This is one mean little car! Taz Racing is responsible for this creation, which is a Fiat 126 that has been stuffed full of Chevrolet mouse motor and not much else because we’re not even sure how that engine and the driver actually fit into this car. We have seen small stuff on a drag strip before but this thing makes an Opel GT look porcine and having just spent some time riding in an Opel GT, that is a damned hard thing to do.
The Fiat 126 has a stock wheelbase of 72 inches and a stock curb weight of 1,300lbs. It was powered by a a couple of different two cylinder engines with the biggest being 700cc and making (literally) 26hp. The car to be heavier than stock now with the addition of the Chevy V8 but it also makes 15-20x the amount of horsepower originally transferred through the tiny stock wheels. The car looks really nicely done and it must have taken some work and planning to get everything inside the stock package. The wheelbase is not stretched or altered in any way (that we can tell) and the rear track width is even pretty close to what it should look like stock. As the car heads down the strip at Santa Pod you can see that the thing is a little wider in the haunches but it isn’t much. We dig the “big motor in little car” motif a lot but many times things get modified and changed so the car loses some of its charm in the process. Not so with this little guy!
After completing a healthy burnout, the little 126 stages up with the exhaust snapping nicely before the tree and the hammer come down. The car carries the front tires on the wheelie bars a little and heads down the strip pretty much drama free. It has to be a little twitchy at speed but this lap didn’t show it to be hard to handle at all and it was hustling. How about 10.24 at 132 mph. Also, the car does have one of those huge English license plates on it. Is it possible that this little beast is street legal (with the exhaust corked)? If so, the possibilities for fun are endless. This car is on the list of “stuff we want to drive before we die” now.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE A V8 POWERED FIAT 126 ASSAULT THE SANTA POD QUARTER MILE AND RUN 10S!
Whats the shortest transmission, a powerglide? And how short can you make it?
A “shorty” ‘glide, like used in a front engine dragster, is 18 inches long if I recall.
thanks, that is short
Maybe it’s got a in & out coupler like a sprint car. The first sentence should read: This one mean little “cart”
nope – not an in & out box – they don’t have reverse
Transmission most likely attached right to the rear!
Body flips up like a funny car. Check out pics on their website.
Must be a TH-400 (three gears)
Gotta wonder how it handles! Like “Pure Hell” I suspect!
that is the coolest engine stand! i wonder if Harbor Freight sells them? 😀
Now that’s what I would call a “Smart Car”!
theres another one in then team, an orange one that may have a big block in, not sure, may be small bock too, and i think there may be a third one also.
The Skinner brothers have few of these, Chris and Mark both run sml blk Chevys. They have two with Toyota Mr2 motors in the Trunks,that their kids drive.
Looks like it went straight down the lane considering its wheel base… not a bad setup.
It might have plates on it, but it doesn’t have a VED disc in the window and according to the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency it’s currently declared “Off the Road”, however it is registered as having 5700 cc engine and could be road legal if it goes through an MOT!