Fiat Barchetta

He has no direct predecessor and no successor. It follows the 124 Spider with a pause of 10 years. He breaks even a little with the excitement of Spider- tradition. The nickname Barchetta ('little boat') probably comes from the buttocks, to which remember the short rear end. In front he is less chubby, but a really emotive design is not to find at him.
That must not have been easy for the developers to tie one hand to this great past, on the other hand to dress a front-wheel drive, which it as a Spider have not been before at Fiat. Everything else was already there, at last even with the X 1/9 a mid-mounted engine, at which the styling probably easier and more successful. At least the Fiat Barchetta has not inherited its rust susceptibility.

What remains is a practical car. This is true even for the space conditions, at least when driving without roof. With the roof on it, can do it for large grown people a little narrow. But for example the luggage compartment can contain, despite its brevity, two boxes of water, which was not possible with the predecessors. For a folding roof it is in its development period too early, but a fixed rear window with heating wires would have been able to spend him.
Therefore compensate the in this model only possible engine. With camshaft adjustment it pulls smoothly through and to convince even in the upper speed range. In between he points to even the front drive engine its limits. This then is the only slight disadvantage of the chassis. The precise servo steering and excellent roadholding need not to hide behind the capabilities of the engine.