1978 FIAT 131 Abarth #5
Pilots: W. Röhrl / C. Geistdörfer
Team: FIAT Alitalia
Race: 1st overall at the Acropolis Rally 1978
CMR - WRC022 (diecast)
Published 11/29/24
FIAT initiated production of the 131 in 1974. Intended as a family car, FIAT offered it as a two and four-door saloon and 5-door estate. Produced in the Mirafiori district of Turin, it had a steel monocoque chassis with a front engine and rear-wheel drive. The engine was an inline-4 (1.3 or 1.6) with a cast iron cylinder block and aluminum alloy cylinder head. At first it had a belt-driven SOHC, however later on FIAT adopted DOHC with a toothed timing belt. With a single Solex carburetor, the 1.3 version delivered 40 kW (54 hp). Conversely, the 1.5, with a Weber carburetor, delivered 55 kW (74 hp). In essence, the 131 was a very pedestrian urban car. Since it came out in the peak of the oil crisis, at first sales were very modest. It wasn’t a bad project for a family car, yet the overall situation wasn’t favorable.
While the 131 was struggling with sales, in the rally world the Lancia Stratos owned the WRC. The Stratos dominated the scene, winning the championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976. However, Lancia was a FIAT brand, and the Stratos only existed for rally racing. And FIAT’s 131 was struggling with sales. Well, you can imagine what happened next… Il capi at Turin decided to ax the Stratos and replace it with the 131 🤨. Obviously though, the 131 was a simple family car, so it would need a few upgrades. Therefore, FIAT delivered a 131 to Abarth, that together with Bertone, created the 131 Abarth. Bertone designed a new and more aerodynamic body, with wider wheel arches and with a roof and boot wing. They used the same steel chassis (reinforced), yet swapped the suspension for a McPherson system, with much larger disk brakes.
In terms of engine, Abarth used the same base unit, yet considerably improved. Though still a 16 valves DOHC inline-4, it now displaced 1995 cm³. With a single double Weber 34 ADF carburetor it delivered up to 169 kW (230 hp) in race tune. With the car weighing around 980 kg, it could reach 190 km/h. In the end, the 131 Abarth came out quite good as a rally car. However, the Stratos that it replaced, was more powerful 🤨. The 131 Abarth debuted at the end of 1976, with the first win coming in the 1000 Lakes Rally. In the following season, FIAT focused only on the 131 Abarth, while the Stratos became a privateer effort. Despite the grumbling from Lancia lovers, the 131 Abarth proved its worth. It won five of the 11 races of the season, delivering the 1977 Manufacturers’ Championship to FIAT.
The 1978 WRC was more extensive, with 18 races. At the Acropolis Rally 131 Abarth #5 here, piloted by Walther Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer, came in first. In 1978 the 131 Abarth won seven races and another 10 podium positions. And with that, FIAT won the Manufacturer’s Championship again. Interestingly, Markku Alén won the FIA Cup for Drivers, piloting a Stratos HF. At the time, the decision to replace a bespoke race car with an adaptation of a family sedan, sounded as a stupid corporate decision. And yes, it was a stupid corporate move. However, as nonsensical as it sounds, the family sedan was better than the race car. While both won three WRC titles for FIAT, the 131 won 20 races and the Stratos won 18. So as hard as it is to believe, now we see that the accountants in Turin were right 😳.
I’m a big fan of the over-the-top Stratos HF. One of those bonkers projects that only the Italians could pull off in the 70s. And of course, as a gearhead, when I read about why FIAT axed a winning project, I got pissed. A cosa stavano pensando 😤?!? However, in my recent “rally phase”, looking deeper into the 131 Abarth, I had to change my opinion. Whatever the reasons for ditching the Stratos, the 131 Abarth truly delivered. Consequently, the W-143 Garage deserved a specimen. In 1:43 I had two options: Troféu or CMR. Though the Troféu version is better, it’s harder to find. Conversely, I could source this CMR locally. Detail-wise it’s a notch below current Ixo rally models, yet better than Ixo’s older releases. So, it looks very (and I mean VERY) nice, and goes for a good price. Doing the math = a positive buy 👍.