Fiat 850 Spider
This small convertible based on an original idea of ​​Italian designer Bertone whose author is very young designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The "850 Spider" was presented at the International Motor Show in Geneva in March 1965 and will be launched in the last quarter of the same year. She immediately a resounding success in Italy as in all European countries, but especially in the U.S. where it will be exported with the nickname "Little Ferrari". It will also be made in Spain in the local subsidiary of Fiat, Seat.
To meet U.S. standards, a specific version called Fiat 850 Spider America.
The first version of the "850 Spider" will be produced directly in the workshops of coachbuilder Bertone. Some contemporary critics have criticized Bertone have taken to the front with headlights slanted drawing he created the prototype of the "Chevrolet Corvair Testudo Bertone," directed by bodybuilder implanted Grugliasco near Turin in 1963.
Mechanical basis was that of the Fiat 850 sedan but had the engine power increased to 49hp at 6200 rev/min which allowed it to reach a speed of 145km/h. Compared to the sedan, it had powerful disc brakes at the front.
In 1968, Fiat will sell the second series, equipped with the engine increased to 903 cm3 and having power additional 3 ch. The body was reworked at various points, including headlights that become fixed and vertical, to meet the new standards, the parking lights under the bumper rather than above.
Fiat 850 Spider 1967
Data collected on the Italian magazine Ruoteclassiche, May 2008, Editoriale Domus, Milan
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