Rally: Monte Carlo historic (2014)

Yeah, the V-12 E-type Jag - well known as the ideal snow car........:crazy:

Sebastian Loeb's former navigator, getting to do some driving for himself, eh?

 

It is a bit unfair calling it a Fiat A112 Abarth as it is really a Autobianchi A112 Abarth, though it does have Fiat 127 mechanicals.

I once owned a Fiat 127 Sport which was the same mechanicals as the Abarth but in the Fiat body. The engine was mind-blowing, for the time. 2 valves per cylinder, single OHC and single carburettor but by putting rectangular lumps on the cams it made 70hp out of 1050cc - about the same per litre as a Justa with 4 valves, DOHC and electronic injection. Peak revs was 7200, max power was 6600 and my normal cruising speed was 6000, which it was happy to do all day - I giggle when I read guys hear saying 4000 is fast for a cruising speed. Since the cams were so extreme, the engine had zero torque at low revs and 3-4000 was what you used to move off from stationary. A proper Italian engine. A spark plug wrench and spare plugs lived in the glove box since it wasted time to have to open the trunk when changing the plugs.....

The car was an utter delight to drive, providing you never let it slip off the cam. In one of those sparks of genius engineering, the Fiat designers had managed to squeeze the spare wheel over the lefthand McPherson strut top, so the Sport model couldn't have wider tyres unless they made a new bonnet/hood pressing, so it did its 100mph on 135 width tyres!

And why is this relevant to the Monte rally? Well on 135 tyres, in the wet at speed, that little Fiat looked just like those WRC cars on snow. It and I were perfectly comfortable sitting in a four-wheel drift at 90mph.

 

Thanks Steve, those were great! I love watching the vintage stuff, maybe because I remember when those cars were new & cutting edge.