Description
I am selling my 1969 Fiat 850 Sport Coupé, currently showing 62, 093 km, accompanied by a particularly comprehensive collection of documents, archives, parts and accessories that have been kept with the car throughout its history.
One of its principal attractions is its traceability from when it first entered circulation. The old registration documents have been preserved and allow us to trace its successive owners. The information on the first registration document matches that in the original warranty and maintenance booklet.
This is therefore a car whose history has been largely preserved, with its period documents and numerous parts kept over the years.
The car features several interesting pieces of equipment and accessories.
The wheels currently fitted are genuine Fiat factory accessories.
The radio and centre console are also factory accessories and are still present in the car. They work perfectly.
The wooden steering wheel currently fitted is from the Lusso version.
The car also features a dual exhaust outlet and a few elements giving it a discreet period sporting character.
After remaining immobilised for several years, the engine had seized.
In 2000, the second owner therefore undertook a complete engine overhaul, including notably the replacement of the connecting rods, pistons and camshaft, as well as a general mechanical restoration.
On this occasion, a few modifications were made to give it a subtle racing look, principally with a sportier exhaust and a different air filter.
An interesting point for a collector: the original parts removed or replaced during these modifications have been preserved and are supplied with the car, allowing it to be returned to a more original presentation if desired.
Only the original exhaust is no longer available.
These works were carried out by the second owner and are notably documented by photographs kept with the vehicle.
The car is therefore not presented as strictly conforming to its factory configuration: the modifications are known and documented and the original elements preserved accompany the car.
Important historical and technical file
The car is sold with a substantial collection of documentation and archives, including notably:
original warranty and maintenance booklet;
old registration documents allowing its history to be traced;
period Fiat documentation;
Swiss Fiat documentation;
official Fiat repair instruction manual;
Automotive Technical Review;
Fiat catalogue of bodywork parts specific to the 850 Sport Coupé;
period commercial documentation and price lists;
brochures and various publications;
period articles and press cuttings;
photographs of mechanical work;
other archives, folders and technical documentation.
Other period documents and brochures also accompany the vehicle.
A substantial collection of parts and accessories is sold with the car.
It includes notably a Personal steering wheel, Veglia Borletti instrumentation, various intake elements, the original air filter system preserved, Fiat tools, emblems and trim pieces, wheel elements as well as various period parts and accessories.
Some Abarth-related elements and accessories are also included in the lot.
The majority of parts removed during the modifications made to the car have been preserved.
The car plus documentation plus archives plus parts and accessories are sold as an indivisible package.
I wish these elements to remain with the car as they contribute to its history and its collector interest.
The red bodywork presents very well, as does the black interior, the dashboard and the engine bay.
The configuration is particularly appealing with its genuine Fiat factory accessory wheels, its Lusso wooden steering wheel, its period radio and centre console which still work, as well as the few vintage sporting modifications.
This is nevertheless a 1969 motor car that has genuinely been used and not a recent restoration intended to give the appearance of a new car. It therefore shows some normal signs of its age.
Its appeal lies precisely in the combination of its presentation condition, its documented history, its overhauled mechanics and the substantial collection of documents, archives, parts and accessories that accompany it.
Numerous photographs are available of the bodywork, interior, engine bay, accessible underside parts, components and the entire historical file.
What captivated me about this Fiat 850 Sport Coupé is that it is not merely a pretty little Italian sports car from the 1960s: it has retained its history with it.
The car is accompanied by a particularly comprehensive file allowing its journey to be traced from when it first entered circulation. The old registration documents have been preserved, the first matching the information in the original warranty and maintenance booklet. Added to this are numerous period Fiat documents, workshop and repair manuals, parts catalogues, commercial documentation, brochures, articles and press cuttings, as well as photographs of the work carried out.
Its mechanical history is also known. After several years of being laid up, its engine had seized. The second owner undertook a complete overhaul in 2000 with notably the replacement of connecting rods, pistons and camshaft. A few modifications then gave it a subtle racing look, with notably a sportier air filter and exhaust.
What I particularly appreciate is that the original parts removed have been preserved and still accompany the car, with the exception of the original exhaust.
It also features some fine genuine Fiat factory accessories, notably its wheels as well as its radio with centre console, still functional. The wooden steering wheel currently fitted comes from the Lusso version.
Finally, it is sold with a substantial collection of period parts and accessories, as well as documentation accumulated over the years.
This is precisely what I love about this car: it has not lost its history through its various owners. In my view, this continuity between the car, its documents, its parts and the work carried out is what makes it today particularly endearing and interesting to preserve.
