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Fiat 124
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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.
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.
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Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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. 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) - - (1966-1974)
- 1400 (1438 cc) - - (1968-1974)
- 1400 Special T (1438 cc) Twincam - (1968-1972)
- 1600 Special T (1592 cc) Twincam - (1973 - 1974)
- Abarth Rally (1756 cc) Twincam - (1972-1973)
Twins
Soviet Union/ Russia
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 ???-2101 / Zhiguli (later Lada 1200). These cars, which platform almost identical to the 124, and which were produced till 1984, currently suffer a bad reputation due to their 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/???-2101 design are made to this day: LADA 2104/2105/2107. Production of this line until 2000 has exceeded 14,000,000 cars, and it continues in 2008.
Indian
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. The car got a tremendous response in the beginning. Later on it was outmoded by other modern cars and production was stopped in 2001. Few well maintained versions are still found today.
Spanish
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
The Fiat 124 was also produced under the name Murat 124, aka. Serçe ("sparrow") in Bursa, Turkey by Tofas. 134,867 Murat 124s were produced between 1971 and 1977. TOFAS 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.
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