MakeFiat
Model1600 S Coupé by Pininfarina
Year1966
ColorWhite
Interior Red leather
EngineFiat Osca 1600
TimingTwin overhead camshafts
Fuel systemTwo Weber twin-choke carburetors
Transmission Mechanical 4-speed gearbox
Horsepower100hp
Weight900kg
Price50,000€
Other information The 1600 S Coupés were only produced long enough to print the catalog, which featured a similar white and red color car. A mere 300 examples of this gorgeous coupé that wanted to take on Alfa-Romeo were produced. Fiat moving into Alfa-Romeo territory? Yes, you read that right, but do you know where Fiat, the Turin-based giant that was number 1 in Europe, was having the upper-hand on its Milanese rival ? I'll give you a hint: at the top end of the range, with its small six-cylinder family of 1800s, 2100s and 2300s designed by Aurelio Lampredi -the father of the first Ferrari V12 - gave Alfa Romeo's 2600cc 6-cylinder a run for its money, in spite of being Gioachino Colombo's brainchild. He may have been the man behind the "small" 3-liter Ferrari V12 but his 6 pot lacked bravado and stood little chance despite the difference in displacement.
Alfa-Romeo was the undisputed king of the small 1300s and 1600s coupés, but Fiat reigned everywhere else. And it could well have won the game on that end of the market too, the Turin behemoth had given itself the means to do so by calling on the Maserati brothers whose Osca outift had equipped the Fiat 1500 block with a double overhead camshaft head, derived directly from their MT4 racing engines. Behold the result: an engine that is a perfect blend of high-strung Italian fury while remaining very supple at low revs. Being good all across the rev range is a hallmark of great engines. The rest didn't disappoint with four disc brakes, a well-balanced suspension and a precise gearbox, but above all the sublime Pininfarina bodywork that harkens to a downsized Ferrari 250GT...
I knew the Fiat Osca from having had a 1500 cabriolet and I'd also had the catalog for the coupé. I fell in love with its lines the first time I saw it in the Italian museum where I had my habits ... one day they said "yes" ... it had just been restored and looked new, but the restoration had fallen short of the engine, which I had to have redone by a specialist in Holland.
In order to run the engine in, I went of a summer's night stroll on the little mountain road I'm used to, at night because it's not so hot and there are no cyclists... The next day, I had an appointment with some friends 200kms further afield, and my intention was to take my Alpine. By the end of the weekend, we'd done 500kms together.
She was run-in and I was enthralled...
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