#130tc

Sergio Sartorelli’s angular, 70s-modern #FiatRitmo is one of my favorite cars - it wasn’t well made but it certainly was interesting and cool - and good to drive. The early Ritmo was sold as the #FiatStrada here in the U.S. from the fall of 1978 to January, 1983 - although all the last ones were 1982 models, and enterprising Fiat fans could still find a few leftovers - REAL CHEAP - in 1984. At the time Fiat left, it was offering a $2,000 rebate on the $6,500 Strada. Change came too late for us. - In the fall of 1982 Fiat had spruced up the Ritmo/Strada and addressed several quality concerns with a series 2. A facelift gave it a more conventional appearance, a decision that is in the eye of the beholder. But one thing that definitely was better later was the series of #Abarth Ritmos. Late 1981 had brought the #Abarth 105TC, the first twin-cam hot hatch Ritmo with a 1585-cc version of the #Fiat Twin cam, followed soon after by the even hotter 125TC with a 125-hp 2-liter, vented discs, a new 5-speeder from ZF, and lots of other tweaks including a stiffer suspension. - The last, and fastest, was the #130TC in late 1983 - 2 liters of rabbia aimed at the VW GTI and various turbo hooligans. It was faster than the Mk1 GTI, despite owing it’s power to a pair of Webers rather than fuel injection. It could do 60 in 7.8 seconds, which was pretty good for a non-turbo hatch in 1983 an a prime contender in the #hothatch wars. Like all Ritmos, even the lowliest 1.1, it was engaging to drive - they love to be thrashed. - To further differentiate it from the lesser Ritmos all of the non-TC three-door versions were dropped after 1984 and the lower-temperature 105TC after 1985, leaving the 130TC as a stand-alone sporting model in a range of what were otherwise increasingly unexciting family cars. By then the most popular car in Fiat’s lineup was the Uno, and among hot hatch fans, the Uno Turbo i.e. The Ritmo remained in production into early 1988 before giving way to the Tipo. - Hot hatches get beat up, and 130TCs are quite rare today (for many years they dirt cheap, too). This lovely example lived in Japan until this year, and was brought to the U.S. by @sodo_moto. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqsDVfagjgh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mrgprprqz1xp