1995 Fiat Barchetta 1.8
 

Hi!

I wanted you guys to see the car I bought for the summer about a month ago and just wanted to share it with you (well not the car obviously :)). It's a 1995 Fiat Barchetta 1.8 Twincam VFD with 131hp. It had done about 131000km when I bought it, now about 133000km. It weighs a bit over 1000kg and 0-100km/h (0-62mph) should be 8,9 seconds. It has Sebring exhaust which sounds fantastic btw. Especially at 5000rpm and all the way up to 7000rpm redline. I have bought a few things myself already. Including OMP front strut brace, Ferodo DS2000 front brake pads, Ferodo Dot 5.1 brake fluid and new set of tires BF Goodrich G-force Profiler 205/50/R15. I hope you like it. I certainly do, though it could have a little more power.

In some of the pics you might see my other car (winter car) Ford Mondeo 1993 2.0 CLX but enough about that because I don't have the custom pic of that car.

Custom Shot:

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6...shotcj5.th.jpg

The car itself:

With the roof up:

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/6...2001ha6.th.jpg http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8...2002he5.th.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6...2003xx1.th.jpg

With the roof down:
Burnt my skin a couple of times already with the roof down :D

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6...2004zo4.th.jpg http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/4...2005ve4.th.jpg

Interior:

It's actually quite roomy inside. I'm 188cm (6'2) and I fit fine. Especially with the roof down ;).

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7...ior1wp5.th.jpg http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9...ior2bz4.th.jpg http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1...ior3ha9.th.jpg http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2...ior4mn2.th.jpg http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1...2007np3.th.jpg

I went to a track day at the beginning of June that was held by Fiat and Lancia club of Finland at the Ahvenisto track. It was a lot of fun but the tires kind of ruined the fun at times. I actually had oversteer a couple of times. So I had my moments of excitement. When I was on my first laps even a rabbit came on the track. It seemed like it didn't have it's racing slicks on 'cause it was all over the place with legs sliding on the track :D. Luckily I didn't hit it and it got safely away.

My tires after about 15 laps...

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7...day1kh6.th.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5...day2op8.th.jpg http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6...day3pl9.th.jpg http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/531...day4jp7.th.jpg http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8...day5dp2.th.jpg http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6...day6ev6.th.jpg

The upgrades:

OMP Strut brace
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/9...day7fe3.th.jpg
Ferodo DS2000 front brake pads and brake fluid
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/4...2006bu9.th.jpg
BF Goodrich G-force profiler tires
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/9...2008mr7.th.jpg

Tell me what you think about it.

Yeah. I thought so too, but so far it hasn't really reduced the fun factor. It's actually stiffer than I thought it would be for a convertible. Of course to really get the best out of the car on the track I'd need to get the suspension done and all that, but I need to save money and buy even a better car. But since I love sporty cars and now I had the chance of owning one. I just couldn't let it pass. When the carbug bites you, there's only one solution :D. And it's quite rare too. In Finland at least.

As Dani mentioned it would be a killer car with RWD, I always loved barchetta's design all you need to do so Barchetta looks good is lower suspension, louder exhaust and to choose nice set of wheels(17'') and it looks awesome :)

Nice color dude have fun with it ;)

Yeah it sure gets many looks, especially with the roof down. Hey, it's not a bad thing to think Fiat is a Porsche :D, but to think Porsche is Fiat, that's bad :D. It sure is a blast to drive in the summer, but there are things that you don't really think about before you have a convertible.

For instance when you stop at traffic lights sometimes bugs buzz around. And the fact that despite what many people think that it's a cold car to be in, it really isn't. You don't have a roof and the sun is burning directly at your head. It doesn't really help if you wear sunglasses 'cause sun is burning directly above you :D. So you are practically blinded, well almost atleast.

I was really fried at the Ahvenisto track because I forgot my sunlotion and I was driving with the roof down all the time. But then again, it's such a nice car to have in the summer. Like a friend of mine said (who also has a Barchetta), when I said to him about selling the car for a profit...That at the end of the day you just don't want to get away from it.

But what surprises me is that how many people here (jabbasworld) have actually heard about Barchettas. I didn't know this kind of car even existed a couple of months ago. When I tell people it's a Fiat Barchetta, almost all the time I hear "a Fiat what?". But the exclusivity is there :D. Maybe a little more than 50-60 cars in Finland.

Nice little car, I remember a TG review about it though and it wasn't that good.. :?

I was actually surprised when I looked at EVO magazine's rating and it was given 4 stars out of 5. Plus "Out-chics the MX-5, Great fun and terrific value, too" Minus "LHD only". I know it isn't the best car in the world and at higher speeds (above 100km/h) the steering is too fast for my liking, it really is a pain to drive at motorway speeds 120-130km/h. Something might be wrong with the car or it just is the way it is...will have to check on that later.

Cool little car, I like the looks of it. Thanks for sharing and keep having fun with it. :D

I sure will. Everytime when I have the top down the car becomes even better and still it puts a smile to my face. Driving down the road with the roof down while the sun is shining and with miles of space above you. Never thought it could be that fun.

Welcome to convertible ownership.

You are in a petrolhead zone here so no wonder that barchetta is well known :D I trust you with the sun I dont even open the sunroof in my car cause sun burns viciously and you cant see sh*t as you said LOL :mrgreen:

Well the sun hasn't shone for a few day here and it's been raining. So no roof down action for the moment. Weather forecasts say it would be sunny and hot next week, so we'll have to see about that. Missing the roof down stuff already :D.

Arman, it's exactly like you said :D. It's kind of strange 'cause you don't tend to think those things, you really can't see shit even with sun glasses on :D.

I've never heard of that car before, but it sure looks like a fun car to drive around! Congratulations, I hope you enjoy her for a long time in good health.

BTW, the fender(except for the line on the side) and bottom side of the front bumper kind of reminds me of a F360 while the headlight reminds me a Maserati Spyder in this picture. Pretty cool! :D

http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?i...0x12004zo4.jpg

Congrats on the car

An underrated driver, for sure - you should have plenty of fun with this one.

Enjoy 8)

It's quite funny you just said that. I actually compared the front to a Ferrari 360 modena a couple of weeks ago (we have one in our town, which is very small) and I think the fenders look a little bit the same. It has the same kind of archy looks/styling.

Well, I had a very small accident when I went to work in the morning. I pumped at a parking speed to a wall. I was still very tired and thinking about if I have enough space between my car and the other car. And then BOOM! I immidiately knew what happened and went to see the damage. I was really lucky because it only had a little scratch on the bumper. It doesn't seem like the clips that hold the bumper would be broken or anything other than just the scratch. Hopefully so.
The nose of barchetta is low and long and difficult to estimate where it is. But these things happen and luckily it's only a scratch.