Fiat 124 Sport Coupé

Fiat 124 Sport Coupé

On to the late ’60s with the 124 Sport Coupé, introduced in March 1967. It caused a minor sensation on introduction with its clean and elegant styling – again done in house by Fiat’s own body styling team – and crisp performance from the 1438cc twin-cam engine. Road tests revealed that the coupé handled very well on the road and had very nearly full four-seater accommodation, plus a decent boot. It was not a light car, so acceleration and top speed figures were down compared to the Alfa Romeo opposition, but they were quite competitive with the MGB GT.

Late in 1969, the coupé was updated with styling changes and now used the 1608cc engine from the 125 saloon, though the 1438cc motor was available as an option. Performance was improved at no cost to economy, but opinions were divided about the styling changes, as the new full width grille and twin headlamp set-up lost some of the simplicity of the first design, though it was still a neat and tidy one.A little of the handling finesse was lost as well, with slightly softer suspension settings and a change in rear axle location contributing to this.

Late in 1972, the engine was changed again, this time to the 1756cc motor from the 132 saloon, though as before a smaller engine option was available, this time the 1592cc version of the 132 engine. Power was up again, to 88kW (118bhp), but with increased weight, performance and economy were little changed, though the handling got better again. The facelift styling changes to the front of the car were to most onlookers a retrograde step. Production ceased in late 1975, by which time nearly 280,000 had been built, and Fiat shifted its sales strategy to promoting the sister 124 Spider.