Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC | Spotted

For sale: the two greatest Recaros ever. Comes with free Abarth Classiche certified Strada...

By Matt Bird / Monday, 21 September 2026 / Loading comments

We all have our favourite classic hot hatches. Maybe you’re a GTI guy (or girl), there’s team Vauxhall alongside team Ford, the lairy lads (and ladies) who like a Sunbeam Lotus and so on. But there probably won’t be many who nominate the Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC as their favourite retro hero.

Why? Well, it always looked a bit gawky; the Abarth enhancements never quite enough to make the base hatch properly handsome. And we all know how important style is to hot hatch popularity. It also ran twin carbs when fuel injection was all the rage; these days that’s cool and classic, but 40 years ago a pair of Webers was probably seen as a hassle rather than a must-have. And while it would enjoy a surge of popularity in the '00s, the Abarth badge never resonated in the UK like RS, GTI and GTE did.

That being said, the Strada was a riot to drive by all accounts, so those who took the plunge on an Abarth tended to love them. When they were working properly. One PH story from the vault featured a 130TC being sold by a guy who’d had 30 Stradas, for example. The trouble with falling in love, of course, is that it costs you lots of money, which is exactly what happened here. By 2010, approaching its 25th birthday, this Abarth was on its last legs. Indeed, the MOT that would have been the last for so many other cars came in February 2010, just as the scrappage scheme had been extended for the first time. An MOT failure Strada probably would have been worth less than the £1,000 offered at the time and, to be frank, nobody would have blamed them for getting rid.

But they didn’t. Or somebody didn’t, at least. Because after that disastrous MOT, £75,000 (!) was spent between 2011 and 2013 creating the car you see here. The Strada was subjected to as extensive a restoration as you could imagine, with ‘every mechanical component’ refreshed or replaced, a bare metal respray, suspension and brakes renewed - the works. And while 2013 is longer ago than any of us would like to admit, the Fiat has covered just a few hundred miles since. This is surely still going to be the best surviving example.

The Strada has even been certified by Abarth Classiche, which recognised its authenticity back in 2017. That’s the kind of thing people do with Ferrari F40s, not Abarth hot hatches, but demonstrates the lengths gone to with this car. It cost more than €3,000, with technicians flown over from Italy.

So that’s where true love gets you. And now the Strada is for sale for the first time in a long time, at an awful lot less than has been spent on it: £33k is some way from scrap value, but when an eight-valve Golf can command another £10k in similar condition it doesn’t seem daft. It’d be boring if we all liked the same thing, anyway. With a recent cambelt and the enormous amount spent, it would only be right for the Abarth to now really be enjoyed as intended. Or, if nothing else, for someone to get some proper use out of those amazing seats…

SPECIFICATION | FIAT STRADA ABARTH 130TC

Engine: 1,995cc, four-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 130@5,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 124@3,600rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 1986
Recorded mileage: 55,974
Price new: c. £8,000
Yours for: £32,995