Abarth 124 Rally
Fiat Abarth 124 Rally
Abarth 124 Rally Tyres
- The Abarth 124 Rally was the Abarth-enhanced Fiat 124 Spider with a fixed hardtop, flared wheel arches, and wider wheel rims.
- The standard Fiat 124 Spider fitted 165R13 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36 on 5” wide wheels.
- The Abarth 124 Rally version came with 5.5” wide alloy wheels and fitted 185/70 VR 13 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36 as original equipment.
- The Fiat wheels of that period needed innertubes; so we would suggest fitting the Michelin 13E innertube.
- Tyre pressures are difficult to clarify for this rare Abarth 124 Rally, we suggest 26psi front and rear.
Various Fiat Abarth 124 Group 4 Rally Cars in 1975
Abarth 124 Rally Recommended Tyres
Maurizio Verini in a Fiat Abarth 125 Rally at the 1975 Sanremo Rally
Abarth 124 History
The Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Spider was a completely redesigned version of the iconic compact Italian roadster meant to compete in the World Rally Championship's Group 4 classification. Abarth is an Italian tuning business renowned for creating bizarre automobiles with a strong focus on maximising performance above all else. Fiat acquired Abarth in 1971, incorporating it into Fiat's racing division.
Fiat planned their new convertible to be a direct rival to the MGB, a car that sold well in the UK and the US and had over 500,000 cars built by the time manufacturing finished. From 1966 until 1982, a variety of motors were used, beginning with a 1.4-litre unit capable of 89 horsepower and proceeding through 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0-litre units before finishing with a 2.0 litre generating around 133 hp.
The new Fiat rally car's standout feature was its Abarth-tuned 1736cc twin-cam engine, which produced 128 bhp in road trim and 170+ horsepower in rally trim, and debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1972. It won the Hessen Rally (1st and 2nd) and the Acropolis Rally (1st, 4th, and 7th) in 1972, and the Polish Rally in 1973. In 1975, Maurizio Verini won the European Rally Championship driving the last 16-valve variant, permanently cementing the model's place in Abarth and rallying history.
The Fiat 124 Abarth Rally Gr. 4 was last seen as an official team vehicle at the 1976 Monte Carlo Rally, where it was dressed in Fiat Oil's yellow and blue colours. Lancia won the event with their iconic Stratos, which was nearly untouchable for several years; Markku Alen ended in sixth position with his 124. Following that, the 124 was successfully driven by numerous privateer drivers, just as it had been in its early days, thanks to its famous dependability. Production of the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally, which began in 1972, concluded in 1975, with 995 cars rolling off the assembly line at the Abarth factories.
Fiat 124 Rally Abarth 1975 Rallye San Martino Di Castrozza
