The 124 Spider is not a warmed over traditional sports car. Although it does share some mechanical parts with the 124 sedan. the car itself is entirely new and totally different than anything currently available in its price class. In fact, it just seems like too good it car for its price In these days when you can't even touch an Alfa Duetto for less than four grand and a naked Porsch 912 goes for over five. the I24 Spider is a bargain.
Why bother with a sports car at all if its not an exciting, performance-oriented machine. Where is the love affair. the endless poring over mechanical intricacies, live quiet bragging about your car's delectable --almost unique -- virtues? Stand tall in the saloon, even the office, puffed with pride and the envy of lesser folk who somehow don't understand. That is where owning a sports Car counts as much as on the road. Because today you seldorn have the opportunity to drive a sports car in the true let-it-all-hang-out tradition. And a major portion of the owner's s satisfaction comes from appreciating the mechanical sophistication of the love-object. Delights like 4-wheel disc brakes and 5-speed transmission and double overhead cams are all part of the sport car thing and the Fiat 124 Spider has them all.
Fiat has firmly resisted the current trend of stuffing a big 6-cylnder engine into its sports machine and instead has made extensive modifications to the smallish 124 sedan engine The bore has been increased from 2.87 to 3.15 inches. with no change in the stroke to enlarge the displacement to 1438cc. The compression ratio remains a mild 8.9 to one. Instead of using the sedan's pushrod cylinder head however, the Spider gets a new aluminum, double overhead cam head with pent-roof combustion chambers. It does wonders for the output of the small displacement engine. The cams are driven by a fiberglass-reinforced rubber
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Like women to dream about the really good Italian cars have always had a mysterious irrestibility and an eagerness to please. Somehow. they seem to exist solely for the pleasure of their drivers. There are moments of passing poignancy. a gentle. soft scent of perfume in the lush evening air of summer and those moments are the Ferraris and the Maseratis and the Labmorghinis. Be now informed that the de-
For $3230.50 there is an exclusive mistress waiting named Fiat 124. Fierce enough subject to a flashing kaleidoscope of moods. submisive, even occasionally demanding a more-or-less permanent dalliance with the 124 is in vivid Contrast to assignations with the bluff, obivious straightforward life to be led with the likes of the Datsun 2000 or Triumph TR-250 Where there are moments of tight-jawed hardship with the British cars. all is sweet willingness with Italy's124.