Fiat mad Steve20vt always hankered after a Fiat Coupe Turbo, and finally bought one with 179,000 miles that, unfortunately, was nearing the end of its long life. But that hasn't stopped this PHer from wanting more. A restoration with a difference was planned - a rear-wheel drive Fiat Coupe.
Having been spoilt in his earlier driving years with Japanese engines that could handle large amounts of power, the donor engine for this project is coming out of a Lexus LS400. Only issue with the LS powertrain for Steve is that it uses an automatic gearbox. So engine has been sorted, body shell has been sorted, what about the suspension and rear subframe? Well, this is where a Mk2 Mazda MX-5 comes into play.
Plenty of parts are going to be cut to accommodate the V8 as far back as possible to balance the weight distribution. Brakes are going to be swapped for the four-pot calipers off the Lexus onto the Mazda hubs whilst the wheelbase to track ratio will need to be increased by 12.14 per cent. Other items finding place on the Fiat are the MX-5 suspension components and sub frames with transmission tunnel to sit well under the Fiat body.
Plenty of forward planning, measuring, re-measuring and adjustments mean that this Frankenstein car could be pretty epic. Read the build here