INTRO
Fiat Barchetta is a roadster manufactured by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1995 to 2005. Barchetta means “little boat” in Italian and refers to an open-top sports automobile body style.
The Barchetta was created between 1990 and 1994 under the project name Tipo B Spider 176. Andreas Zapatinas and Alessandro Cavazza created it, under the supervision of Peter Barrett Davis and other automobile designers at the Centro Stile Fiat, while Stola carried out the prototyping process.
SPECS
Production began in February 1995 and continued until June 2005, with a brief hiatus due to the bankruptcy of coachbuilder Maggiora. The Barchetta was built on the Mark 1 Fiat Punto chassis but with a shorter wheelbase. The Barchetta features a 1,747 cc DOHC petrol four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing.
The engine produces 131 PS (96 kW; 129 horsepower) at 6,300 rpm and 164 N⋅m (121 lb-ft) torque at 4,300 rpm. Without air conditioning, the Barchetta weighs 1056 kg (2328 lb), accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.9 seconds, and tops out at 200 km/h (124 mph).
It was available in an array of trim levels, such as diamond cross stitching, patterned red leather instead of normal black leather or fabric seats, alloy wheels instead of steel wheels, and fog lights as an option. One of the most significant external cosmetic alterations was adding the third brake light, which Fiat first adopted on the Lido and Riviera in 2000 and then across the board.
The Barchetta was revised in August 2003 ahead of its relaunch the following year, with some alterations inside and out. The most notable changes were the revised front spoiler and rear bumper. Engine revision decreased torque to 158 N⋅m (117 lb-ft). Production of the car eventually stopped in June 2005.
PRODUCTION
The car bodies were welded at ILCAS in Sparone Canavese, and the final assembly was completed in Chivasso by coachbuilder Maggiora. Following Maggiora’s bankruptcy in May 2002, Fiat moved manufacturing of the Barchetta to its Mirafiori plant and resumed production two years later. Up till 2005, around 57,700 automobiles have been constructed.
The Barchetta was only produced in a Left-Hand Drive layout, even though it was advertised and sold in two RHD markets: the United Kingdom and Japan.