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19th November 2015 5:00pm EST
Wonderful, Spritely Open-Air Fun, Italian-style
Fiat’s first-ever convertible, light on its feet, with interesting echoes of American automotive design from the 50’s. It was very popular in Europe, perfect for small streets and winding, narrow roads, but rarely seen in the U.S. Here, perhaps on the way to the beach, it will carry all your gear and draw curious admirers at the same time.
This fine little Fiat appears to have been a U.S. model its whole life, since it is accompanied by a 1982 letter on file from Fiat Auto, confirming it was invoiced to Fiat New York on December 16, 1957. Though the Fiat Auto letter was mailed to an address in Milan, it seems likely that the U.S. owner at that time took advantage of a local contact, in order to receive a response.
By the early 1990s, the 1200 TV Spider was in the hands of Webb Key, of Midwest City, a suburb of Oklahoma City. He confirmed in a letter that the car was in Wichita Falls, Texas back in 1982. Webb’s brother apparently received a Fiat TV 1200 Spider as a reward for gaining acceptance to Harvard University in the late 1950s, then blotted his copybook sufficiently that the car was taken away from him, but not given to his brother.
Armed with a sense of deprivation, Webb was determined to find himself a Fiat Turismo Veloce and eventually discovered this TV 1200. He commenced a ground-up restoration, finishing it in the exact blue and white of his elder brother’s former Spider. Detailed records from Born Again Classic Ltd. of Ronkonkoma, New York in the 1990s indicate that Webb spent over $31,000 on the restoration. On completion, Webb is reported to have taken the car to Israel for a period.
The unibody Fiat 1100 four-door sedan was built from 1953-60, and an astonishing 2,168,844 were sold, putting Italy’s middle class back on the road in new cars. Even after the model was discontinued in Europe, 500,000 more were built under license in India from 1964-2000, as the Premier Padmini. About 10 percent of those were taxicabs, and Indians are as sentimental about those as New Yorkers are about Checkers.
The Fiat 1100 had a high performance sibling, the Turismo Veloce – fast touring, or TV – with a high-compression cylinder head and 48 bhp from the 1,098 cc engine, instead of the base 43 bhp. That led to Fiat’s first popular sports car, the 1100 TV Trasformabile – or convertible. These days the model is known as the Spider, although that was originally the export name. It is considerably rarer than the sedans, with only 3,393 built in two series. A much crisper, more angular version was launched in 1959, designed by Pinin Farina. In 1963 it gained a 1,481 cc engine with 100 mph capability, to compete with the MGB.
While Pinin Farina built this first generation of Spiders, he strenuously denied having designed them. They’re usually attributed to Fiat’s in-house designer, Fabio Luigi Rapi, who must have had a fascination with American show cars. The first TV Spiders, have a bluff, high-fendered front appearance, with a tall wraparound windshield, and rear fenders sloping down to the tail. A broad, angled trim strip delineated the rear fender, like a 1955 Cadillac. An adjustable steering wheel was fitted, and wind-up windows provided decent weather protection.
In 1957, the 55 bhp, 1,221 cc TV engine was fitted to the Spider, and swivel seats added in the Chrysler style. Curiously, the Fiat 1100 sedan continued with that designation, even though it received the larger engine to compete with the latest Simca, the Aronde P60.
The lack of any rust prevention in these early Spiders means that survivors are very rare. Only 571 were reported sold in 1955, and 459 in 1956. The larger, 1200 cc model was more popular, with 2,363 built, but survivors in this pristine condition are guaranteed to draw crowds, thanks to their baroque lines and jaunty insouciance. The car on offer is a beautifully-restored, baby blue example of the second series 1200 TV