The Fiat Coupé, aka Type 175, was a 2-door, 4-seat coupe produced by Fiat between 1994 and 2000 and was partly designed by Pininfarina. Because of their on-again, off-again status of importing cars to the U.S., 175s like the seller’s machine were not sold Stateside. This beautiful 1995 edition is in transit from Germany to the Port of Los Angeles and will not be available to pick up for several weeks. But when it’s ready, a dealer in Lake Forest, California can turn over the keys for $12,999. Available here on craigslist, this is another cool tip from Barn Finder Pat L.!
In the early 1990s, Fiat had decided to produce a new coupe based on an existing platform. Production space became available at the Pininfarina factory which had been idled by the cancellation of Cadillac’s Allante sports car. Two designs were submitted with Fiat’s in-house team competing with Pininfarina. The concept was all Fiat, but the interior was a Pininfarina creation. In production for a half-dozen years, the last of the 72,000+ 175s were built in late 2000.
The Coupé was powered by a 4-cylinder, 2.0-liter 16-valve engine, available in both turbocharged and carbureted versions. Both were later incarnations of Fiat’s twin-cam design inherited from the Lancia Delta Integrale, a six-time winner of the World Rally Championship. These cars had independent suspension all around along with an anti-roll bar. Since they were never officially imported to the U.S., the next owner of this Fiat cannot register it in California due to DMV regulations. Apparently, the other 49 states won’t care, but we must wonder what kind of hurdles must be crossed from a safety and emissions perspective.
This bright yellow automobile has 92,000 miles and we’re told it performs well. It will come with assorted documentation going back to its original sale. The black leather interior looks most inviting and – other than the usual age and wear – everything appears to be in order. The dealer’s website contains a few more details. If you were to acquire this car and take it to shows, you’d likely not find another one there. But is this an auto you would buy given that Fiat was not in this market when it was built?
Personally I would be waiting for a 5 cylinder turbo variant. Anyone else who loves the sound of a 5 cyl. engine chime in. Musical delight to the ears.
I sure dug my wife’s 2.5 tl Acura. In line 5cyl, just had a cool sound and very smooth. Not a lot of power, but torque curve all the way though.
You cant change timing belt, on the 5 cyl. Model, without the engine must out. There simply isn’t room for real repair eather. I had a 5 cyl. For about 10 years ago, now i have the small 2 liter in barn, waiting for lighter repair. But it was cheap 400 € with 0 rust. In Germany these cars is very cheap unless they are red, and in perfect condition
The belt change can be done in situ by a real expert who has worked it out, but in the real world you are correct.
Also the 5 cylinder drinks like a fish, is less-well supported by parts suppliers. It´s not like the Lampredi is bad in NA or Turbo forms either!
Agree that this car would have been cheap in Germany. Here in Spain rust-free 4cyl NA FIAT Coupé is 2-3000€
Exactly. That’s why I only buy the 2.0 L engine. Fiat and Alfa. What good is a car if the service is astronomical.
Yes they are cheap ………… if they have 200.000 miles! Otherwise for good rust free cars you pay. Flight, rent a car, hotels, all cost money too. Shipping RoRo is 2k these days. Import, bond, customs, etc another 2k. The end of the day, I have to make some money.
Here in Brazil we have this car.
All 2.0 with the name COUPÉ .
Now priced from $10,000 to $20,000.
I particularly like the front but the rear I don’t like.
Unfortunately they didn’t sell many.
Look like a Saturn.
There shouldn’t be any hurdles for emissions or safety as this car now passes the 25 year rule. Cali is its on special place and I don’t know what hell they would put you through.
The drivetrain is well known and is basically a derivative of the Lampredi engine. Parts are easy to get but you are probably having them shipped from the UK or Europe which is really not that big of deal.
While I like the Fiat, I think I would prefer to hold out for a 916 GTV Alfa. It is built on the same platform but the Alfa has a better rear suspension and I prefer the design more.
With the strength of the dollar and the 25 year rule expect to see more cars like these being shipped in.
The FIAT Coupé and 916 are slightly different propositions really, but both highly desirable. The Alfa has the better engines (both 2 litre 16v and, obviously, Busso V6) and the more complex rear suspension, but that suspension can also be a problem as the many bushes in the multi-link design can wear out quickly and are expensive to replace.
Alfa 916 has a very small cabin and boot (weekend luggage is a challenge), whereas the Fiat is more than a 2+2, without sacrificing much in terms of dynamics, so more practical for daily driving. Another neat FIAT of this period is the Barchetta, which handles beautifully and looks divine.
The Tipo platform was the basis for many great cars in this era, with the FIAT Tipo itself being a good one. Others were this coupé, Alfa 145/155/916, Lancia Dedra and Delta (not the Giugario version, which was a Ritmo/Strada platform).
I thought I was looking at a Pontiac sunbird
Again this seller quotes a .org web address rather than a .com. Red flag ?
Why would a .org domain be a red flag? Customarily used for nonprofit and other noncommercial sites, personal hobby sites, clubs, etc. but there’s no enforcement or vetting of that; anyone can register their domain as a .org or a .com or any other top-level domain extension they wish, as long as someone else hasn’t already taken it first.
I also have a .com site since 1999 oxcars(dot)com I wanted to do something different and drivenbystyle(dot)com was already taken. That’s why I went for the org. That’s all
At a glance before I read what it was I thought someone tried to customize a early Ford focus and failed
They look so much better in red. In Europe they call them the mini Ferarri. Try google them and see one in red. In yellow they aren’t much fun.
This is the car which made Bangle´s name and took him to BMW: There is nothing like it and the model was extremely popular in Europe. All reviews were good, as was reliability. The mid 90s were a golden period for FIAT and Alfa, though sadly not for Lancia.
FIAT Coupe was a favourite with the guys who like to slam and roast cars, so some of these cars have been tuned to 500 bhp. As they drive through the front wheels, those are cars to avoid. Like Lancia Integrale, the best money finally goes to well-preserved originals rather than Hot Rods.
Cool, check out the sellers other items.
I don’t see how you can register this car in ANY state, since it doesn’t even meet the 1968 US standard for side marker lights! – & who knows what else. lol
Thats a easy fix.
Easy (just paperwork); it’s over 25 yr old. None of that applies to personal imports >25 yr old.