Designer Chris Bangle has never been one to shy away from a controversial design. The ‘Bangle Butt’ 7 series and the ‘flame edge’ design language of the E60 era BMWs, Alfa’s beak nosed bread van 145, and this, the slash sided Fiat Coupe, but history has usually proved him right, and in the case of the Fiat won scores of fans of the bold, edgy looks of this stand out coupe.

The job of a coupe is to look good and drive well. The Fiat’s sharp creases, flush headlamps and recessed round tail lights give is a cool and unique look, which we love. It shares its platform with the Alfa Spider, GTV and 145 series so you know the handling will be exciting  and its powered by Fiat’s 5 20 valve cylinder motor. Cars of this era are hugely popular currently, and stand out models like this really catch the imagination. 

This car is in excellent condition inside and out and has good service history with the big - and by big we mean engine out - timing belt service having been done recently, its a chance to buy something a bit different but with a sensible hat on. With only 137 20 Valve N/A examples on the road at present, this is a rare opportunity to grab one.

The cabin is in beautiful condition. The leather bucket seats look good and are very comfortable. There is a little patina of light surface lines on the outer edges but this would disappear easily with recolouring.

The leather steering wheel and gear shift look great, but the stand ou feature is the red body colour slash wrapping around both door and across the dash, which is unmarked.

The carpets and heading are in great condition as are the door cards. The plastic of the ashtray and part of the centre console has, like a number of other ‘90s plastics and rubbers, gone sticky to touch. This could be scrubbed back or ignored but this is an age issue rather than through use.

The red paint of the Coupe is perfect, virtually no marks spoil the finish, and we were surprised to learn the car had been repainted in 2018 as the finish looks factory. The sharply styled Pininfarina bodywork beneath the paint is equally flawless, there are no dings or signs of corrosion on the panels.

The alloys are excellent and recent Toyo tyres which have only driven a few miles since fitting. The black plastics are dark and silky as they should be, only the lights have faded in the sun over time but would likely polish back to a good clear shine.

The receipts show it has had a small amount of welding.

The 5 cylinder engine has a unique sound, and it runs well and has excellent power delivery, the owner tells us this a very fast car with great handling.

He recently had the full timing belt service which her tells us is an engine out operation, so it also has a new water pump and all new auxiliary belts. At the same time it had new performance brake disks and pads, and brake pipes replaced. While the engine was out it also had a new clutch fitted.

These are rare and interesting cars, great looking and fun to drive. There are not many left on the road, and not many in this condition, and this car has had lots spent on it keeping it mechanically and cosmetically as good as possible. 

Fans of 90s hot hatches and coupes form an orderly queue!