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Fiat Barchetta - entry-level drug

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Created on March 12, 2021

Text:

Simon Kwasny

Photos:

Tom Gidden - Courtesy RM/Sotheby’s

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FCA / Fiat / Stellantis / Werk

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Tom Gidden - Courtesy RM/Sotheby’s

31

FCA / Fiat / Stellantis / Werk

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Archiv

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - clear glass covers over the headlights, almost like the Alfa Spider from the seventies

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The sloping boat stern

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - Small but mighty

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The rear end doesn't convince everyone

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - a truly compact sports car

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - Long snout, short tail

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The curved side line gives it that certain Italian something

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The interior with sheet metal parts in body color

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The interior is sporty with lots of details

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The sporty leather seats

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The instruments are reminiscent of those in Ferraris from the period

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The rev counter shows up to 9000 rpm

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The speedometer goes up to 240 kilometers per hour, which is not possible despite all the sportiness

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - the tank holds 50 liters

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The controls for the air conditioning system

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The gear knob

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - the Barchetta lettering

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The four-cylinder

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The small but lively engine

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - Here, too, the engine is still visible and not yet covered by plastic

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - All kinds of information on the badge

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The rims

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The headlights with clear glass cover

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - Air intake

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The door handles are reminiscent of Italian sports cars of the past

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The door handles are reminiscent of Italian sports cars of the past

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - In the back the font of the time

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - two small squares on both sides form the rear lights

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Fiat Barchetta (2000) - The trunk is small, but enough for a weekend trip for two

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Ferrari 166 MM (1949) - with Touring-Barchetta body, at the 1949 Geneva Motor Show

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Ferrari 166 MM (1949) - Test drive with the Touring Barchetta

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Fiat 850 Sport Spider (1968) - the Spider had the floor platform in common with the Coupé

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Fiat Barchetta (1995) - the early models had the four stripes as a trademark

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Fiat Barchetta (1995) - Orange was a popular color

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Fiat Barchetta (1995) - on the beach

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Fiat Barchetta (1995) - early photo

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Fiat Barchetta (1995) - View into the cockpit

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Fiat Barchetta (2001) - View into the cockpit

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Fiat Barchetta (1997) - particularly sporty in red

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Fiat Barchetta (2003) - after the final facelift with modified front and rear sections

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Fiat Barchetta (2003) - also popular with women

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Fiat Barchetta (2003) - Beach scene

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Fiat Barchetta (2003) - advertising shot

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Fiat Barchetta (2003) - View of the interior

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Summary

In 1995, Fiat applied a tried and tested recipe and (once again) designed a small, open-top sports car. The result was the Barchetta, a lively spider with a name steeped in history, affordable to buy and with manageable maintenance costs. Even today, it can still score points with these qualities, which is why it is considered the ideal entry into the world of Italian sports cars. This article tells the story of the little Fiat and shows it in modern and historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Sportiness based on the Punto
Ferrari as namesake and clever illusion trick as design feature
Design on our own initiative
Eight special editions and continuous model updates
The perfect entry into the world of Italian sports cars?

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Fiat can look back on a long tradition of building small, affordable and open-top sports cars. Models such as the 1200/1500 Cabriolet, 124 Spider, 850 Sport Spider or even the 508 Balilla Sport are still among the Turin-based company's most celebrated creations. With the Barchetta, Fiat wanted to add another chapter to this story in 1995. The small convertible was presented at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show and was primarily intended to compete with the successful Mazda MX-5. But it also had its sights set on the Alfa Romeo Spider, which had been launched the previous year, the BMW Z3 and the MG F and Renault Mégane Cabriolet convertibles, which were also presented in Geneva. And there was even competition in its own camp, as the family-friendly Fiat Punto could also be ordered as an open-top version.

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