Well this one takes a pretty well established formula and chucks it right over on its head. This is not “little car, big engine” instead it is “little car, really high output little engine” and we’re OK with that. As mentioned in the title, this car weighs about 1,300lbs soaking wet and while the rotary isn’t some 500hp monster, it makes about 220hp and is backed up by a VW transmission that has been upgraded and fronted with a heavy duty clutch. The thing is tiny and was originally designed by Fiat to be used as a “city car” so it had a little aircooled engine and a top speed of about 60mph (down hill, while being towed by a Ferrari).
We have no idea how this car would be to drive at 75 or 80 mph and we’re not sure we want to find out but someone out there probably does. True gearheads would pick up on the sound of the car and peg it for a rotary but it does have a pretty decent sized muffler jammed up under the back so maybe it is quiet enough to not completely give itself away. The radiator is a big aluminum piece that is sitting right under the rear opening engine compartment. Up front is the small factory fuel tank and not much else. That tiny tank needs to be swapped out for a bigger fuel cell or something because the thirsty little rotary would suck it dry pretty quick during spirited driving sessions and all.
We’d honestly love to see this car hustle down a drag strip. With the VW transaxle’s short gearing in first there’s no doubt that it would lift the front end and if the driver was handy with that shifter it would probably run some respectable elapsed time and would run as hard or harder than most modern stuff with more power and triple the weight.
The car is nicely done because it keeps all the factory looks, the factory interior, and there is even a professionally built and installed roll cage in there as well. The whole car was done by someone who had a clear plan and the plan was great! It is goofy in a cool way and we’d have no issue rocking this thing down the highway. Ok, minor concern over the fact that the engine is literally behind the seats but we’d get over it. Why fear a rotor turning inside a case at 10,000 RPM or so less than a foot away from your spleen, right?
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As a full-on rotary addict I love this little beauty!
I also love the growing trend to ditch shiny vulgar alloys for subtle widened steelies – less cleaning for us lazy sods!
I’d switch the fuel tank for a bigger one though as It wouldn’t get you more than 100 yards!
Check out Zcars website for a Fiat 500 with a Scooby transplant – it would eat this for anti-pasta!
Rotary powered Toyota Starlets have enough trouble keeping the front wheels on the ground – I can’t imagine what it would be like in a shorter wheelbase with the engine in the back. It might not be competitive anywhere, but it looks like it would be very, very entertaining. I wonder what it would do in an autocross?
Any time I see a tiny car, my mind immediately jumps to “Wow, this needs a rotary!”
My old Fiat was tons better — turbo ACVW powered
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[URL=http://s586.photobucket.com/user/Fiatdude/media/ScannedPicture2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss306/Fiatdude/ScannedPicture2.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Used to get pictures on here — I’ve lost the touch LOL
http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss306/Fiatdude/ScannedPicture2.jpg
Last try —
http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss306/Fiatdude/Panic9-08.jpg
I drove one of these around florence for the day while in italy for a week (fiat500) and it drove better then you think. Steering was tight, everything was manual so the brakes were stiff, but functional. I was doing about 65-70kmh in it and it had no trouble keeping up. Probably have one for a commuter if they weren’t so damn expensive here. Non synchro 4spd was really awesome, it took skill to drive. https://www.walkaboutflorence.com/tours/italian-wheels-fiat-500-tour