Until very recently one of the forgotten gems of the 70’s, the Fiat 130 Coupe is one of the finest and most refined GT cars of its era and is finally becoming recognized for the supremely elegant and stylish, but still eminently affordable full 4-seater express that it has always been. This one is even more of a rarity being the far scarcer, but much better to drive 5-speed ZF manual equipped version complete with factory Limited Slip Differential with which just 25% of total Coupe production were fitted.

This particular example was sometime in the making for her current collector owner. A qualified car designer by education, now running a luxury yacht design company, he always appreciated the fine lines of the 130 since first sighting one in the 80’s. After several attempts to buy one in the UK, finding those he looked at inaccurately described and in rather poorer condition than expected he had still not lost heart, simply expanding his search into Europe where this car was found, showing what all evidence suggests is a genuine 50,000kms so just over 31,000 miles.

Owned by a well respected Austrian collector and confirmed Fiat 130 fan, he also owned & ran the Lamborghini & Ferrari concessions for Austria until retirement. He purchased the 130 two years earlier from the original Italian family who’d bought her new in 1972 in Naples.

Following years of careful storage he recommissioned the car, refurbishing the brakes, changing the cam belt and fluids, fitting a brand new O.E. spec exhaust system, wheels refurbished and new tyres fitted, re-chroming the rear bumper and even having the factory fitted Air Conditioning gone through and put back in working order. Having only covered 500kms in his ownership he decided to sell her in 2019. Alex Jupe Motorsport were commissioned to fly to Austria to inspect the car thoroughly finding that the underside had never been (nor needed) welding. While a few areas needed attention it was clear that finally our client had found a good example to begin with.

On arrival in the UK an on and off 2 year programme of improvements were carried out throughout the car, totaling a whopping £29,000. All this work is documented in detail in the A4 history file that accompanies the car. This also includes the UK registration papers, all the import papers, FCA Heritage Certificate of Originality, copies of the original Italian papers and road book stamps from the 70’s. The work carried out since 2019 including, but not only the following:

1. Localised metal work to the R/H rear lower wing and various areas of paintwork, carefully colour matched and correctly blended in.
2. Extensive detailing to paint, interior trim & engine bay.
3. Replacement of window felts all around.
4. Steam cleaning of underside, followed by masking up and carrying out a complete Dinitrol rust protection programme to the underside using 4125/CAR and to the internal cavities and box sections using 1000 & ML cavity waxes.
5. Shot blasting and powder coating of the engine undertray and lower sill trims.
6. Strip down of engine to flush cooling system, replace all cooling system hoses, water pump, remove inlet manifold to reseal, new cam belt, tensioner & idlers.
7. Rebuild of carburettor using O.E. kit.
8. Engine oil & filter change.
9. New HT leads and spark plugs.
10. New air filter.
11. New clutch and cable.
12. New gearbox mount.
13. Fitting of inertia front seat belts.
14. New fuel pump, hoses, regulator etc.
15. Full rolling road tune to optimise carburettor and ignition settings resulting in 167bhp.

As can be seen the owner has opted for a ‘no expense spared’ attitude to making this probably one of the best sorted and most useable 130’s left in existence. However, having completed all this he has decided it is time to part ways to move onto his next project.

This 130 therefore represents a rare chance to buy a ‘jump in and drive’ example with all the usual issues and maintenance taken care of at someone else’s expense. I have personally enjoyed several journeys in the car and can report she really is rather lovely!

If you would like to discuss further or arrange a viewing please contact Alex on 01243 575760