My much loved 1997 Fiat Coupe is looking for a new home where it will be given the care and attention it warrants. I've had great pleasure owning it for 12 years now, but it isn't getting enough use and will be better off providing joy to someone else now.
Finished in Steel Grey, this subtle colour choice really works well internally where the matching interior panels along the dash and doors look wonderful.
The car is not perfect, and in the interests of transparency and avoiding time wasters I am listing honestly and openly the main faults I am aware of here.
Mechanicals - Sound. The car runs well, always starts first time, sounds great. Recent MOT (Nov'23) highlights some minor corrosion issues, especially around suspension coils and under the body. These were all advisories and could be dealt with in the future. The factory exhausts on these are known to rot, mine had a slightly over the top Scorpion upon purchase but that was back box only. In 2016 I upgraded this with a Supersprint centre & rear in stainless steel. It sounds lovely and should have plenty of life given the car was only approaching 80, 000 at the time it was fitted.
Bodywork - Arches were worked upon in 2018 (invoice available), but there is now a small amount of rust creeping back (see pictures). Again fairly minor considering the car is 27 years old. The clamshell bonnets on these attract / trap water easily and at some point a dip and respray would be advisable. Elsewhere the car has had a paintwork done professionally before after a low speed bump to the rear right corner required repair under insurance and I took the opportunity to effect a near total respray. This was back in 2014 and the car looks great still on the back of this as you can see in the photos.
Internally - Seats are worn with age as you would expect, but in good condition overall. The driver's seat has a very small tear that would benefit from repair. The main issue internally is the centre console which is sticky / tacky as the top coating is degrading. I have decided not to undertake the repair myself as honestly I doubt the cost would be reflected in the sale price. You can Google this issue and find lots of threads with options on how to remedy. It is possible to clean off, or a respray might be a better option, or finding a used spare.
Headlights - The recent MOT failure was for headlight brightness - the bubble front lenses look great but need care and attention to avoid them fogging and affecting the light output. I've had these polished and the MOT passed fine thereafter.
Finally, the bonnet release catch was snapped by the MOT garage last time out and I haven't had it replaced yet (again mentioned on MOT). It is still possible to gain access to the bonnet of course, but it would be easier with a totally new handle.
I know this not a short list, but it is a totally honest, warts and all description. Until the past two years the car was regularly used and had plenty of money spent on it. These past two years focusing on a house renovation has seen it only cover around 1, 000 miles per year and spending kept to MOT pass levels only, and the car deserves better. I've been transparent here in a bid to avoid tyre kickers trying to haggle on the day, so please only get in touch if you are serious about giving the asking price - it has been set acknowledging the work needed.
I imagine anyone reading this will know a fair bit about the Fiat Coupe, but if not I would argue that there really isn't much else available in way of FWD coupes from this era that comes close. Whilst the Pininfarina badges look great and impresses some, Pininfarina were actually only responsible for the interior design (still lovely) but it was actually Chris Bangle (original BMW 1 series) who came up with the angular exterior. The design is arguably one of his better and truly doesn't age, doesn't look like anything else, and always garners positive comments from fellow motoring enthusiasts.
The 5 cylinder engine is well known, as is the fact that at the time of launch these were the most powerful FWD mainstream cars in production, hence the ned for Limited Slip Differential. Mine is still pulling beautifully and a real pleasure to drive as once you hit turbo range it just pulls and pulls, and pulls, sounding lovely on the way. The wide torque band actually makes it a fairly relaxed drive when you want though, you certainly don't have to jump up and down the box to make progress if you aren't in the mood.
I bought the car from a specialist near Oxford, Solo Italia, at the time they were well known for specialising in looking after Fiats & Alfas and the car had been comprehensively restored when I purchased it in March 2012. For the most part it has been looked after by another Fiat - Lancia - Alfa specialist, NJS in Pershore, (Evesham, Glos.)
Overall this is a totally genuine, stock, Fiat Coupe that just needs someone to give it the care and attention it deserves, and sadly that is no longer me. The stainless steel exhaust is the only thing non-stock about this car, they don't need modding as far as I am concerned. It does have a more modern stereo (DAB, bluetooth) but the original will come with it too for completeness, as will the many invoices supporting work done.
