Looking for all the world like a works rally car – and driving like one too – this clever custom Fiat 124 Coupe in fact borrows from the 124 Abarth Spider Rally playbook
The impact of the Second World War could be felt across the globe. In the automotive sector, many factories were shut down or even destroyed. Quality materials used prior to WWII were in short supply and the day-to-day operations of once thriving companies were struggling across the board. Custom and small coachbuilders like Bertone, Pinin Farina (the company was renamed Pininfarina in 1961
The Pininfarina Azzurra Spider – née Fiat 124 Sport Spider – is a pretty car of timeless character; deserves decent and timeless drives. And 50 years of marriage warrants proper celebration so Australian couple Michael and Christa Wapler headed to Germany, picked up a low-mileage, very original 1985 Azzurra Spider, drove across the Alps and toured the Italian countryside. Under the Tuscan summer sun and more.
The Icelandic singer Björk could have been singing about electric cars when she released her song “it’s oh so quiet”. Devoid of a combustion engine, all you’ll hear is a whirring of an electric motor, the rushing of air as you move away, and perhaps some sound from the tyres
The Fiat 124 range was the brainchild of Dante Giacosa, the brilliant chief designer at Fiat during the 1950s and 1960s. He could never have known just how successful the saloon version was going to be.
