1981 Fiat 131 Sport 'Stradale' Evocation

Finding a Fiat 131 Abarth Rally Stradale for sale nowadays would be a near-impossible job – and if you did manage to find one, you’d have to pay a solid six-figure sum to make it yours.

Which is where ‘TPW 882W’ comes in. Finished in Arancio Racing, this 1981 Fiat Mirafiori Sport has been turned into a very convincing replica.

Believed to be the only example in the UK and one of just six that exists worldwide, this is an unrepeatable opportunity to make your childhood dream come true.

While it left the factory painted silver, a full body restoration in 1988 led to its coloured being changed to blue. The owner at the time also had his name etched on the nearside quarterlight, an act of devotion that remains today.

The seller’s father-in-law bought it in 1990 and used it for a couple of years before taking off the road in 1991.

Where it stayed for a couple of decades, eventually remerging twenty years later. A massive restoration project commenced, with the first job being to strip it down to a bare shell. It was then acid-dipped, which revealed some rust. Three months of welding out that right, and when it was nice and solid again it was re-dipped before being submerged in an electrophoretic tank and finally painted in black primer.

A Stradale-style body kit, which was sourced from Poland, was carefully fitted along with two new metal doors before the whole ensemble was carefully painted Arancio Racing (colour code 255).

The result is nothing short of sensational, with the car’s brutal lines emphasized by a wonderful orangey-red colour that still has an unholy shine to it. True, it has only covered around 15,000 miles since being finished but cars only look this good a decade and a half later if the subsequent curation is equal to the quality of the initial work.

The panels are all in great shape and fit accurately – and given the Fiat needed a full restoration after just seven years, we doubt they fitted this well when the car was new.

The metalwork and body kit are both free of ripples, dinks, and dents too, and the paintwork is still nice and glossy.

Very glossy, in fact.

The rear spoiler has been neatly incorporated into the boot lid, and the front valence leads seamlessly into the flared front wings. The bonnet features a large air scoop plus a pair of vents. Locks too, making it a perfect balance of utility and aesthetics.

The 6x14 Wolfrace Slot Mag alloy wheels are in fine fettle too. Free of scuffs, scrapes and other parking damage, they’re fitted with a matching set of 185/60R14 Pirelli Cinturato P1 tyres (date-stamped 2015) on the front and Toyo Proxes (2013) on the rear.

The rear lights, with their ‘Fiat 131’ and ‘Racing’ insignias, are in great shape with no cracks, chips, or fading. In fact, all the lights, and the badges are excellent.

As you’ll have gathered by now, flaws are few. Our man has identified a couple of marks around the edges of wheelarches, a chip in the windscreen, and a few cracks the paint including on the bonnet and the base of the nearside B-pillar.

There is also a mark on the front of the passenger door where it looks like it has rubbed against the front wheelarch.

The interior looks like it’s been left largely standard. Featuring wonderfully plump and pillowy velour seats, its condition is every bit as impressive as the coachwork.

The few changes that have been made are effective. These include the installation of a three-spoke Abarth steering wheel. Perfectly judged, it looks completely at home in the wonderfully of-the-period cabin.

The gearknob is also suitably retro, and red door latches add a splash of colour in the same way as the red stripes on the seats of the original did.

Speaking of retro, how cool is the glovebox’s sliding lid? It’s not often we come across a new feature, but this isn’t something we’ve seen before.

Standard fixtures and fittings like the dashboard, headlining, door cards, and carpets are all good too, and even the reading lamp in the offside rear pillar works; this is a very well-preserved interior.

The headunit is a modern Alpine CD player, and the door cards contain uprated speakers. The voluminous boot isn’t only as well presented as everywhere else, it also contains a JL amplifier and subwoofer, with the latter having been neatly incorporated into the well where the spare wheel used to live.

There is a little work to do, but only a little. Like sourcing a new trim cover for the outside pivot of the driver’s seat, as the original is missing.

The money-no-object approach to getting it set up continued with Mike Stokes Motorsport doing the suspension alignment and Guy Croft Racing Engines being entrusted with rebuilding the two-litre engine. The printouts for the former are in the history file so you’ll have the data to keep them accurate, while the latter resulted in a dyno reading of 154bhp at the flywheel and 118bhp at the wheels.

As the video shows, it idles and revs nicely; while we yield to no one in our admiration of fuel-injection and electronic engine management for ease of use, nothing beats the sound of a pair of fat carbs gulping air through performance air filters, does it?

The engine bay, which features a hefty strut brace, a tubular exhaust manifold, and an electrical cut-off switch, is in good order.

In contrast to most Fiats of the period, the underside looks good and solid with the only corrosion we can see being to a few of the steel suspension components and similar items.

In fact, the only issue we’re aware of is a sticky starter motor.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the history file contains a summary of the work that was undertaken to turn it from a Fiat Mirafiori into a Stradale replica, and this is backed up by a thick wad of invoices dating back to 1991.

It also comes with a Haynes workshop manual, a Fiat bodywork manual, a brochure, and the handbook for the standard car.

The Fiat doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic vehicle, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

If you’ve ever lusted after a seventies rally car – and, let’s face it, which of us hasn’t? – then this Fiat Abarth Rally Stradale evocation is going to make your knees tremble; in fact, some of us still can’t walk past it without trembling, and we’re lucky enough to see it every day.

Utterly lovely, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see another, which makes our guide price of between £26,000 and £32,000 more of a guestimate than usual as there’s simply nothing to compare it with.

As you’d expect, it’s already drawing a huge amount of interest online so if you’d like to make it yours, we’d suggest popping in a bid sooner rather than later.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.