RE: Fiat Barchetta: Spotted
Discussion
Pericoloso said:
Good spot sm ,of the press car pre conversion.
Mine doesn't have carpet either.
There are more RHDs than the DTR 6 ,someone I spoke to said that some place in Germany was converting them ,which seems odd.
And the poster who chased one in Italy in his Elise ,there isn't really any "models" of Barchetta ,just a few limited editions
with special bits fitted ,all have the same 1747cc engine and manual gearbox.
Suspect that might have been the chap near Remscheid/Bergisch Land who was quite adept at importing stuff to Germany and exporting stuff to Britain.Mine doesn't have carpet either.
There are more RHDs than the DTR 6 ,someone I spoke to said that some place in Germany was converting them ,which seems odd.
And the poster who chased one in Italy in his Elise ,there isn't really any "models" of Barchetta ,just a few limited editions
with special bits fitted ,all have the same 1747cc engine and manual gearbox.
I remember the first RHD conversion I saw still had the fascia angled toward the left. Apologies if a picture has been posted of RHD versions but images are restricted at work.
Also, I think the reason Fiat didn't do RHD conversions is that they probably thought the Barchetta wouldn't sell well in the UK and other RHD markets? The X1/9 wasn't the sales success Fiat hoped............well, the later Bertone badged ones didn't sell well so that could be the reason? Weirdly (possibly) that the Barchetta was based on the MK1 Punto yet shared the engine from the MK2 Punto HGT and I'm wondering if that may have been a factor of not being RHD!
There's an orange one near me which I always have to have a look at. The owner has had it for many years.
Also, I think the reason Fiat didn't do RHD conversions is that they probably thought the Barchetta wouldn't sell well in the UK and other RHD markets? The X1/9 wasn't the sales success Fiat hoped............well, the later Bertone badged ones didn't sell well so that could be the reason? Weirdly (possibly) that the Barchetta was based on the MK1 Punto yet shared the engine from the MK2 Punto HGT and I'm wondering if that may have been a factor of not being RHD!
There's an orange one near me which I always have to have a look at. The owner has had it for many years.
But LHD would be a reason to buy if, like me, you lived within easy driving distance from the channel ferry ports and wanted a holiday car!
Perfect when finding twisty mountain roads in France, Spain or of course Italy. Sienna is the furthest we have been in our 8 years ownership. Last year was a great tour from Santander - Leon - Toledo - Cuenca - Zaragoza - Sos del Rey Catolico - Biarritz - Limoges - Roscoff back to Plymouth. The Barchetta has a useful boot and with a case on the rack is livable for 2 weeks.
It's probably worth what I paid 8 years ago, but it's not for sale while I've still got a license.
Perfect when finding twisty mountain roads in France, Spain or of course Italy. Sienna is the furthest we have been in our 8 years ownership. Last year was a great tour from Santander - Leon - Toledo - Cuenca - Zaragoza - Sos del Rey Catolico - Biarritz - Limoges - Roscoff back to Plymouth. The Barchetta has a useful boot and with a case on the rack is livable for 2 weeks.
It's probably worth what I paid 8 years ago, but it's not for sale while I've still got a license.
A guy i used to work with had a close friend who swore by his. He apparently came close to selling it to free up some money a couple of times, but could never commit to actually letting it go. I think he was asking top-dollar for it but it was a pretty immaculate example after seeing some decent snaps of it.
They do look really good and appear to be alot more reliable than you may expect. However, they're pricey, LHD and FWD. MX-5 would be my pick.
They do look really good and appear to be alot more reliable than you may expect. However, they're pricey, LHD and FWD. MX-5 would be my pick.
Wonderful little cars. I bought mine to go touring around Italy (which I did) but then ended up keeping it for another 4 years as I liked it so much. Who would have though FWD and Punto mechanicals would be such good fun? Cracking engine and surprisingly roomy for a tiny car.
Mechanically very robust apart from the known variator problem which Fiat replaced FOC as part of a recall. The main thing to watch out for will be bodywork as the metal is very thin and if it does get bumped is difficult to repair - the contours and curves look great but very difficult to fix properly. Thats the reason I sold mind as my girlfriend at the time struggled with LHD and kept hitting things.
DTR in Mortlake were my local specialist for these and excellent. They also supplied a stainless steel exhaust and mohair lined hood that were way better than the originals. The original exhaust was made of a mild steel that rusted very quickly and the original hood had a horrible plaisticky outer that made for a lot of condensation on the inside.
The other problem is that the boot release and lock are situated inside the door sill. If you accidentally leave the key in the lock and slam the door shut it will snap the key in the lock. I couldn't find anyone to fix this so it just got left with the boot permanently unlocked. Think quite a few ended up like this.
Mine passed through to 2 sets of friends of friends racking up over 150,000 miles with zero problems. Last I heard it was sold to an Easyjet air hostess who exported it back to Milan. Hopefully still going.
If my wife wasn't 6 months pregnant I would snap this one up!
Mechanically very robust apart from the known variator problem which Fiat replaced FOC as part of a recall. The main thing to watch out for will be bodywork as the metal is very thin and if it does get bumped is difficult to repair - the contours and curves look great but very difficult to fix properly. Thats the reason I sold mind as my girlfriend at the time struggled with LHD and kept hitting things.
DTR in Mortlake were my local specialist for these and excellent. They also supplied a stainless steel exhaust and mohair lined hood that were way better than the originals. The original exhaust was made of a mild steel that rusted very quickly and the original hood had a horrible plaisticky outer that made for a lot of condensation on the inside.
The other problem is that the boot release and lock are situated inside the door sill. If you accidentally leave the key in the lock and slam the door shut it will snap the key in the lock. I couldn't find anyone to fix this so it just got left with the boot permanently unlocked. Think quite a few ended up like this.
Mine passed through to 2 sets of friends of friends racking up over 150,000 miles with zero problems. Last I heard it was sold to an Easyjet air hostess who exported it back to Milan. Hopefully still going.
If my wife wasn't 6 months pregnant I would snap this one up!
I would recommend a Barchetta to anyone at this sort of price. They are so much fun; perhaps not very practical.
We owned a Canary yellow one between 2003 and 2011, as people say, there is only one thing worse than being noticed and that’s not being noticed. You can see the smile it puts on everyone’s face as you pass by. It had a DTR stainless exhaust, which sounded brilliant short journeys - but a bit tiresome on a run down to Spain. The door handles are special, but so are the Arbarth badges everywhere and the Maggiore bodywork. We had to replace the variator, I do not remember the Yamaha item being expensive to either buy, or fit.
Ours was swapped for a Boxster, which is far more sensible / practical and quicker. But with the top down on a sunny day, does not bring quite the same simple pleasures.
We owned a Canary yellow one between 2003 and 2011, as people say, there is only one thing worse than being noticed and that’s not being noticed. You can see the smile it puts on everyone’s face as you pass by. It had a DTR stainless exhaust, which sounded brilliant short journeys - but a bit tiresome on a run down to Spain. The door handles are special, but so are the Arbarth badges everywhere and the Maggiore bodywork. We had to replace the variator, I do not remember the Yamaha item being expensive to either buy, or fit.
Ours was swapped for a Boxster, which is far more sensible / practical and quicker. But with the top down on a sunny day, does not bring quite the same simple pleasures.
hungry horace said:
finally, out of interest, the car in the OP seems to be a later "facelift" (cyclops brakelight on bootlid and 51 plate) yet, curiously, has the mk1 bumpers from and rear - not seen this combination before anyone know if factory parts bin or aftermarket?
I wonder if this one has been repaired following an accident? The rear panel looks a slightly different shade to the rest of the car. hungry horace said:
finally, out of interest, the car in the OP seems to be a later "facelift" (cyclops brakelight on bootlid and 51 plate) yet, curiously, has the mk1 bumpers from and rear - not seen this combination before anyone know if factory parts bin or aftermarket?
I've seen other cars from 2000/01 with this combination of early front and late bootlid.
ravon said:
Fiat used the Lotus Elan M100 as their reference car during the development of the Barchetta, as at the time the M100 was the most advanced FWD production car .
Seriously? Not surprised to be honest. I remember Performance Car mag testing the Barchetta and they managed to get a 0-60 time in 7.6 seconds. Quite good going for a 1.7 litre FWD car.............albeit pretty lightweight.viggyp said:
ravon said:
Fiat used the Lotus Elan M100 as their reference car during the development of the Barchetta, as at the time the M100 was the most advanced FWD production car .
Seriously? Not surprised to be honest. I remember Performance Car mag testing the Barchetta and they managed to get a 0-60 time in 7.6 seconds. Quite good going for a 1.7 litre FWD car.............albeit pretty lightweight.hungry horace said:
finally, out of interest, the car in the OP seems to be a later "facelift" (cyclops brakelight on bootlid and 51 plate) yet, curiously, has the mk1 bumpers from and rear - not seen this combination before anyone know if factory parts bin or aftermarket?
That is correct, the cyclops brakelight came in around 2000, on the pre-facelift model.I had a new '99 Barchetta "Lido", which was a grey import from Italy. The only difference of the Lido was that it lacked ABS which was standard on the normal version.
Great cars absolutely bursting with character.
More or less reliable though mine suffered from an apparently rare problem when the (Steel) fuel tank failed and the interior of the car filled with petrol.......
The hood was a bit fiddly compared to an MX-5 but LHD really wasn't a problem.
I see prices of good ones are on the rise now, I'd really like another...
I've always thought the original ones looked best, the facelift lost the Barchetta ("little boat") look
Edited by GTEYE on Tuesday 13th February 14:54
SonicShadow said:
Looks like a good candidate for a Fiat 20V Turbo conversion
Been done? 
http://www.fiatbarchetta.com/specials/dedica.html
soad said:
SonicShadow said:
Looks like a good candidate for a Fiat 20V Turbo conversion
Been done? http://www.fiatbarchetta.com/specials/dedica.html
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