To get the 131 Abarth homologated for Group 4 competition and to replace the aging 124 Abarth, Fiat produced a roadgoing version in a few hundred units. Launched at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show, the 131 Abarth Rally got the same engine as the competition version, but a little “civilized,” with the 4-cylinder, 2.0-liter, 16-valve engine developing 140 horsepower, which gives this car, weighing less than a ton, enviable performance. Other changes from the touring model included body parts in plastic, a modified suspension with independent rear wheels and a sporty interior. In its competition version, robust, light and with a max power of over 200 hp, the Fiat 131 Abarth won the World Rally Championship three times, in 1977, 1978 and 1980. These successes helped to improve the image of the Italian manufacturer.
The car presented here has the advantage of possessing an exceptional French history. As a valuation report supplied with the car explains, it is understood that only four 131 Abarths were sold new in France. This car is one of these exceptionally rare models, most of which were used by Fiat France. It is thought that this 131 was a test mule, notably driven by Jean-Claude Andruet. This information was obtained by the previous owner when he bought the car from Fiat France in 1983. It had, moreover, already been prepared for this purpose, as can be confirmed when examining the car today. It is fitted with a roll cage, a map-reading light and a Tripmaster, and it appears that it has a mildly tuned engine from the period.
This car’s appeal lies in its original condition, but also in its history, as it had only one owner from 1983 to the 2000s, when it joined the collection of a family of French rally enthusiasts. It is therefore one of the last surviving original French Fiat 131s.
Knowledgeable enthusiasts should seize this opportunity, as most of these homologation models, produced in limited numbers, have already been acquired for major collections.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1976 Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally |
| Years Produced: | 1976 |
| Number Produced: | 400 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Tag on firewall |
| Club Info: | Italian Racing Club |
| Website: | http://www.italianracingclub.it |
| Alternatives: | 1973–78 Lancia Stratos, 1975–77 Ford Escort 1800 RS, 1976–80 Renault 5 Alpine |
This car, Lot 81, sold for $185,323 (€190,720), including buyer’s premium, at Artcurial’s Paris, France, auction on October 16, 2022.
Probably the most basic rule of collecting is “Special then, special now. Ordinary then, possibly rare and cool, but not-so-special now.” A factory racing Ferrari has always been desirable, a homebuilt 1971 Dodge with a big motor is a matter of taste. There is an intermediate category, however, that I think is appropriate to today’s profile: Something that was sorta special then because of being fun, is particularly useful for its purpose (although increasingly difficult to find good examples of), and has become quite special now.
Ordinary to extraordinary
The original Fiat 131, successor to the 124 sedan, was an ordinary car with a conventional three-box design, a pushrod-4 and live-axle rear suspension. Fiat built and sold thousands of them. Fiat wanted to continue in the World Rally Championship, though, so it built 400 “homologation specials” named the Fiat-Abarth Rally so it could meet the FIA’s racing requirements for a production car.
The car was a collaboration between Fiat, Bertone and Abarth (the latter by now, owned wholly by Fiat) where Fiat shipped raw 2-door 131 body shells to Bertone. There, the rear structure was modified to accept an IRS suspension, plastic fender extensions were added to fit fat tires, and the boot and bonnet were replaced with plastic versions for lightness. They were then painted and trimmed and sent back to a special Fiat plant to get their Abarth mechanicals.
The Abarth bits included a twin-cam 2.0-liter engine with a special 16-valve head, the independent rear suspension and a 5-speed, dog-ring gearbox. This transmission is a terrible inconvenience for street use, but if it was to be used in the competition cars the rules required it for all the cars, so that is what it got.
As a bit of explication on this, most manual transmissions use synchromesh, a system where you use the clutch and internal parts speed up or slow down the different gears as you pull the lever so that shifts are smooth and gentle. In a dog box, the gears are engaged by heavy square teeth (“dogs”) that simply lock together when you pull the lever; the clutch is optional. This is effective and much faster shifting than synchromesh, but brutal and not at all fun for driving around town.
Street racer
All of this adds up to the fact that the Fiat-Abarth 131 was a serious piece of kit. With 140 hp stock, about 2,100 pounds of curb weight, fat, grippy tires on wide wheels, and independent suspension, the Stradale (street) version was a great Italian hot rod. Because of emission and safety rules, it was never brought to the U.S. Most were apparently sold in Italy as street toys, used up and thrown away. You seldom see one for sale.
Street use, of course, was not what Fiat had in mind when it created the car, and as a rally car it proved extremely successful. The engine could be easily tuned to produce well over 200 hp, and with suitable competition modifications the Abarth 131 won a trio of World Rally Championships. The car remained competitive until the advent of the Group B rally cars in 1982.
Euro-centric
This naturally brings us to the next point of value, being fun and useful for a purpose. Starting in the 1950s with more or less stock sporting cars that were used on open public roads for genteel competition, rally cars over the years gradually became more purely focused and specialized to the purpose — less for road driving, more for competition. This culminated in the mid-1980s with the “Killer B” rally cars that were so extreme that they were all but undriveable by anyone but fully professional participants. This Abarth-tuned 131, along with others like the Lancia Stratos and Ford Escort RS 1800, fits in the last group of rally cars that could be comfortably driven and enjoyed by ordinary mortals. As such, it is particularly attractive to vintage-rally enthusiasts.
Competitive vintage rallying doesn’t really exist in the U.S., but it is widespread in Europe, particularly on the Continent. It is a year-round sport attracting large entries of old rally cars in events that involve both serious driving and socializing; it’s competition that your spouse can enjoy. This car sold at Artcurial in France, which is appropriate, as the only market for old rally cars is in Europe.
Usable and fairly bought
The market for ’70s rally cars is small and not very public, but it is real. Since all-wheel drive wasn’t allowed until 1979 and not really seen until Audi introduced its Quattro in 1981, these early cars tend to be light and small. Most rally racers in this time were of conventional front-engine, rear-drive configuration, but front-drive (Saab), mid-engine (Lancia Stratos), and rear-engine (Porsche 911) cars were all competing. Cars with known rally history, particularly with factory teams, are the most valuable, but such provenance is not required if you just want to come play. Values range from well over $500k for a Lancia Stratos to under $100k for an Opel Kadette or Ford Escort.
Our subject car occupies a particular and somewhat rare niche in that it sits halfway between a Stradale and a fire-breathing racer. I don’t know the details of the engine, but it has reputedly been improved from stock and certainly looks the part. A full roll cage and rally instrumentation support its suggested provenance as a test mule for Fiat France, which gives it an association with the factory teams, definitely a plus. It also appears to be in superb condition, with a short list of owners — a bit of a rarity in old, used rally cars. As such, it should be a comfortable and usable event car that still has some collector appeal.
A quick search of the market for Fiat Abarth 131s suggests that only six cars have sold publicly in the past five years, with a clear division between three inexpensive ones, one valuable one, and two in the range of this sale. This suggests to me that the inexpensive ones were ordinary and/or compromised, the valuable one (over $350k) was most likely an ex-factory team car, and the two in the just-under-$200k-range probably define the market for good collector drivers. That makes this car fairly purchased. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Artcurial.)
