RE: Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC: You Know You Want To

RE: Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC: You Know You Want To

Friday 22nd March 2013

Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC: You Know You Want To

A rare beast, this oft-forgotten Italian answer to the Golf GTI looks a bundle of fun



Pity the Fiat Strada Abarth. Launched in 1982, its claim to fame was, for around a year, that it was the fastest hot hatch on the market. Until, that was, the Mk2 Golf GTI came along and eclipsed it. And with that, the Strada gradually began its inexorable slip from the public's consciousness as a hot hatch of choice, falling beneath the waves of GTIs, XR3is, GTEs and GSIs that managed to gain a stronger foothold in our collective memory.

Reg plate rag is, we suspect, optional
Reg plate rag is, we suspect, optional
Unfairly so, some might say. There were many reasons why the Abarth was forgotten more readily than the rest, but one of them wasn’t that it was a bad hot hatch. Powered by Fiat’s cracking twin-cam engine, its twin-carb setup, almost unique in the hot hatch world, gave it plenty of brawn; character too, with a snuffly lumpiness lower down the rev range that gave way to grunty pulling power and a superb engine note as the revs rose. Its eager chassis and involving steering, meanwhile, made it more fun to drive than the Mk2 Golf GTI, then the benchmark car in the class. And inside, the Recaro bucket seats were about as hardcore as a hot hatch got. In fact, the few reasons you’d have rejected the Abarth as a potential purchase – noise levels, build quality, reliability, badge kudos – were all fairly prosaic, and had nothing to do with the way the little Fiat drove.

Hip-hugging seats look superb
Hip-hugging seats look superb
This example doesn’t look cheap at first glance, especially as it looks as though the pink paintwork could do with a polish. But it looks clean and rust-free (though as with any Italian car of this age, that's worth checking thoroughly), and when you consider that an 8v Golf or an Escort XR3i of similarly low mileage will set you back even more, it suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. A quick chat with the vendor confirms that that low mileage is backed up by reams of MOT and SORN paperwork, and what the advert doesn’t mention is that the car will also come with a full year’s MOT. It’s had plenty of money thrown in the general direction of the engine, too, as the advert suggests; a full engine rebuild and a whole host of good old-fashioned mechanical fettling has been carried out in the current owner’s tenure, with the result that the car’s now kicking out somewhere around 160hp. Combined with its weight of just 900kg, that should mean it’s pretty respectably quick even by modern standards; the standard car’s 0-60 time of 7.9 seconds, with ‘just’ 130hp to its name, was hardly slow. What’s more, this car’s apparently pretty well-known in classic Fiat circles, with two magazine features to its name; the current owner knows a thing or two about them, too, having owned 30 - yes, 30 - Stradas, as well as a plethora of other classic Fiats too.

In other words, if you’re going to buy a Strada Abarth, there’ll be few around that have such provenance, or indeed a lower mileage. It seems, in other words, to be one of the nicest examples around of a classic hot hatch that offers the added cachet of relative obscurity. That’ll do nicely.


FIAT STRADA ABARTH 130TC
Price:
£3,500
Why you should: It's one of the best-fun 80s hot hatches you've never heard of
Why you shouldn't: It's old, raucous, a bit fragile, and doesn't look as nice as a Golf.

See the original ad here





Author
Discussion

AlecT

Original Poster:

182 posts

215 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
What a rarity, always likes the Strada had a 105 TC from nearly new in bright red it was a cracker only sold to find a deposit for a mortgage all those years ago.
So much more exciting than a Golf, and good value at that price how many of these left?
Pity that the bodies were made out of rubbish metal.
This is a good find for somebody!

stats007

531 posts

241 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
My first car was a Strada 65CL. A terrible car which rotted faster than it accelerated to 60. Always fancied a 105 or 130 but then the Nova SR hit the streets.

Robbie1400

31 posts

152 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
I had a new one as a company car. It was a bundle of fun but I can still hear the squeaks and rattles that came from that dashboard after 6 months. I can't imagine how an old one will sound.....

Loplop

1,950 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Does it come with a spare gearbox though?

nick_mcuk

489 posts

206 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Not sure but I think this one might have been used in the AutoExpress Feature back in 2010..."Top 20 Hot Hatches" that my 205 was also use in.

Shame its missing the stereo...I would have found any 80's retro looking tape head unit and plugged it in!!

Trusty Steed

294 posts

200 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Awesome Toy! I had a 105TC MK1 (EPP5Y), turned into Stella cans a long while ago now! All my mates had pugs and dubs, this little pocket rocket really stood out from them!!

sjwb

550 posts

214 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Somewhere, I still have an original radio and fitting for that!!!!!!!

sorrel

223 posts

144 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Had one of these (in black) back in '89 and loved it. The nearest thing at the time to a road-going rally car (in feel at least!). Build quality of course wasn't great, but the fun factor was enormous. I made the stupid mistake of changing it for a Tipo 16V..... nowhere near as good, albeit a bit more rust protected! biggrin

Now, that car is one of a few of my old cars I wish I'd been able to keep in storage for fun now! Ah well, who knew... smile

number1nesta

57 posts

162 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
It's bizarre that I have a vivid childhood memory of sitting in the back of my Dad's car and watching one of these take off from some lights side by side with a MkII Golf GTI. It was down a straight stretch of urban dual carriageway probably somewhere in Birmingham.

It was the classic old days when you saw a puff of smoke on the gear change, letting you know they were going for it flat out. Sadly, I don't recall the outcome, either that or my Dad's Cavalier didn't cover ground quick enough to keep up and see the ending!

Terry Duckworth

34 posts

139 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Short back and sides = 'honey I've shrunk the Saab'

rtz62

3,457 posts

161 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Remember wanting one back in the day, but head rules heart and an RS Turbo graced my drive instead.
Always remember looking at one at the local Fiat dealer and wondering how you got in the back (iirc the seats only tilted so far because of the head restraints etc...???).
Come back the 80's, all is forgiven!

Munich

1,071 posts

202 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
I think I do...

Dunk130TC

328 posts

196 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Here's mine, I'll never let it go.



D



Edited by Dunk130TC on Friday 22 March 10:07

JREwing

17,546 posts

185 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
You suggest that people would reject one based on badge appeal?
So instead they would buy a Ford or a Vauxhall or a Volkswagen....I can't see the distinction?

sorrel

223 posts

144 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Dunk130TC said:
Here's mine, I'll never let it go.



D



Edited by Dunk130TC on Friday 22 March 10:07
Oh happy days!! I had one of those Alfa 33s too! I guess I was something of a FIAT, Alfa, Lancia fan back then.. smile

RicksAlfas

13,609 posts

250 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Sometimes 130TCs would turn up at Alfa events.
The drivers always looked like serial killers.
Factamundo.

GTRene

17,651 posts

230 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
I've had 3 of those in my 'car-life'
by us they called Fiat Ritmo Abarth 130TC

those seats as pictured are optional and very rare seats...


at the time they drove (for me those days) fantastic, especially when you removed the ait-filter and replaced it for something much les restrictive, you get a fantastic airbox sound through those dubble webbers?

nick_mcuk

489 posts

206 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
RicksAlfas said:
Sometimes 130TCs would turn up at Alfa events.
The drivers always looked like serial killers.
Factamundo.
Agreed! smile

Fullmeister

57 posts

161 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Magnificent !

Fullmeister

57 posts

161 months

Friday 22nd March 2013
quotequote all
Magnificent !