The Barchetta has received much praise
for both its handling and performance, helped by its relatively light weight
and excellent chassis rigidity for a convertible. The brakes are assisted
by the fitment of discs all round and ABS as standard. Despite the lack
of any limited slip diff, traction is also rarely a problem, even on tight corners.
For 2000 the range was 'revised' with a
variety of mostly unnoticeable detail changes. The most noticeable change
was the addition of a third brake light in a blister on the bootlid (a
picture of which can be seen in our Turin Motorshow 2000 pages)
Late 2002 saw a facelifted Barchetta shown to the public. Featuring new front and rear bumpers the car
becomes visually much more agressive whilst under the skin little changed. Problems with Maggiora saw the commercial launch delayed.
See our 'Concept
Cars' page for images of concept cars based on the Barchetta (including the very pretty coupe).
The
Fiat Barchetta, based on the Punto platform, entered
production in 1995. Designed in-house by Fiat Centro Stile, the Barchetta
is produced by Maggiora at Chivasso. It is a pure two seater with a full
canvas roof and an adequate boot. The engine was a new 1747cc, dohc 16V
unit with 131bhp and 164Nm, which featured variable valve timing (hydraulic
on the inlet valves) for the first time in a production Fiat car. Other
noteworthy features include a stainless steel 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, piston
crown oil cooling jets, forged steel conrods and self adjusting hydraulic tappets.
No
variants have been produced, all being two door convertible 1800s, although
some 'limited editions' were produced in the various markets. Only left
hand drive cars were built by Fiat, although these were also officially
available in those markets where RHD is the norm. A hardtop in the body
colour (originally only in black) is also available.
Technical Details
| Driveline | transverse engine at front with front wheel drive |
| Engine | 1747cc (82x82.7mm) dohc 16V (variable valve timing) in-line 4-cyl with 131bhp @ 6,300rpm (picture) |
| Suspension | front : MacPherson strut with telescopic dampers and coil springs plus anti-roll bar
rear : independent with coil springs and telescopic dampers wheelbase : 2275mm track (front/rear) : 1412mm/1407mm |
| Brakes | front : discs, ventilated, diameter 257mm
rear : discs, diameter 240mm handbrake operating on the rear via a cable ABS |
| Gearbox | 5 speed manual |
| Steering | Rack and pinion with power assist |
| Kerb Weight | 1060kg |
Performance
| model | max speed | 0-60mph | in gear acceleration |
| Barchetta | 118 mph | 8.7 sec | 50-70mph (5th gear) : 10.3 sec |
|
 |
Tuning
Easily
carried out modifications include installation of a free-flow air filter
(a cold air duct is also a worthy mod) and fitment of a less restrictive
exhaust system to improve the driveability, 'Chips' are also available
which (claim to) increase the power, driveability and torque all at the same time.
The brakes can be improved by fitting drilled
and grooved discs, using a superior pad compound and fitting stainless steel braided flexible hoses.
There is also at least one commercially
available turbo conversion, which gives 188bhp and an even more impressive 305Nm of torque.
More information coming soon.
Dampers and springs are readily available
for the Barchetta which will improve the handling, and a strut brace can
be fitted at the front to increase the stiffness of the bodyshell.
Barchetta comment form
Your Comments
A very beatyful car with
excellent road properties. Very lucky for me that it was cheaper than the
Miata or the Z3, since I would definitely had bought the b. anyway... (Jonny, Sweden)
Have only had my 1996 Barchetta for 1 week and already I love it to bits. The ride is a bit firm, but thats the trade-off for pin-sharp handling. It took a
couple of days to get used to the LHD...but other than that, it's likely we will become inseparable. It attracts huge amounts of attention, too....I suspect, largely
because it's rare, not to mention, Broom Yellow. (Mick R, UK)
Wallpapers/Desktop
Backgrounds of the Barchetta also available to download.
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motorshows and various events).
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