Turbo:

Edited by cheddar on Thursday 19th November 18:29