A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Fiat Abarth 124 Rally Sport Spider.

The Fiat 124 Sport Spider (called the 2000 Spider from 1979 to 1982 and the Pininfarina Spider Azzura from 1982 to 1985) is a 2+2 convertible sport car assembled and marketed by Fiat from 1966 to 1982 and by Pininfarina from 1982 to 1985, the bodies were made by Pininfarina during the entire model run introduced at the November 1966 Turin Auto Show, and manufactured until 1985. Many of the cars were exported to the United States. The car was sold in Europe and the U.S. from its introduction until the 1975 model year when it was modified to comply with new U.S. regulations and no European version was produced. Sales in Europe resumed when Pininfarina took over production in 1982 under the name Pininfarina Europa Spider. Introduced for 1967, the Sports Spider and the Fiat 124 Coupé were related to the 124 sedan in name and through the use of much of the mechanical running gear and, in the case of the Coupé, a shared platform. However, the Sports Spider utilized a shorter platform along with a shorter wheelbase. Fiat designed and manufactured the Coupé in-house while the Spider's monocoque was designed and produced by Italian carozzeria Pininfarina — at the time Pininfarina's most successful commercial venture. The engine used in the Spider and Coupé was a double overhead cam, aluminum crossflow head version of the sedan's pushrod unit. It started in 1966 with a capacity of 1438 cc progressively increasing to 1608 cc in 1970 (although this reduced to 1592 cc in 1973), 1756 cc I4 in 1974 and finally 1995 cc in 1979. Fuel injection replaced carburettors midway in 1980.There was also a supercharged model called Volumex offered toward the end of production, but these are rare. This family of engines was designed by ex-Ferrari chief engineer Aurelio Lampredi and in one form or another remained in production into the 1990s giving it one of the longest production runs in history. The double overhead cam (DOHC) version was the first mass manufactured DOHC to utilize reinforced rubber timing belts, an innovation that would come into nearly universal use in the decades after its introduction. Its family, powered race cars such as: FIAT 131 Mirafiori, Special T, Lancia Beta Montecarlo, Delta Integrale and many others. Suspension was conventional by unequal length wishbones and coil over damper at the front and by coil sprung live rear axle at the rear which was located by a transverse link (Panhard rod) and two pairs of forward extending radius rods to react braking and acceleration and to control axle wind-up. The Coupe and Spider were first sold in the US market in 1968. In 1969, the Spider was one of the few affordable cars with 4 wheel disc brakes, double overhead cams, hesitation wipers, steering column mounted lighting controls, radial ply tires and a 5 speed manual transmission, an optional automatic transmission was available from 1979. Its convertible top could be raised and locked in place in 15 seconds. Late in its life, Fiat abandoned production of the Spider as well as the X1/9 — to have their production assumed by their respective carozzeria. An early special version was the 124 Spider Abarth which incorporated such things as an independent rear axle, hardtop, different seats, interior etc and only came in 3 colours. Notably, the body of the Spider remained unchanged for its entire production run, with little modification. When the engine was upgraded to 1995 CC, the model was renamed as the Fiat 2000 Spider. In March 1982, Fiat ceased to make the car and it was produced by Pininfarina, which called it the Pininfarina Spider Azzura. The model line ceased in 1985 after almost 200,000 Spiders alone had been built, of which 75% were for the US market. There were nine models of the Spider, the AS, BS, BS1, CS, CSA (Abarth), CS1, CS2, CS0, and DS.

The regular Fiat 124 version was produced by Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500. Thanks in part to the ubiquity of the Lada version of the car in Eastern Europe, the 124 has achieved iconic status, and is one of the biggest selling cars of all time with an estimated 15 million units sold. The 124 was introduced by being dropped by parachute from a plane and instantly won critical acclaim, including that year's European Car of the Year award. It was praised for its spacious interior, advanced coil spring rear suspension, disc brakes on all wheels and lightweight construction. The car was unusual in the extent to which Oscar Montabone, the chief engineer responsible for its development, was able to start with a clean sheet. Only the all-synchromesh gear box came from an existing model, the Fiat 1500. Power came from a 1.2 L (1197 cc) Fiat OHV straight-4, producing 65 hp (49 kW) and 70 ft.lbf (95 Nm). Also 124S with 1438 cc OHV engine and 124 ST with 1438 cc and 1592 cc Twin Cam with 5 speed gearbox. The basic 124 saloon also spawned the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the Fiat 124 Coupé, both sought after 1970s classic cars. A stretched and more luxurious version of the 124 sedan known as the 125 was also launched in 1967. Production of the Fiat 124 ceased in 1974, paving the way for the Fiat 131 Mirafiori. Engines used were the Fiat 1200 (1197 cc) - 60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp) - 66 PS (49 kW; 65 hp) (1966-1974); the Fiat 1400 (1438 cc) - 70 PS (51 kW; 69 hp) - 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) (1968-1974); the Fiat 1400 Special T (1438 cc) Twincam - 80 PS (59 kW; 79 hp) (1968-1972); the Fiat 1600 Special T (1592 cc) Twincam - 95 PS (70 kW; 94 hp) (1973 - 1974) and the Fiat Abarth Rallye (1756 cc) Twincam - 128 PS (94 kW; 126 hp) (1972-1973).

This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Fiat ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.

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