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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally - Hotspur for special roads

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Created on February 28, 2020

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Bruno von Rotz

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Bruno von Rotz

38

Archiv

21

Bruno von Rotz

38

Archiv

21

Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the plastic hoods were always matt black

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - ready for rally use

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the factory fitted buffers instead of bumpers

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - 1.24 meters high

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - 3.91 meters long

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - attractive appearance

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - also looks made for rally tracks as a road version

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the Italian versions even came without rear-view mirrors in some cases

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - appears somewhat wider and stockier than the standard 124 Spider

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - with the standard bumper buffers

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - was delivered ex works with roll bar (without upholstery)

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the fuel filler cap was mounted differently to make filling easier

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the Abarth version always came with a hardtop, but without a folding roof

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - lightweight construction and preparation for wide wheels

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - everything ideally positioned, steering wheel lies relatively flat

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - small leather steering wheel

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - fully instrumented

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - red zone from 6500 rpm

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Heating adjustment between the seats

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - in-line four-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - camshaft drive via timing belt, normally protected by a housing

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - modern and efficient engine construction

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - light alloy cylinder head and two twin downdraft carburetors from Weber

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Type plate and color specification

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - even this small detail reveals the Abarth

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Fiat sign on the radiator grille

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Abarth lettering on the flank

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Pininfarina sign on the flank

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - standard Cromodora aluminum wheels

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Circuit breaker

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - matching rear view mirror

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - lettering on the rear

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - intended use clear - lettering on the rear

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1966) - Pininfarina created timeless elegance with this convertible

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1966) - a truly beautiful Pininfarina creation

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Fiat 124 Spider (1966) - pretty convertible with attractive cockpit

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1967) - Feel-good package for 2+2 persons

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1967) - a cutaway model shows the interior of the new convertible at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1967) - the hardtop did not detract at all from the Pininfarina lines

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1966) - Technology made visible in the see-through drawing

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Fiat 124 Sport Spider (1966) - four-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts driven by timing belts

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Fiat 124 Abarth at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - rally version of the 124 convertible with fixed hardtop, downsized by 110 kg

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Fiat 124 Abarth at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - Premiere in Geneva - Pininfarina created the basis for rally sport

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1974) - 53 kg were saved compared to the standard Spider, despite the hardtop and safety equipment

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1973) - always two-tone

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1973) - the hoods are made of GRP

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1972) - front view of the sportiest variant

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Fiat 124 Sport Coupé (1974) - together with Abarth 124 Spider and 124 Spider

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Fiat 124 Abarth Rally (1973) - Works car for rally use

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Fiat 124 Abarth Rally (1973) - Rear view of the factory car for rally use

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Fiat 124 Abarth Rally (1974) - the version for the East African Safari 1974 with protective grille in front of the windshield

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1974) - on a quick test drive

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1974) - Group 4 rally version in action

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1974) - Antti Ojanen was sometimes faster than Alén in the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, but the latter then took third place

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Fiat 124 Abarth (1974) - to promote the new Fiat/Abarth 124 Spider - Techno Classica 2016

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - Hardtop was standard equipment

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) -

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the design was created by Tom Tjaarda

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Fiat Abarth 124 Rally (1973) - the rear wheels are individually suspended

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Summary

Just over 1000 examples of the Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye were built between 1972 and 1974 and they actually served only one purpose, namely to enable Fiat to win rallies. It was only marginally successful in this, but as a "waste product", so to speak, an attractive road version was created for anyone who could afford a car costing around 20,000 francs/mark at the time. This report describes the history of the Fiat Abarth 124 Rally and shows it in historical and current pictures. There is also a sound sample.

This article contains the following chapters

The 124 Spider from Pininfarina
The Abarth-Fiat friendship
The Group 4 rules as a starting point
The slightly tamed road version
Racing successes manageable
For open country roads
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Fiat Abarth 124 Rally actually represents the typical rally car. It is comparatively lightweight, easy to handle and, with its front engine and driven rear wheels, has the typical configuration that guaranteed rally victories in the sixties. But it also marked the end of an era, because as a compromise product it could not keep up with competitors such as the Lancia Stratos or the Fiat 131 Abarth, neither in marketing nor in sport. But that doesn't make it any less appealing, on the contrary! The basis for the Fiat Abarth 124 Rally was laid back in 1966 with the 124 Spider . With a captivating body line by designer Tom Tjaarda in the service of Pininfarina and sporty twin-camshaft engines with initially 1.4 and later 1.6 and 1.8 liter displacement, a convincing alternative to the equally popular Alfa Romeo Spider was created.

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