1970 Fiat 130

Fiat 130 (Saloon/coupe), 1969-1977

The Fiat 130 was in production from 1969-77. Styled in house with a coupe model penned by Paolo Martin at Pininfarina, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive saloon and coupe range seating four people.

Launched in 1969, the Fiat 130 was a replacement for the earlier Fiat flagship, the 2300 - and the Coupe of 1971 would replace the 2300S Coupe. Both were modern designs, with all independent suspension courtesy of front torsion bars and rear coil springs, and both used 2.8 litre V6 engines. Initially the saloon developed 140bhp, but revisions to the engine yielded 160bhp. From 1971 the engine was further revised - now 3.2 litres, it developed 165bhp. The 130 saloon would receive significant alterations for the 1971 model year, including the dashboard from the new Coupe, new seats and door trims. When tested by Motor, reporters found the 130 to be noisy and thirsty, but very comfortable and smooth with excellent handling and luggage capacity.

The 130 saloon was discontinued for 1976 and not directly replaced. The Coupe was discontinued the following year. Unofficially, it's possible to consider the Lancia Gamma and Gamma Coupe as spiritual successors to the 130; while they feature four cylinders and a different badge they occupied a similar market position and ultimately generated profits for the Fiat empire.

The Lancia Gamma might be considered an alternative today - technically it replaced the Lancia 2000 but sat between this and the 130 in the marketplace. Other alternatives might include the smaller engined Jaguar XJ models, and Mercedes W114 saloons. The BMW CS models might be considered a reasonable alternative to the Coupe, though these are more expensive today. The Ford Granada Ghia and Granada Coupe would make excellent British alternatives, while the equivalent Opel Commodores would those looking for continental flair. Finally, the 130 Coupe and the Peugeot 504 Coupe both originate with Pininfarina and offer V6 engines.