RE: Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo | Spotted

[WPA]

Lovely car, not aged at all

[cerb4.5lee]

86wasagoodyear said:

Jon_S_Rally said:

MCBrowncoat said:

"Although the Coupe sent its power to the front axle (most of the competition were rear-drive)"

Contemporary affordable coupes you could buy new in the UK mid to late 90's? Hmmm

Alfa GTV
VW Corrado
Peugeot 406 Coupe
Hyundai Coupe
Megane Coupe
Integra
Probe
Calibra
Celica
Prelude
Audi TT
Rover 200

Now for the RWD...
200sx
MR2
Maybe a 3 series?

Indeed. Similar of the five-cylinder part. How many five-pot cars are on sale today? RS3 and....?

Back then, loads of Volvos had five-cylinder engines.

Happy days indeed. What a list. That was everyday life before variety & fun were outlawed.

I really enjoyed that time with cars too. Even the boring stuff like Mondeos/Vectras/Lagunas etc had V6 petrol engines back then as well.

Whereas over more recent times everything seemed to be shoehorned with either a 4 cylinder petrol or diesel turbo in comparison. Plus now we also have the very exciting EV revolution...so it isn't any wonder that I'm a grumpy old sod really is it?

[Earthdweller]

As per other posters it’s top money for one of these and a dealer not putting an MOT on it .. RED flag that really

I’d get it if you were dragging it out of the widows garage but not from a dealer for the sake of £50

£9k for a non runner with no MOT .. no thanks

[plenty]

"...gave the platform an innate agility that went down a treat with reviewers and enthusiasts."

Have to disagree with that. That heavy iron lump sitting in front of the axle gives the 20V the weight distribution of a boat anchor with driving characteristics to match.

But as a straight-line cruiser, it's awesome. The engine is delicious and the the entire package oozes charisma and charm.

[Truckosaurus]

I like the Coupe. A friend had one for a while and the abiding memory is of how the boot hinge arms actually went into the boot space rather than down a side channel - so you had to pack the boot with a gap at either side.

I fancied one myself (this would have been late Nineties whilst they were still new-ish and test drove a couple. One had no power so was obviously not running right, and the other had a sticking throttle and no optional aircon (but did have the nice baseball leather interior). I think I took this as an omen and bought another reliable SAAB.

[jimmytheone]

ScoobyChris said:

jimmytheone said:

EFA

MX6 was the coupe wasn't it and I seem to remember that was FWD? Was it a rebodied Probe?

Chris

doh "coupe"

[montydog]

It's a real beauty and that is the best colour and the price is fair but as others have said, the lack of MOT is baffling. Also, the cloth interior is an issue - leather is much nicer. Probably worth a punt even without the MOT and then wait for a leather interior to come up on ebay or ask around the specialists - they are almost certain to have one.
There is some rubbish spouted on here about the handling by people who have clearly never owned a coupe (I have had three and currently own a Turbo Plus in that colour). They are great to drive and you'd have to be travelling at crazy speeds to get understeer as the standard limited slip differential does a brilliant job.
These cars are so misunderstood, underrated and undervalued due to prejudice and badge snobbery. Buy one while they are still criminally cheap.

[-Lummox-]

I think those cars have aged pretty well especially relative to other stuff that was around at the time.

Utterly baffling though, anyone expecting to get strong money on a 90s Fiat with no MOT.

[gotoPzero]

c.2003 I was making progress down some back roads late one summers night in my WRX PPP.

There was a car ahead and no matter what I did I was struggling to catch it, which at the time was rare with a quick scooby.

Eventually got near him, it was a 20V Turbo.

[plenty]

montydog said:

There is some rubbish spouted on here about the handling by people who have clearly never owned a coupe (I have had three and currently own a Turbo Plus in that colour). They are great to drive and you'd have to be travelling at crazy speeds to get understeer as the standard limited slip differential does a brilliant job.

Given the only comment on this thread so far directly criticising handling was from me, I'll choose to respond. Yes, I owned a 20V Coupe. I liked it a lot, but agile it is not.

Whether or not it resists understeer is irrelevant, as handling and grip are entirely different concepts. If you value weight distribution and enjoy balance and turn-in, a Coupe will disappoint as it carries so much weight in front of the front axle which you can really feel from the driver's seat. It's very similar in this aspect to the Audi TT, another car that will grip and grip but has its engine really far forward and lacks the delicacy to reward on a B-road.

However, as I also pointed out in my earlier post, the Coupe is fabulous in many other aspects.

[GTRene]

futuristic-ish design, well done, even the wheels look good for the car.
also the outside/inside color things, ok not a yellow fan, but the cars an sich.

sadly they were FWD, so never bought one, but still I look when I spot one as in, strange/nice design, not what you saw on the road in most cars, so a plus.

also like the Fiat Barchetta of those days, great styling in and out for that time ans stil, also lovely with a hardtop, I always look when I see one and say to myself, thats a nice car, but sadly FWD

[Silver75]

plenty said:

Given the only comment on this thread so far directly criticising handling was from me, I'll choose to respond. Yes, I owned a 20V Coupe. I liked it a lot, but agile it is not.

Whether or not it resists understeer is irrelevant, as handling and grip are entirely different concepts. If you value weight distribution and enjoy balance and turn-in, a Coupe will disappoint as it carries so much weight in front of the front axle which you can really feel from the driver's seat. It's very similar in this aspect to the Audi TT, another car that will grip and grip but has its engine really far forward and lacks the delicacy to reward on a B-road.

However, as I also pointed out in my earlier post, the Coupe is fabulous in many other aspects.

This is where the 16v is much under appreciated - generally regarded as the nicer driving car compared with the 20v which everyone wants for outright pace.

[J4CKO]

plenty said:

montydog said:

There is some rubbish spouted on here about the handling by people who have clearly never owned a coupe (I have had three and currently own a Turbo Plus in that colour). They are great to drive and you'd have to be travelling at crazy speeds to get understeer as the standard limited slip differential does a brilliant job.

Given the only comment on this thread so far directly criticising handling was from me, I'll choose to respond. Yes, I owned a 20V Coupe. I liked it a lot, but agile it is not.

Whether or not it resists understeer is irrelevant, as handling and grip are entirely different concepts. If you value weight distribution and enjoy balance and turn-in, a Coupe will disappoint as it carries so much weight in front of the front axle which you can really feel from the driver's seat. It's very similar in this aspect to the Audi TT, another car that will grip and grip but has its engine really far forward and lacks the delicacy to reward on a B-road.

However, as I also pointed out in my earlier post, the Coupe is fabulous in many other aspects.

I was never all that impressed with the handling, was better once I replaced the crap tyres it came on with Continentals, even so, even if the handling was ok my abiding memory was of the dreadful, slippy leather seats that didnt hold you in place, my mate had a black one with cloth seats which was much better.

[plenty]

Silver75 said:

This is where the 16v is much under appreciated - generally regarded as the nicer driving car compared with the 20v which everyone wants for outright pace.

See also 205 GTi 1.6 vs 1.9, VX220 NA vs T, Lotus Evora NA vs S, etc.

I haven't tried a 16v but I wonder if it might lose some charm compared to the 20v, albeit has better driving responses. That 20v five-pot is such a lovely, creamy peach of a motor.

[muppet42]

I'm biased but I honestly don't get why some folk have such a hatred for the way these things look and then wax lyrical about the GTV, which I don't think looks that amazing.

I had a Portofino Blue '97 NA with the mighty 147hp option so it wasn't quick at all. But the noise(!) Plus I've never had a car that attracted so many favourable comments from folk. Even moved house with it as the "hatch" accommodated some flat-packed bookcases with ease

I only moved it on as I felt bad about using it A-B on the roads I drive, bought it for the same amount I paid for it, which was less than original Shed money!

Some pics of mine, it's currently SORN'd somewhere and been repainted white with a black roof ...




Oh and just before I purchased it, I came ultra close to getting a rather clean E36 323i Coupe. Do wonder what could've been...

[C5_Steve]

GTRene said:

futuristic-ish design, well done, even the wheels look good for the car.
also the outside/inside color things, ok not a yellow fan, but the cars an sich.

sadly they were FWD, so never bought one, but still I look when I spot one as in, strange/nice design, not what you saw on the road in most cars, so a plus.

also like the Fiat Barchetta of those days, great styling in and out for that time ans stil, also lovely with a hardtop, I always look when I see one and say to myself, thats a nice car, but sadly FWD

Couldn't tell you the last time I saw one of those on the road, the design has certainly aged well.

[GTRene]

plenty said:

Silver75 said:

This is where the 16v is much under appreciated - generally regarded as the nicer driving car compared with the 20v which everyone wants for outright pace.

See also 205 GTi 1.6 vs 1.9, VX220 NA vs T, Lotus Evora NA vs S, etc.

I haven't tried a 16v but I wonder if it might lose some charm compared to the 20v, albeit has better driving responses. That 20v five-pot is such a lovely, creamy peach of a motor.

said:

Fiat Coupe 20V - The best coupe of the 90s! FACT

don't know, never driven one, but its the title of this 20V non turbo video, sounds good must say.

[MightyBadger]

GTRene said:

futuristic-ish design, well done, even the wheels look good for the car.
also the outside/inside color things, ok not a yellow fan, but the cars an sich.

sadly they were FWD, so never bought one, but still I look when I spot one as in, strange/nice design, not what you saw on the road in most cars, so a plus.

also like the Fiat Barchetta of those days, great styling in and out for that time ans stil, also lovely with a hardtop, I always look when I see one and say to myself, thats a nice car, but sadly FWD

Horrid looking rebodied Punto? Interior looks nice though.

Edited by MightyBadger on Thursday 25th April 17:03

[Pereldh]

montydog said:

These cars are so misunderstood, underrated and undervalued due to prejudice and badge snobbery. Buy one while they are still criminally cheap.

So true.

Also many do not realize the huge difference between Coupe 20V and Coupe 20VT. Not only has the turbo viscodrive, but also wider front track, much faster steering (same as GTV3.0) and thicker antiroll-bars.

However, yes still front-heavy so relocating battery&holder to the luggage makes for a big difference IMO. Also 22mm rear ARB and why not a bit of lowering, preferably Eibach/Bilstein combo.

[Gavarnie]

Miss mine a lot. Bit of a curate's egg but really loved the looks and performance and no problems at all in five years of ownership.

At least it's in good hands. Back on a private plate now, as it was with the first owner who traded it in for a 911. He had owned the Fiat for 16 years but didn't keep the 911 anywhere near as long.