Fiat 124

Fiat 124

Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1966-1974
Assembly	Turin, Italy
Predecessor	Fiat 1300/1500
Successor	Fiat 131
Class	Family car
Body style(s)	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon
Layout	FR layout
Transmission(s)	4 speed manual all-synchromesh[1]
Wheelbase	Sedan:2,420 mm (95 in)[2] SW:2,420 mm (95 in)[3]
Length	Sedan:4,042 mm (159.1 in) SW:4,045 mm (159.3 in)
Width	Sedan:1,625 mm (64.0 in) SW:1,625 mm (64.0 in)
Height	Sedan:1,420 mm (56 in) SW:1,440 mm (57 in)
Curb weight	950 kg (2094 lb)
Fuel capacity	39 L (10.3 US gal; 8.6 imp gal)[4]
Related	SEAT 124 VAZ-2101 (Lada 1200) VAZ-2105 (Lada Riva) Tofaş Murat 124 Premier 118NE

The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500. Today it is also known as the car used as the basis for the Russian-built Lada.

Thanks in part to the ubiquity of the Lada version of the car in Eastern Europe, the 124 has achieved iconic status, and is one of the biggest selling cars of all time with an estimated 15 million units sold.

Launch

The 124 was introduced by being dropped by parachute from a plane and instantly won critical acclaim, including that year's European Car of the Year award. It was praised for its spacious interior, advanced coil spring rear suspension, disc brakes on all wheels and lightweight construction.

The car was unusual in the extent to which Oscar Montabone, the chief engineer responsible for its development, was able to start with a clean sheet.^[5] Only the all-synchromesh gear box came from an existing model, the Fiat 1500.^[5]

Engine

Power came from a 1.2 L (1197 cc) Fiat OHV straight-4, producing 65 hp (49 kW) and 70 ft.lbf (95 Nm). Also 124S with 1438 cc OHV engine and 124 ST with 1438 cc and 1592 cc Twin Cam with 5 speed gearbox.

Variations

The basic 124 saloon also spawned the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the Fiat 124 Coupé, both sought after 1970s classic cars. A stretched and more luxurious version of the 124 sedan known as the 125 was also launched in 1967.

Production of the Fiat 124 ceased in 1974, paving the way for the Fiat 131 Mirafiori.

Engines

• 1200 (1197 cc) - 60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp) - 66 PS (49 kW; 65 hp) (1966-1974)
• 1400 (1438 cc) - 70 PS (51 kW; 69 hp) - 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) (1968-1974)
• 1400 Special T (1438 cc) Twincam - 80 PS (59 kW; 79 hp) (1968-1972)
• 1600 Special T (1592 cc) Twincam - 95 PS (70 kW; 94 hp) (1973 - 1974)
• Abarth Rally (1756 cc) Twincam - 128 PS (94 kW; 126 hp) (1972-1973)

Twins

Soviet Union/ Russia

VAZ-21011

In 1966-1970, Fiat sponsored the building of the AutoVAZ car factory in the Soviet Union. The factory produced an adapted version 124R of the 124 known as the Lada ВАЗ-2101 / Zhiguli (later Lada 1200). These cars are almost identical to the 124 apart from downgraded brakes and engine and thicker steel, and were produced until 1984. They have been criticized for outdated technology, poor (by modern standards) safety level and equipment when compared with modern automobiles, but are still favored for their extremely low price and serviceability. Several restyling versions of Lada based on the Fiat 124/ВАЗ-2101 design are made to this day: LADA 2104/2105/2107. Production of this line until 2000 has exceeded 14,000,000 cars,^[6] and it continues in 2009.

Indian

1989 Premier 118NE

The Fiat 124 was also introduced in India by Premier Automobiles in 1986 as the Premier 118NE. The car was very similar to the 1966 version except for a few cosmetic changes to the front and rear. However, Premier incorporated the Nissan A12 (1171 cc/52 bhp) powertrain instead of the original Fiat engine along with Nissan gearbox. The car got a tremendous response in the beginning. Auto magazines^[which?] praised its gearshift as the slickest of all. Rusting was the problem with these cars.^{[citation needed]} At the end of production an improved model called Viceroywas released in collaboration with Peugeot, France. Later on it was outmoded by other modern cars and production was stopped in 2001. A few well maintained versions are still found today.

Spanish

SEAT 124 manufactured circa 1970.

In the frame of the licence agreement between SEAT and Fiat, it was produced and sold in Spain with the name SEAT 124 from 1968 to 1980. The car was very successful in Spain, and was sold in both the 4-door and station wagon versions.

Also Sport versions were made with 1600 cc (1970-72) and 1800 cc (1972-75)

Bulgarian

The Fiat 124 was also produced under the name Pirin-Fiat in Lovech, Bulgaria, on the basis of complete knockdown (CKD) kits between 1967 and 1971.

Turkish

Tofas Serçe, Turkish version of Fiat 124.

The Fiat 124 was also produced under the name Murat 124, aka. Serçe ("sparrow") in Bursa, Turkey by Tofaş. 134,867 Murat 124s were produced between 1971 and 1977. TOFAŞ later produced the Fiat 131 series under the name Murat 131, currently manufactures bona fide Fiat models.

Korean

The Fiat 124 was also produced under the name Fiat-KIA 124 by Asia Motors in South Korea between 1970 and 1975.

Egypt

From 2002 to 2007 Lada-Egypt company built at least 9,000 cars in the shell of Lada 2107/Riva(2,200 in 2006), and it continues in 2007.

References

• James T Crow, ed. (1968). "Fiat 124". Road & Track Road Test Annual: 50–53. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fiat 124