By Antti Kautonen
Some days go past with nothing photo-worthy on the street. Some days you just drop your eyeballs on the icy street at the sight of something inconceivably cool – a mid-engined, forced-induction Italian sports car in this case. And since the days have been getting longer now that we’re slowly inching towards spring, I had just enough light to immortalize the Italian.
I recognized the Fiat from an ad I had seen some time ago, and remembered that it had been the recipient of a Fiat Uno Turbo 1.3-litre engine. The ad claimed it had 150 dyno-verified horses behind the seats, which is certainly enough for this claimed-835kg car; I can’t imagine what it must feel like when the street is slippery enough. It does have winter tires fitted on suitably sized Fox Racing throwing star alloys, so there’s a possibility it won’t throw you into the first snow drift at the first stomp of the loud pedal.
The paint on the Fiat is definitely shiny enough, as it’s received a new coat some time ago. It was said to be in “alright condition but not new”, which probably means there’s been extensive re-welding. That can be verified by standing on the sill with the targa top removed – if the car sags in the middle like a fat dachshund, it’s in for some new metal.
The asking price for this red sled was 4600 EUR – is it a price you would’ve been eager to shell out, or would you’ve been happier with a bare, engineless shell and the idea to drop in anything that could possibly fit?
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