Fiat 124 Spider

by Jim Schrager

Fiat 124: a thinking man’s MGB.

Introduced in 1966 in Europe and hitting our shores in 1968, the Fiat 124 was the thinking man’s MGB. Obvious styling cues notwithstanding, the 124 offered an astonishing host of improvements over its traditional British rivals. Testifying to the strength of the American economy, more than 170,000 of the approximately 198,000 made ended up here. The in-line 4-cylinder engine, designed by ex-Ferrari engineer Aurelio Lampredi, offered dual overhead camshafts driven by a toothed, rubber belt. An impressive 90hp was squeezed out of the 1966 1,438cc engine. The Haartz cloth top was another big improvement over the competition, with clever folding rear quarter windows. The interior featured reclining bucket seats, a wood steering wheel, matching wood dash and full Veglia instruments worthy of a much more expensive car. Despite a live rear axle, the handling and ride qualities were far above any British peer and nearly on par with Alfa Romeo and Porsche...