My Dad had an 850 Sport (rhd) in the early 70s, in Glasgow. It was used for the primary school run with 3-4 kids in the back frequently; my Dad also drove our family of 4, "enthusiastically". He had slept in for a cricket match and drove at 90mph on a 70 mile journey arriving in time to open the bowling. My Mum spent the day drinking G&T to recover. My sister & I were oblivious and happily played Top Trumps in the back seat. Happy Days.
@@pepitosbazzeguti1073 that was 2 adults, 2 children - my sister and I aged 12 &10 .... And my dad's cricket kit in the boot at the front...... Which we reckon balanced out the weight 😁😁
OMG 90 mph. I remember seeing 100 on my 1972 convertible, who knows if the speedo was telling the truth. The valves were floating wildly and it was way way past redline, but the engine on that car was solid.
Few people understand just how special old small Fiats really are! Got a bit of experience with the 600 and a 850 saloon. I fully understand that smile!
These great Fiats are due to Vittorio Valletta, who ran the company from the death of Giovanni Agnelli in 1946 until grandson Gianni came of age in 1966. Fiats conceived after his tenure became increasingly ordinary, Italian Fords rather than poor man's Maseratis like this 850 Sport.
When I stayed in Sicily in the 1980s I drove around in a Fiat 600, Fiat 128 and 127 and they really are just fun cars. The 600 was a bit agricultural but did the job. Hope Jack gets to try the Fiat 124 Coupes one day.
I think that it's about time people understand,that red car doesn't mean Ferrari. Red Fiat also DOES NOT mean Ferrari,and even if Fiat owns Ferrari,it's still not Ferrari. VW owns Bugatti, but VW Polo is not Bugatti.
I had 5-10 Fiats and Abarths, one 600 and the rest 850's and loved them all. Wish I had them back. The engine is indeed a jewel. You can carry the complete engine in one hand by its exhaust system, and install the engine with a floor jack. Great car for young mechanics. Simple. Even my wife liked them.
What a joyous car! Coming to this after watching St Harry review a 650BHP BMW M2, the contrast is stark. On the one hand we have a butt-ugly ego pumper which you will never be able to use approaching its full potential, and here we have a beautiful gem of a car which you could use all day every day. Wring its neck and you will still keep your license. Bravo!
We owned one of these in 73. Drove it to Sydney from Adelaide and it was a fun little car. Unfortunately the clutch was weak and they rusted from the inside out like most Fiats of the era. They are full of character, unlike the boring boxes we have today. Great memories......
My second car was a 1970 850 Spider--same platform and running gear. What a fun car, I had a blast with it. At redline it would go an indicated 84 mph, the soft top was a cinch to pop up or down, and it made a nice noise going through the gears. It wasn't the most reliable, but getting parts wasn't a problem and it was easy to work on. A folded army blanket let me comfortably (sort of) kneel down to fix or do maintenance on it. It wasn't happy in the winter, I put a shop light in the engine compartment and covered it with a blanket or it wouldn't start. The heater would get just warm and barely heat the interior. Its size and weight weren't a just a plus for handling, one winter I got stuck in an icy dip in the road. I got out with the car running and in gear, gave it a push and hopped in when it started going. The biggest problems were a generator going out, I replaced it with a Chevy part. The starter motor failed, I removed it and had the armature rewound--could not get the third bolt on but two were enough. Once while in Salt Lake City, driving through a pot hole in a parking lot the half shaft broke in two. A terrifying tow home behind my brother in his Super Beetle and a weeks wait for the part and I had it running again. After a couple years I left for a two year mission and my oldest brother took it over. Some months later it caught fire on the freeway. He pulled over and watched it consumed in flames until the fire department showed up to douse the embers. He got a ride home and that was the end of the Fiat story. I loved that little Fiat. Thanks for igniting (no pun intended) my memories of that lovely white 850 Spider! I still drive rear engine sports cars--but from a country north of Italy.
Me too - it was the Sport Spyder with the HUGE 903cc motor. Too much fun, and it even handled great in the snow. So many unusual things about the car...the centrifugal oil filter, the transverse leaf front suspension, the way the top assembled, etc. Used to gap the points with a matchbook cover and it ran perfectly. Would love to find one again!
What a charming little car! Damn, I want to go back and live in that time, never to come back! Cars looked amazing, girls were stunning and music was the best.
Indeed. Golden days. The gas was cheaper, the cars were faster (or seemed that way) and the girls were prettier. Racing through the woods. top down after midnight with the wind in your hair.
Had an 850 saloon - lovely little buzz-bomb - handling enhanced by a large lump of Welsh slate in the (front) boot - after a head skim following a gasket failure, seemed to go like a rocket. Always regretted letting it go.
My first car was a '69 850 saloon - taught myself a lot of DIY servicing/fixing/welding. Scared myself when I fitted a rev counter to it, but the engine was willing to rev all day. Great Fun.
Yeah. I tried that ( the ballast) for a while untilI found that if I fitted it with decent radial ply tyres, the problem with the light front end went away…except on black ice, which was expecting a lot. Still had snap oversteer if I buttoned off in a fast corner. Easy solution there tho…don’t slow down ;)
Hi Jack. Well.....if you're depressed or have had a shitty day. here's the tonic! What a peach. Just lovely. Gorgeous little car......why can't we buy cars like this now? Cheers S
Yes, it's very stylish and elegant. I've no idea why they can't put the pedals in front of the driver though, I like plenty of room around the clutch pedal, yet on many cars that seems too much to ask for some reason.
@@alastairward2774 style, and cost? Yes cars are a lot safer, but people over really on it I'm sure. You can increase safety greatly by simply not driving like a complete bell.
The pedals are offset because of the proximity of the front wheel wells to the footwells. There literally is no room to have the pedals straight ahead. It is impossible to sell, and thus manufacture cars like this now at least partially due to their total inability to pass modern collision safety standards. Look on TH-cam for crash testing of similar cars eg. Simca 1000. Scary to watch.
@@jeremystevenson9503 that's a great answer, I should of thought about it more, probably something I knew and forgot, if that makes sense. I had an MX-5 NC 2.0 and never liked the driving position, too crampt and not enough power.
I owned a creamy white one in 1979, as a 19 year old it looked amazing ! Unfortunately it kept breaking camshafts. On one of these breakdowns my dad offered to tow me home but unfortunately this only achieved pulling the whole front off leaving a pile of newspaper, filler chicken wire and rust !! Shame lovely none the less !
Someone in my town, Dartmouth, MA, had one of these in the early 70s. We played together, me in my 67 Karmann Ghia, one some of the local backroads, I couldn’t shake him when I was in front, and visa versa. We swapped cars for 15 minutes or so. The Fiat was much more of a sporty drive than my KG.
I loved my 850 sports coupe but found it so hard in the early 80s to get parts so I regrettably sold it , today with the internet it's a lot easier to keep old cars on the road , I wish we had the internet back then
My first car ! 🥰 In 1970 my girl friend and I drove with that car from Belgium to Pisa, Italy. We gave it a name : Dolly. In 1972 we married and when there was a baby in 1973, the car became too small and I sold it, which I regret. But the wife I still have. ❤️ And the baby is now 51 and lives near Pisa. ❤️
My mum had one of these when we lived in Rome in the 70s. It was heroic. 50ish brake was sufficient for the time - my only complaint, as a large child, was that the rear seat was cramped. Shotgun was the place to be because mum would let you change gear (when she wasn't on one. She was on one a lot). I had a Cinquecento Sporting in the 90s - 55 BHP in a light body. It wasn't fast in outright terms but it was a complete riot - 'never lift'. In the 70's an 850 Sport must have been hilarious.
Jack the way that you describe a car's dynamics and handling is getting to be really amazing, you have a great turn of phrase describing technical capability without losing those of us who are completely non technical. Combined with your passion for all things automotive you are delivering output that is superb.
Jack, Although most people attribute, "Simplify, and add lightness" to Colin Chapman, Chapman's real quote of "I believe in getting lightweight through elegance of design" is definitely and readily applicable to the design of this elegant, lightweight 1969 850 Fiat Sport Coupe. The pleasure of being able to drive such a lightweight relatively low powered car near its maximum on regular roads was evident with your continual broad smile. A brilliant road test. Thanks.
@Turnipstalk I believe you are correct, however, Ferdinand Porsche once quipped that "the perfect race car crosses the finish line in first place and then falls to pieces". I also recall Chapman being quoted as uttering something similar which I had read a couple decades ago. "The ultimate achievement is a car which leads from the drop of the flag only to disintegrate upon crossing the finish line as anything less and something, somewhere, is utterly superfluous."
@@PrimoStracciatella this was the 850cc unit originally developed for the Dauphine presented by the end of 1955! The engine was also in use at Renault 6 34 bhp from 1968 on and in the first Renault 5 from 1972 to 1982. Originally the R4 used the 750 cc unit from 4CV with 21 bhp between 1961 and 1968..
I had one of these 1981-1995. Was a great car and although FE2o3 was starting to eat it away I sold it to a guy who was going to restore it with his son. Putting something under the bonnet improved front end grip no end. I used a bag of sand. After my 128SL it would be a favourite. Great review Jack.
My wife owned a white mk 2 in the early 70’s and it was one of the prettiest cars of its price range & era. But it had a flaw - poor cooling due to head gasket problems and it regularly over heated, especially in traffic. Thanks for the memories.
I owned one just like this as a young man. It really was a lot of fun to drive, and just as pretty in person. I have to say, though, that driving it every day in Los Angeles freeway traffic was kind of terrifying! It felt very, very small indeed on those roads surrounded by all of that big 1970's Detroit iron.
My dad rented one, once, when his car was in the repair shop. I think it was 1968. I thought, as a young lad that it looked super-cool. Thanks for the memories.
This is real motoring, you engage with the car, the road and the terrain, and every mile is a joy. There is nothing anodyne about this car, or others of its day. You listened to the engine and everything else to ensure that everything was working properly. The only way to drive. Most only drive 20 miles or so a day, no problem for a car like this. Great car, great video. K Ghia was alwful to drive. Go for an Isetta next...
I learnt to drive with one of these My late father's powder blue series 2 back in 1974 I've owned a few of my own that I have restored over the years Such a pretty car
A friend owned both a series 1 and a series 2. Great tiny cars. The headers and the little Weber made the engine look like a miniature racing engine. In 1968 they got a 903 cc engine and 52 horsepower and those could get to a bit over 90 mph which in those felt like well over 120 mph :)
We had one, bought brand new, in the early 1970s. You were right about the rear seat; my younger brother and I struggled to fit when I was 7 and he was 5 but we loved it, anyway. Just a great car!
Arguably the prettiest of the 850 coupes , the Mk1 had just single lights , but the twin lights with the slightly smaller inner lights really do set it off. The Mk3 , they switched to larger inner lights which made it look a bit goggle - eyed. Only the Italians could offer such chic styling with a budget car . Fantastic .
Yes - the inner lights were called fog lights in the video but they’re actually main beams. Perhaps it was set up that way with the intention of an upgrade to halogen bulbs (even though it was sold with tungsten bulbs) - I think early halogens were single-filament only, so it would have made sense to have main beams in separate light units
There's something to be said for a car that has low power but great handling. I absolutely loved my '81 FIAT X1/9 - it had (barely) 75 HP stock, but that wasn't the point. Its incredible handling, especially when given 60-series tires instead of the 80s it came with, meant that I almost never had to slow for a corner. Instead, I could throw the thing into the curve, relying on the mid-engine balance to let me carry speed instead of scrubbing it off - and so the SOHC could come out of the corner high into its best revs. After a bit of modification, the power went up but was never world-beating. It was still one of the most fun cars I have ever owned, or even driven. The closest I have some were my 1991 Isuzu Impulse XS (Lotus suspension!) and my current 2013 Boxster S with Sport Chrono package (mind-blowingly great).
Hah, I knew someone who had an X1/9. He thought it most unfair that many took the snooty attitude that it was a hairdresser's car. He was also a very fast driver and motorcyle enduro competitor in the Expert class. He insisted he show me how unfair the X1/9's reputation was c/o a brief hooligan drive around Surrey. The culmination of which was about 20 laps of the Ripley roundabout with him laughing and screaming 'see, it's not bad is it! hahhahaha...' It was ridiculously good, lap after lap on the edge of grip, and me thinking nervous thoughts about how maybe it was possible to roll a low sportscar after all.
Hi Jack, great video! When I was a kid I used live in Canada and almost all cars were American, but the 850 Sport Coupe was my dream car. My favourite color was dark green. After 55 years it still looks beautiful!
I had a Fiat 850 in the early 1980s. Such a fun car to drive, loved to rev that engine, once we were camping and had to run through kms of thick mud via back roads to get back to the highway. The 850 just went through the mud like a 4x4 as the light weight meant it didn't stop. Other heavy 4x4 Land Rovers just slid into the ditches. If we wanted to take some larger item home we would slide the passenger seat off its seat rails for a temp spacious cabin. This 850 was a far better car than our classic mini...the 850 had much larger wheels. Yes one adult would sit sideways on the back seat. The electrics were always not working so I would roll start it on some occasions. The 850 would make an excellent goldilocks restoration project.
I had two friends, here in Australia, that both had 850 coupes and both in light blue with brown interior. I used to drive both. This was the late 1970’s. We had both engines out and did major work to them and the drove them again. Fantastic little cars.
A friend of mine had one. The big brother of another friend of mine, had one. That gave me the opportunity to "investigate" this lovely little coupe. I fully understand the smile on his face.
1982, I was given a mustard yellow RHD by my girlfriend's father. A non runner, needed a little settling but, I didn't appreciate at the time what I had been given. My daily driver, a daimler sovereign, was the comfortable place to be and the little fiat was left unattended. A few years later, time had taken its toll and I ended up scrapping it. Such a shame and something I regret but, at the time I did not realise or appreciate what a little gem it was.
I feel the same way I had a 1984 Fiat Uno 70S 4-door wish I never sold it impossible to buy one in the UK now can only find them in Italy. A real feel-good car that was so much fun to drive! and had Giorgetto Giugiaro's design.
Had two 850 convertibles in my life. Loved both of them. A red 1967 with the original glass headlamp fairing and a white 1972. Chassis, as I recall were pretty much the same as the coupe. Hearing the sound of this test car brought back many happy memories and indeed, it sounds just as I remember. Thanks for sharing!
These were very popular here in NZ in the 70's even though they attracted a tariff of 45%.A schoolfriend's parents owned an orange one which he brought round to show me once.I was very impressed at the time.I think the engine capacity was actually 903cc if I remember correctly:probably quite fast for the time.They've all long sinced rusted away now sadly.The FIAT 124 Sport was also very popular here.Great styling.
Some (many?) of the series-II (four headlights/taillights) were assembled in NZ, I think to avoid that tariff (it’s before my time) - seems this made the rust even worse. You’re correct about the 903cc engine - only the series-I (two headlights/taillights) had the 843cc. I’m lucky to have a relatively good one (in a horrible Austin Allegro avocado colour typical of the Otahuhu assembly plant) but it still needs fairly extensive repairs, even to chassis parts that don’t seem to have been lined up properly before welding. I do wonder if I should keep the original horrible colour, as it’s obviously unique to a few of the NZ-assembled cars. Otherwise, I’d paint it dark red like the one in the video and others in NZ
These memories. My eldest brother was gifted with this pretty little thing in a shiny bright yellow after crashing our father's Ford 20m 2300s as a 17-year-old without a driver's license. To avoid further problems of this kind, a Fiat 850 Sport arrived. I was 9 years old and loved it. It looks like a real sports car.
A time-machine which started nostalgia in many of your viewers, me included. I would stay in it just to bring back from memories lovely moments and emotions and smell and feel of those beautiful past times :)
Wonderful to watch. My Mother had one of these OLB730E following an 850 Special NRD738G as she was a bit of a petrolhead. I passed my driving test in OLB730E in 1971. It was obviously a series 1 as there were no foglights and it was a RHD. I had driving lessons in a standard 850 and Fiats were catching on in our neighbourhood my Father had a 125 and the neighbour opposite had a 132. The local Fiat dealership in Reading of that era was RCR of Shinfield. Thanks for a great video.
My first car was a red 1971 850 Sport Coupe. My father took me shopping for my first car when I was 17. I had a 1971 Suzuki TS 125 and a few hundred dollars. We drove straight to Charlie Williams Import. I had no idea where my father was taking me. The car was brand new sitting in a tiny showroom. I couldn’t believe when he asked me if I would pay him back if he loaned me the money for the car. I said yes I would. I helped lift the car so we could turn it toward the door. The only experience shifting was with motorcycles and a short spin in the Shawnee Mission North parking lot in my friend’s VW. I drove the car home and took pictures of it. I loved that car. It was great around KC but not geared or powerful enough for the highway. I hit the 6400 rpm redline going about 75 down hill on I35. I put headers on it with a glass pack muffler. It sounded amazing. The motor was 903 cc’s but very smooth and peppy. First gear was so short people were always almost running into me as I got underway. My mother would give me $3 and I’d drive around all day with my buddies. I was too young to own that car and didn’t take care of it like I should have. I haven’t seen one since 1976 when my sister bought a well used one, red and toasted from the Tucson sun. She abandoned her Sport Coupe when there was a problem and said I could have it. I started the engine and heard the rod knock. I had just arrived in Tucson with my 1971 Norton 750 Hi Rider. It was an easy decision to stay with the Norton. I never had as much fun driving a car.
This engine is one of FIATs best and longest living! Started life in the 600 in the 50s and was seen in the 770 - 850 - 127 - Lancia A12 (with up to 70hp in the Abarth!) - Uno - Panda - Seicento and last seen in the Punto in the late 90s/early 2000s. Had it in the Seicento with 40hp and loved it - just enough power to keep up with traffic in the low/normal revs, but when you push it to the limit it sings like Caruso and made this little Seicento fly trough the twisties. Nothing better as a small Italian car on a country road….😇 Btw - the 850 Spyder is a real poor men’s Ferrari!
I was lucky enough to have one of these as my first car in March 1975, same colour and that was a 1969 model. Years later I worked for Fiat, and I had a 850 special, 127,124S, and a 128. Great fun to drive and with their own characteristics , which are no longer found in today's cars.
My Father bought one of those for my Mom as a Christmas present (same color) beginning of the 70s. First non-German car we ever owned. My Mom drove it during winter and those days winters brought a lot of snow and with that a lot of salt to combat the ice & snow. After the first winter the car really started to rust and and those rust problems never stopped. Still a good looking car!
My first car when I passed my test in 1980! Absolutely loved it! I pulled up after driving it in the rain and heard that tick tick coming from the front. "Ah, that'd be the engine cooling......hang on, the engine's behind me!"...... I was listening to the front battery compartment rusting! The battery dropped out soon after! 😂 Had quite a bit of welding done to keep it going, but eventually had to scrap it. 😢 It was a wonderful, fun little car. It cost £50. I'd love another now, but the missus would kill me! 😂
Thanks Jack & the owner of the Fiat.Brought back some great memories. Had a Red 1966 Series 1.Bought @ 29000 miles in Toronto for $300 in 1969 due to rust holes on top of the front fenders already . Wonderful fun car. I've been looking for one ever since but @ least in Canada NO SURVIVORS : (.
Gosh, I'd forgotten about these little beauties; my cousins husband bought one (he was in the RAF and considered quite "flashy"). I wouldve been about 9 at this point. When you consider that my dad was driving an "arrow" singer vogue at the time, it seemed really exotic and was quite a fizzy little machine!
Great car from when Fiat made great, interesting, and fun cars. In the early 1970s in the US, I owned a Fiat 850 Spider which was wonderful fun. Please do a video about the 850 Spider. Later I replaced it with a Fiat 128 because I needed a back seat, which was a remarkable design and wonderful car. Please do a video on that car too. Then, I was a great fan of Fiats - I wish those days when Fiat was great would return!
Ahhh the memories! I had a sky blue series 2 850 sports coupe as my first car. It was such a fun car , and taught me a lot about engines. I drove her spiritedly (!) and every 2000 miles I would need to grind the valves, shave the head and even needed to do big ends. Such a little engine, and so was to work on. Thanks for the video ❤
My first car in 1985 in NZ! Same colour, i still remember the smell of the interior, LOVED driving it, exactly as you describe. I learned a lot about car repairs....
Simple engineering that did the job. My dad bought a blue one new in 1969 (TVF437G) from a Fiat garage in Norfolk. He'd wanted a Capri 1600 GT XLR but the waiting list was just too long. It's surprising how nippy that thing was. Did hundreds of miles in it in Uk and on the continent. A bit buzzy at speed, but surprisingly comfortable even as a passenger. Great review, thanks!
My father, Dennis, in Bromley Kent, bought one for his daughter in about 1975. It was a wonderful car, stylish and so different at the time. His was a RHD example.
One of the great little rear engine cars of that era, I had a couple of Renaults rear engine and of course VW's. There's something special about the tractability and light steering of that type of layout. Nice one Jack.
So lovely to see this wonderful littel car again. I have restored one in the Late 80s for my dad. It was a Kind of orange colour and we got it from the first owner. Had to replace the hole front and many other parts and my dad drove it for a couple of years. It was a nice little beast. Thank you so much for showing is this nice little italian car!
My first car in 1978, in white with a red interior and RHD. I think my later version had a slightly bigger engine - 903cc - but still called 850 Sport. It had a bit of flair compared to the British stuff. Made an 18-year-old feel special. I sold it to buy a Triumph GT6 MkII. Wish I still owned both!
This car exemplifies just how great class-leading FIAT was for small cars like LANCIA of course Fiat is still great nowadays e.g. 500e by modern standards but the gap has narrowed considerably between rivals but that era was very special under the chairman Gianni Agnelli including Giorgetto Giugiaro in the 1980s that can never be replicated. This car also reminds me of another great small Fiat of the 1970s the 128 Sport Coupe.
My first car was a 128 Sport Coupe, similar appeal to the 850 Coupe which it replaced in the lineup. Couldn’t agree more with you, FIAT made brilliant cars over the years - engines that were the best in class for the 60s and 70s, but I think the others caught up some time in the 90s. The charm and good quality (yes really!) of the 2007-onwards 500 built in Poland probably saved the company after a difficult time. It would be nice to see the small sporty 2-dr coupe come back as an option in the market currently dominated by mini-SUVs and pickup trucks. The current-day 500e (we have one) is off the pace compared to other new EVs - even the older Nissan Leaf beats it for handling, power, efficiency, leaving FIAT to sell only on style now. The Turin factory assembles the 500e with technology bought-in from elsewhere (battery from Samsung, motor from GKN etc.), making it expensive and giving it a poorly-harmonised feel (the only EV that doesn’t drive smoothly; driveline shunt and grabby drum brakes). Sad for a company that once led the way in research, development, and production, with rolls of steel going in one end of the factory, and cars rolling out the other. They should never have sold Magneti Marelli, I’m sure their expertise in motors and electronics would come in handy about now!
I had one of these in late 60s. I was 20. I loved it. It was white and I had it resprayed mustard yellow. Really smart. Did the one you drive have the “cruise control”? It was just a cable you pulled which moved the accelerator forward and locked it. It got stuck on the M1 once. Scared the life out of me. Still remember the reg no PLC141E. So glad you enjoyed it too. I recently sold my S Class Mercedes and bought an SL500 so having fun again!
My father in law had such a Coupé. Those were the highest revving cars with 6,500 rpm at 52 bhp. The second series had the bigger engine at 903 cc while first series had 843 cc. Those had 47 bhp at 6.700 rpm this was also the death of many of these.
Erinnert mich an meine Jugend, meine Mutter hatte zwei davon, in gelb und genau in diesem rot. Natürlich mit Kopftuch auf im Tennisoutfit und großer Sonnenbrille 😍…und aus dem Radio trällert Umberto Tozzi mit Gloria ❤❤❤
My brother bought one new. That was a wicked little car with a sort of usable back seat. Once he had to take some family friends somewhere and really old lady wound up riding in the back seat.
We had a series one and a series two in the family when I was a kid (in Australia) and I spent a lot of miles on that back seat. Learnt to drive in my aunt's 850 saloon and dad's 124 coupe.
Perfecto! A positano yellow 1969 850 coupe (US model) was my first car lo those many years ago and it was the perfect introduction to 20th century motoring. Yes it broke occasionally, but it was fun to drive, got great gas mileage and was Italian! I swear if I could find a survivor, I’d buy it, partly for nostalgia and partly because it’s the perfect primal car!
Brings back memories, my bestfriend had one of these in the late 80's. 3 of us travelled from the Isle of wight to London in it. I occupied the back seat for the journey. She flew on the motoway !
The 850 Coupe was an uncle's dream car, he had a little song that he sang as we drove around the mountains in Reggio Emilia, Ottocento cinquanta coupe, ottocento cinquanta coupe. He replaced his 750 Fiat some years later with a Panda.
A word on the feeling Jack describes as the tall front tires 'rolling over' in the corners. Most cars designed prior to the mid-late 1970s (more or less) were intended to use 'bias-ply' tires, which have much stiffer sidewalls than 'radial-ply' tires (given equal sidewall height). Consequently, those cars employed less 'negative camber' in their suspension geometry. I think this accounts for that sensation, and also contributes to what is often a general feeling of 'skittishness' or 'squirminess' in older cars running on modern tires.
Sidewall flex can probably be mitigated by running extra-load tyres as sold for trailers, not sure what it would do to the ride quality, but the springing and damping is pretty soft so should be ok These have a 5” wheel rim so I think 165 is optimal tyre width (the later FWD FIATs were only a 4.5” rim/145 or 155 tyre) The front geometry on an 850 is weird because of short upper links and the transverse leaf being a long lower link. It actually goes to positive camber on compression, negative camber when extended - basically the opposite of what you’d expect. The fix for this by Abarth back in period was a lower crossmember with shorter links to match the upper links better. That has been remade today and can be fitted if desired. Personally I’d leave it standard, it’s part of the charm, and work around it with a suitable tyre choice bearing in mind the good point you made
A family member had one back in the early 70's which i drove a few times and it was terrific. One of my most memorable driving experiences - was disappointed when i arrived at my destination and had to get out. Ditto with a Ritmo in the 90's. Couldn't say the same about subsequent Fiats tho'.
Hello Jack, thanks for reminding me of that nice little car. I remember when they were new and exciting. Good looking cars that are fun to drive and AFFORDABLE seem to be long gone.
Loved this! Boano created a great looking little car. I love these small coupes and have a 1600 DP Ghia, which has a quite different character- quite low revving and high geared , so better for longer journeys, but this little bundle of fun would be much better for the twisties…
Saw this very car in Witney outside our pub the other night. We also have an 850 and couldn’t believe it. This one is a really lovely example 👌🏼 Glad you enjoyed it.. they really are jewels and wonderful to drive around the Cotswolds 👍🏼
The interior reminds me very much of my 1972 FIAT Spider. That was such a cool little car, when it worked properly, which was not often. But I loved it and think I'd probably enjoy having another one, today. With an additional 40 years of automotive technical and mechanical experience, I believe I _could_ now keep it functioning perfectly well - most of the time. Sadly, most of them dissolved into piles of rust, long ago.
Not the best idea to announce that you are speeding on a single lane carriageway (110 km/h = 65 mph) 🤣 Glad you enjoyed the drive as much as we enjoyed your video 👍
That may be the case but by actually stating you are doing an indicated speed can render you liable for prosecution - regardless of your opinion on the accuracy of the speedometer. Just trying to help.
@@grandtrousers At 3:24, his actaul words were: "it's doing an indicated 110km/h now and I think that is probably optimistic". In Australia, the likelihood of such a prosecution being successful is extremely low.
Unfortunately in the UK it's not. It is too easy to be prosecuted and you have to prove that you weren't actually speeding after you have admitted to it on social media. Definitely not trying to be a buzz kill.
The smile on Jack’s face! Small, light, slow car fun!
This must be one of the prettiest cars ever - why don't they make anything like this anymore? Ever so stylish without being aggressive.
Fantastic little car - except on safety (none), and possibly fuel economy (aero, high revs).
My Dad had an 850 Sport (rhd) in the early 70s, in Glasgow. It was used for the primary school run with 3-4 kids in the back frequently; my Dad also drove our family of 4, "enthusiastically". He had slept in for a cricket match and drove at 90mph on a 70 mile journey arriving in time to open the bowling. My Mum spent the day drinking G&T to recover. My sister & I were oblivious and happily played Top Trumps in the back seat. Happy Days.
90mph on an 850 must have been quite an achievement 😂 It was all or nothing!
@@pepitosbazzeguti1073 that was 2 adults, 2 children - my sister and I aged 12 &10 .... And my dad's cricket kit in the boot at the front...... Which we reckon balanced out the weight 😁😁
OMG 90 mph. I remember seeing 100 on my 1972 convertible, who knows if the speedo was telling the truth. The valves were floating wildly and it was way way past redline, but the engine on that car was solid.
Few people understand just how special old small Fiats really are! Got a bit of experience with the 600 and a 850 saloon. I fully understand that smile!
These great Fiats are due to Vittorio Valletta, who ran the company from the death of Giovanni Agnelli in 1946 until grandson Gianni came of age in 1966. Fiats conceived after his tenure became increasingly ordinary, Italian Fords rather than poor man's Maseratis like this 850 Sport.
When I stayed in Sicily in the 1980s I drove around in a Fiat 600, Fiat 128 and 127 and they really are just fun cars. The 600 was a bit agricultural but did the job. Hope Jack gets to try the Fiat 124 Coupes one day.
My first car ❤
I think that it's about time people understand,that red car doesn't mean Ferrari. Red Fiat also DOES NOT mean Ferrari,and even if Fiat owns Ferrari,it's still not Ferrari. VW owns Bugatti, but VW Polo is not Bugatti.
I had 5-10 Fiats and Abarths, one 600 and the rest 850's and loved them all. Wish I had them back. The engine is indeed a jewel. You can carry the complete engine in one hand by its exhaust system, and install the engine with a floor jack. Great car for young mechanics. Simple. Even my wife liked them.
Nice comment
What a joyous car! Coming to this after watching St Harry review a 650BHP BMW M2, the contrast is stark. On the one hand we have a butt-ugly ego pumper which you will never be able to use approaching its full potential, and here we have a beautiful gem of a car which you could use all day every day. Wring its neck and you will still keep your license. Bravo!
Well said.
A friend had one in 1972, we went everywhere flat out in it, what a fun little thing it was. Modern cars have lost the plot.
We owned one of these in 73.
Drove it to Sydney from Adelaide and it was a fun little car.
Unfortunately the clutch was weak and they rusted from the inside out like most Fiats of the era.
They are full of character, unlike the boring boxes we have today.
Great memories......
My second car was a 1970 850 Spider--same platform and running gear. What a fun car, I had a blast with it. At redline it would go an indicated 84 mph, the soft top was a cinch to pop up or down, and it made a nice noise going through the gears. It wasn't the most reliable, but getting parts wasn't a problem and it was easy to work on. A folded army blanket let me comfortably (sort of) kneel down to fix or do maintenance on it. It wasn't happy in the winter, I put a shop light in the engine compartment and covered it with a blanket or it wouldn't start. The heater would get just warm and barely heat the interior. Its size and weight weren't a just a plus for handling, one winter I got stuck in an icy dip in the road. I got out with the car running and in gear, gave it a push and hopped in when it started going.
The biggest problems were a generator going out, I replaced it with a Chevy part. The starter motor failed, I removed it and had the armature rewound--could not get the third bolt on but two were enough. Once while in Salt Lake City, driving through a pot hole in a parking lot the half shaft broke in two. A terrifying tow home behind my brother in his Super Beetle and a weeks wait for the part and I had it running again. After a couple years I left for a two year mission and my oldest brother took it over. Some months later it caught fire on the freeway. He pulled over and watched it consumed in flames until the fire department showed up to douse the embers. He got a ride home and that was the end of the Fiat story.
I loved that little Fiat. Thanks for igniting (no pun intended) my memories of that lovely white 850 Spider! I still drive rear engine sports cars--but from a country north of Italy.
I had the Fiat 850 Spyder - fragile, rusty and absolutely marvelous. The handling was incredible and the sounds were soul-satisfying.
Me too - it was the Sport Spyder with the HUGE 903cc motor. Too much fun, and it even handled great in the snow. So many unusual things about the car...the centrifugal oil filter, the transverse leaf front suspension, the way the top assembled, etc. Used to gap the points with a matchbook cover and it ran perfectly. Would love to find one again!
I had a 850 Spider too. Great fun!
That's a little jewel, love these small, lightweight old cars. The Italians made some beauties.
What a charming little car! Damn, I want to go back and live in that time, never to come back! Cars looked amazing, girls were stunning and music was the best.
And the future was bright.
Me too, but in Italy 🎉
Iam enjoying the ride in the 70s everytime i take my 850 Coupe 😄😁
Indeed. Golden days. The gas was cheaper, the cars were faster (or seemed that way) and the girls were prettier. Racing through the woods. top down after midnight with the wind in your hair.
Had an 850 saloon - lovely little buzz-bomb - handling enhanced by a large lump of Welsh slate in the (front) boot - after a head skim following a gasket failure, seemed to go like a rocket. Always regretted letting it go.
Shame to have to carry ballast instead of something more useful though.
My first car was a '69 850 saloon - taught myself a lot of DIY servicing/fixing/welding. Scared myself when I fitted a rev counter to it, but the engine was willing to rev all day. Great Fun.
Yeah. I tried that ( the ballast) for a while untilI found that if I fitted it with decent radial ply tyres, the problem with the light front end went away…except on black ice, which was expecting a lot. Still had snap oversteer if I buttoned off in a fast corner. Easy solution there tho…don’t slow down ;)
Hi Jack. Well.....if you're depressed or have had a shitty day. here's the tonic! What a peach. Just lovely. Gorgeous little car......why can't we buy cars like this now? Cheers S
Yes, it's very stylish and elegant. I've no idea why they can't put the pedals in front of the driver though, I like plenty of room around the clutch pedal, yet on many cars that seems too much to ask for some reason.
You can get cars like this today, but you need to make concessions, style, safety, cost, can you have something that ticks all boxes?
@@alastairward2774 style, and cost? Yes cars are a lot safer, but people over really on it I'm sure. You can increase safety greatly by simply not driving like a complete bell.
The pedals are offset because of the proximity of the front wheel wells to the footwells. There literally is no room to have the pedals straight ahead.
It is impossible to sell, and thus manufacture cars like this now at least partially due to their total inability to pass modern collision safety standards. Look on TH-cam for crash testing of similar cars eg. Simca 1000. Scary to watch.
@@jeremystevenson9503 that's a great answer, I should of thought about it more, probably something I knew and forgot, if that makes sense. I had an MX-5 NC 2.0 and never liked the driving position, too crampt and not enough power.
I owned a creamy white one in 1979, as a 19 year old it looked amazing ! Unfortunately it kept breaking camshafts. On one of these breakdowns my dad offered to tow me home but unfortunately this only achieved pulling the whole front off leaving a pile of newspaper, filler chicken wire and rust !! Shame lovely none the less !
Someone in my town, Dartmouth, MA, had one of these in the early 70s. We played together, me in my 67 Karmann Ghia, one some of the local backroads, I couldn’t shake him when I was in front, and visa versa. We swapped cars for 15 minutes or so. The Fiat was much more of a sporty drive than my KG.
I loved my 850 sports coupe but found it so hard in the early 80s to get parts so I regrettably sold it , today with the internet it's a lot easier to keep old cars on the road , I wish we had the internet back then
What a trip down memory lane. Bought one back in 1977 when posted to Germany.
My father owned a White one like this when I was growing up, and I remember he used to rev high all the time. What great times these were! ❤️
My first car ! 🥰 In 1970 my girl friend and I drove with that car from Belgium to Pisa, Italy. We gave it a name : Dolly. In 1972 we married and when there was a baby in 1973, the car became too small and I sold it, which I regret. But the wife I still have. ❤️ And the baby is now 51 and lives near Pisa. ❤️
The '67 red 850 convertible was my first car. Everything after was always compared to that first Fiat.
My mum had one of these when we lived in Rome in the 70s.
It was heroic.
50ish brake was sufficient for the time - my only complaint, as a large child, was that the rear seat was cramped.
Shotgun was the place to be because mum would let you change gear (when she wasn't on one. She was on one a lot).
I had a Cinquecento Sporting in the 90s - 55 BHP in a light body. It wasn't fast in outright terms but it was a complete riot - 'never lift'. In the 70's an 850 Sport must have been hilarious.
Jack the way that you describe a car's dynamics and handling is getting to be really amazing, you have a great turn of phrase describing technical capability without losing those of us who are completely non technical. Combined with your passion for all things automotive you are delivering output that is superb.
SO kind, thank you so much for sticking with the channel as well!!
Jack, Although most people attribute, "Simplify, and add lightness" to Colin Chapman, Chapman's real quote of "I believe in getting lightweight through elegance of design" is definitely and readily applicable to the design of this elegant, lightweight 1969 850 Fiat Sport Coupe. The pleasure of being able to drive such a lightweight relatively low powered car near its maximum on regular roads was evident with your continual broad smile. A brilliant road test. Thanks.
@Turnipstalk I believe you are correct, however, Ferdinand Porsche once quipped that "the perfect race car crosses the finish line in first place and then falls to pieces". I also recall Chapman being quoted as uttering something similar which I had read a couple decades ago. "The ultimate achievement is a car which leads from the drop of the flag only to disintegrate upon crossing the finish line as anything less and something, somewhere, is utterly superfluous."
Is there a happier TH-camr than lovely Jack ?
52hp? In 1696? That's a lot of power for the time. The Citroen 2CV had 14hp!!! Absolute gem of a motor... Lovely stuff
2CV is a high bar on the HP front!
My first car was a 1970 Renault 4L Fourgonnette with 27 hp from a 850 cc inline four.
@@martinmcdonald4207 it's not what you've got, it's how well you use it!
@kimmorgan379. 52hp was indeed a lot of power in 1696! Lol. 🤣🤣🤣😊
@@PrimoStracciatella this was the 850cc unit originally developed for the Dauphine presented by the end of 1955!
The engine was also in use at Renault 6 34 bhp from 1968 on and in the first Renault 5 from 1972 to 1982.
Originally the R4 used the 750 cc unit from 4CV with 21 bhp between 1961 and 1968..
This was my first car, a series 1: and my first engine rebuild. (Blown head gasket) thanks for the great memories!
I had one of these 1981-1995. Was a great car and although FE2o3 was starting to eat it away I sold it to a guy who was going to restore it with his son. Putting something under the bonnet improved front end grip no end. I used a bag of sand. After my 128SL it would be a favourite. Great review Jack.
In 1974, I was in Guernsey with my family, we had two Fiat 850's to get around with, and my uncle and grandad loved them
As a driver of a 1970 FIAT 500L I really like this 'grown up' FIAT of the era. Wonderful, I haven't seen one for quite a while.
My wife owned a white mk 2 in the early 70’s and it was one of the prettiest cars of its price range & era. But it had a flaw - poor cooling due to head gasket problems and it regularly over heated, especially in traffic. Thanks for the memories.
I owned one just like this as a young man. It really was a lot of fun to drive, and just as pretty in person. I have to say, though, that driving it every day in Los Angeles freeway traffic was kind of terrifying! It felt very, very small indeed on those roads surrounded by all of that big 1970's Detroit iron.
My dad rented one, once, when his car was in the repair shop. I think it was 1968. I thought, as a young lad that it looked super-cool. Thanks for the memories.
This is real motoring, you engage with the car, the road and the terrain, and every mile is a joy. There is nothing anodyne about this car, or others of its day. You listened to the engine and everything else to ensure that everything was working properly. The only way to drive. Most only drive 20 miles or so a day, no problem for a car like this. Great car, great video. K Ghia was alwful to drive. Go for an Isetta next...
I learnt to drive with one of these
My late father's powder blue series 2 back in 1974
I've owned a few of my own that I have restored over the years
Such a pretty car
I was 14-15yrs old when these were released in NZ for NZ$1999 and I thought they were the bees knees.
I've still got one that gets weekend outings - in Wellington here.
look up the Richard Thompson song, 'Bee's Knees'
I have driven one in the 1970's and it definitely put a smile on my face.
One does not need power to have fun. Rowing a little car along on the gearstick is entertaining.
Love this, what a cute simple vehicle!
A friend owned both a series 1 and a series 2. Great tiny cars. The headers and the little Weber made the engine look like a miniature racing engine. In 1968 they got a 903 cc engine and 52 horsepower and those could get to a bit over 90 mph which in those felt like well over 120 mph :)
We had one, bought brand new, in the early 1970s. You were right about the rear seat; my younger brother and I struggled to fit when I was 7 and he was 5 but we loved it, anyway. Just a great car!
A man who really loves his Italian motors !!!!
It's a warm day, why do you keep saying Brrrr, Tony? Bertoné? Oh ok I get it
He also might like Japanese Honda Micro sportscars of the 1960s
Just as I do. My wife too. Which helps 😊
Arguably the prettiest of the 850 coupes , the Mk1 had just single lights , but the twin lights with the slightly smaller inner lights really do set it off. The Mk3 , they switched to larger inner lights which made it look a bit goggle - eyed. Only the Italians could offer such chic styling with a budget car . Fantastic .
Yes - the inner lights were called fog lights in the video but they’re actually main beams. Perhaps it was set up that way with the intention of an upgrade to halogen bulbs (even though it was sold with tungsten bulbs) - I think early halogens were single-filament only, so it would have made sense to have main beams in separate light units
There's something to be said for a car that has low power but great handling. I absolutely loved my '81 FIAT X1/9 - it had (barely) 75 HP stock, but that wasn't the point. Its incredible handling, especially when given 60-series tires instead of the 80s it came with, meant that I almost never had to slow for a corner. Instead, I could throw the thing into the curve, relying on the mid-engine balance to let me carry speed instead of scrubbing it off - and so the SOHC could come out of the corner high into its best revs. After a bit of modification, the power went up but was never world-beating. It was still one of the most fun cars I have ever owned, or even driven. The closest I have some were my 1991 Isuzu Impulse XS (Lotus suspension!) and my current 2013 Boxster S with Sport Chrono package (mind-blowingly great).
Hah, I knew someone who had an X1/9. He thought it most unfair that many took the snooty attitude that it was a hairdresser's car. He was also a very fast driver and motorcyle enduro competitor in the Expert class. He insisted he show me how unfair the X1/9's reputation was c/o a brief hooligan drive around Surrey. The culmination of which was about 20 laps of the Ripley roundabout with him laughing and screaming 'see, it's not bad is it! hahhahaha...' It was ridiculously good, lap after lap on the edge of grip, and me thinking nervous thoughts about how maybe it was possible to roll a low sportscar after all.
Hi Jack, great video!
When I was a kid I used live in Canada and almost all cars were American, but the 850 Sport Coupe was my dream car. My favourite color was dark green. After 55 years it still looks beautiful!
I had a Fiat 850 in the early 1980s. Such a fun car to drive, loved to rev that engine, once we were camping and had to run through kms of thick mud via back roads to get back to the highway. The 850 just went through the mud like a 4x4 as the light weight meant it didn't stop. Other heavy 4x4 Land Rovers just slid into the ditches. If we wanted to take some larger item home we would slide the passenger seat off its seat rails for a temp spacious cabin. This 850 was a far better car than our classic mini...the 850 had much larger wheels. Yes one adult would sit sideways on the back seat. The electrics were always not working so I would roll start it on some occasions. The 850 would make an excellent goldilocks restoration project.
If ever a car deserved a set of tailored coco mats. Thanks for the video - your enthusiasm for Italian cars is a joy!
I had two friends, here in Australia, that both had 850 coupes and both in light blue with brown interior. I used to drive both. This was the late 1970’s. We had both engines out and did major work to them and the drove them again. Fantastic little cars.
A friend of mine had one. The big brother of another friend of mine, had one. That gave me the opportunity to "investigate" this lovely little coupe. I fully understand the smile on his face.
1982, I was given a mustard yellow RHD by my girlfriend's father. A non runner, needed a little settling but, I didn't appreciate at the time what I had been given. My daily driver, a daimler sovereign, was the comfortable place to be and the little fiat was left unattended. A few years later, time had taken its toll and I ended up scrapping it. Such a shame and something I regret but, at the time I did not realise or appreciate what a little gem it was.
I feel the same way I had a 1984 Fiat Uno 70S 4-door wish I never sold it impossible to buy one in the UK now can only find them in Italy. A real feel-good car that was so much fun to drive! and had Giorgetto Giugiaro's design.
Had two 850 convertibles in my life. Loved both of them. A red 1967 with the original glass headlamp fairing and a white 1972. Chassis, as I recall were pretty much the same as the coupe. Hearing the sound of this test car brought back many happy memories and indeed, it sounds just as I remember. Thanks for sharing!
These were very popular here in NZ in the 70's even though they attracted a tariff of 45%.A schoolfriend's parents owned an orange one which he brought round to show me once.I was very impressed at the time.I think the engine capacity was actually 903cc if I remember correctly:probably quite fast for the time.They've all long sinced rusted away now sadly.The FIAT 124 Sport was also very popular here.Great styling.
Some (many?) of the series-II (four headlights/taillights) were assembled in NZ, I think to avoid that tariff (it’s before my time) - seems this made the rust even worse. You’re correct about the 903cc engine - only the series-I (two headlights/taillights) had the 843cc.
I’m lucky to have a relatively good one (in a horrible Austin Allegro avocado colour typical of the Otahuhu assembly plant) but it still needs fairly extensive repairs, even to chassis parts that don’t seem to have been lined up properly before welding. I do wonder if I should keep the original horrible colour, as it’s obviously unique to a few of the NZ-assembled cars. Otherwise, I’d paint it dark red like the one in the video and others in NZ
These memories. My eldest brother was gifted with this pretty little thing in a shiny bright yellow after crashing our father's Ford 20m 2300s as a 17-year-old without a driver's license. To avoid further problems of this kind, a Fiat 850 Sport arrived. I was 9 years old and loved it. It looks like a real sports car.
A time-machine which started nostalgia in many of your viewers, me included. I would stay in it just to bring back from memories lovely moments and emotions and smell and feel of those beautiful past times :)
Wonderful to watch. My Mother had one of these OLB730E following an 850 Special NRD738G as she was a bit of a petrolhead. I passed my driving test in OLB730E in 1971. It was obviously a series 1 as there were no foglights and it was a RHD. I had driving lessons in a standard 850 and Fiats were catching on in our neighbourhood my Father had a 125 and the neighbour opposite had a 132. The local Fiat dealership in Reading of that era was RCR of Shinfield. Thanks for a great video.
My first car was a red 1971 850 Sport Coupe. My father took me shopping for my first car when I was 17. I had a 1971 Suzuki TS 125 and a few hundred dollars. We drove straight to Charlie Williams Import. I had no idea where my father was taking me. The car was brand new sitting in a tiny showroom. I couldn’t believe when he asked me if I would pay him back if he loaned me the money for the car. I said yes I would. I helped lift the car so we could turn it toward the door. The only experience shifting was with motorcycles and a short spin in the Shawnee Mission North parking lot in my friend’s VW. I drove the car home and took pictures of it. I loved that car. It was great around KC but not geared or powerful enough for the highway. I hit the 6400 rpm redline going about 75 down hill on I35. I put headers on it with a glass pack muffler. It sounded amazing. The motor was 903 cc’s but very smooth and peppy. First gear was so short people were always almost running into me as I got underway. My mother would give me $3 and I’d drive around all day with my buddies. I was too young to own that car and didn’t take care of it like I should have. I haven’t seen one since 1976 when my sister bought a well used one, red and toasted from the Tucson sun. She abandoned her Sport Coupe when there was a problem and said I could have it. I started the engine and heard the rod knock. I had just arrived in Tucson with my 1971 Norton 750 Hi Rider. It was an easy decision to stay with the Norton. I never had as much fun driving a car.
Thanks, Jack. You brought back memories of our '69 850 shared from new with my 4 brothers. Bright Mediterranean Blue. What fun!
My cousin had the 850 standard version. Then she progressed to the 124 Sport Coupé. Simply a gorgeous car
This engine is one of FIATs best and longest living!
Started life in the 600 in the 50s and was seen in the 770 - 850 - 127 - Lancia A12 (with up to 70hp in the Abarth!) - Uno - Panda - Seicento and last seen in the Punto in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Had it in the Seicento with 40hp and loved it - just enough power to keep up with traffic in the low/normal revs, but when you push it to the limit it sings like Caruso and made this little Seicento fly trough the twisties.
Nothing better as a small Italian car on a country road….😇
Btw - the 850 Spyder is a real poor men’s Ferrari!
I was lucky enough to have one of these as my first car in March 1975, same colour and that was a 1969 model. Years later I worked for Fiat, and I had a 850 special, 127,124S, and a 128. Great fun to drive and with their own characteristics , which are no longer found in today's cars.
My Father bought one of those for my Mom as a Christmas present (same color) beginning of the 70s. First non-German car we ever owned. My Mom drove it during winter and those days winters brought a lot of snow and with that a lot of salt to combat the ice & snow. After the first winter the car really started to rust and and those rust problems never stopped. Still a good looking car!
My first car when I passed my test in 1980! Absolutely loved it! I pulled up after driving it in the rain and heard that tick tick coming from the front. "Ah, that'd be the engine cooling......hang on, the engine's behind me!"...... I was listening to the front battery compartment rusting! The battery dropped out soon after! 😂 Had quite a bit of welding done to keep it going, but eventually had to scrap it. 😢 It was a wonderful, fun little car. It cost £50. I'd love another now, but the missus would kill me! 😂
Thanks Jack & the owner of the Fiat.Brought back some great memories. Had a Red 1966 Series 1.Bought @ 29000 miles in Toronto for $300 in 1969 due to rust holes on top of the front fenders already . Wonderful fun car. I've been looking for one ever since but @ least in Canada NO SURVIVORS : (.
Gosh, I'd forgotten about these little beauties; my cousins husband bought one (he was in the RAF and considered quite "flashy"). I wouldve been about 9 at this point.
When you consider that my dad was driving an "arrow" singer vogue at the time, it seemed really exotic and was quite a fizzy little machine!
Great car from when Fiat made great, interesting, and fun cars. In the early 1970s in the US, I owned a Fiat 850 Spider which was wonderful fun. Please do a video about the 850 Spider. Later I replaced it with a Fiat 128 because I needed a back seat, which was a remarkable design and wonderful car. Please do a video on that car too. Then, I was a great fan of Fiats - I wish those days when Fiat was great would return!
Thank you for this video! Fun fact: This was the last rear-engined car to compete in the Bathurst 500 (Later Bathurst 1000.).
Ahhh the memories! I had a sky blue series 2 850 sports coupe as my first car. It was such a fun car , and taught me a lot about engines. I drove her spiritedly (!) and every 2000 miles I would need to grind the valves, shave the head and even needed to do big ends. Such a little engine, and so was to work on. Thanks for the video ❤
My first car in 1985 in NZ! Same colour, i still remember the smell of the interior, LOVED driving it, exactly as you describe. I learned a lot about car repairs....
Simple engineering that did the job. My dad bought a blue one new in 1969 (TVF437G) from a Fiat garage in Norfolk. He'd wanted a Capri 1600 GT XLR but the waiting list was just too long. It's surprising how nippy that thing was. Did hundreds of miles in it in Uk and on the continent. A bit buzzy at speed, but surprisingly comfortable even as a passenger. Great review, thanks!
My father, Dennis, in Bromley Kent, bought one for his daughter in about 1975. It was a wonderful car, stylish and so different at the time. His was a RHD example.
One of the great little rear engine cars of that era, I had a couple of Renaults rear engine and of course VW's. There's something special about the tractability and light steering of that type of layout. Nice one Jack.
So lovely to see this wonderful littel car again. I have restored one in the Late 80s for my dad. It was a Kind of orange colour and we got it from the first owner. Had to replace the hole front and many other parts and my dad drove it for a couple of years. It was a nice little beast. Thank you so much for showing is this nice little italian car!
My first car in 1978, in white with a red interior and RHD. I think my later version had a slightly bigger engine - 903cc - but still called 850 Sport. It had a bit of flair compared to the British stuff. Made an 18-year-old feel special.
I sold it to buy a Triumph GT6 MkII. Wish I still owned both!
This car exemplifies just how great class-leading FIAT was for small cars like LANCIA of course Fiat is still great nowadays e.g. 500e by modern standards but the gap has narrowed considerably between rivals but that era was very special under the chairman Gianni Agnelli including Giorgetto Giugiaro in the 1980s that can never be replicated. This car also reminds me of another great small Fiat of the 1970s the 128 Sport Coupe.
My first car was a 128 Sport Coupe, similar appeal to the 850 Coupe which it replaced in the lineup. Couldn’t agree more with you, FIAT made brilliant cars over the years - engines that were the best in class for the 60s and 70s, but I think the others caught up some time in the 90s. The charm and good quality (yes really!) of the 2007-onwards 500 built in Poland probably saved the company after a difficult time.
It would be nice to see the small sporty 2-dr coupe come back as an option in the market currently dominated by mini-SUVs and pickup trucks.
The current-day 500e (we have one) is off the pace compared to other new EVs - even the older Nissan Leaf beats it for handling, power, efficiency, leaving FIAT to sell only on style now. The Turin factory assembles the 500e with technology bought-in from elsewhere (battery from Samsung, motor from GKN etc.), making it expensive and giving it a poorly-harmonised feel (the only EV that doesn’t drive smoothly; driveline shunt and grabby drum brakes). Sad for a company that once led the way in research, development, and production, with rolls of steel going in one end of the factory, and cars rolling out the other. They should never have sold Magneti Marelli, I’m sure their expertise in motors and electronics would come in handy about now!
I had one of these in late 60s. I was 20. I loved it. It was white and I had it resprayed mustard yellow. Really smart. Did the one you drive have the “cruise control”? It was just a cable you pulled which moved the accelerator forward and locked it. It got stuck on the M1 once. Scared the life out of me. Still remember the reg no PLC141E. So glad you enjoyed it too. I recently sold my S Class Mercedes and bought an SL500 so having fun again!
I have one, here in Wellington NZ. gorgeous little go-cart. just don't crash.
I love the 850 Sport. A friend's mum had one when we were teenagers. Loved driving it. I had a Fiat 600 at the time. Lol
My father in law had such a Coupé. Those were the highest revving cars with 6,500 rpm at 52 bhp. The second series had the bigger engine at 903 cc while first series had 843 cc.
Those had 47 bhp at 6.700 rpm this was also the death of many of these.
Except Citroen 2CV 4 24 bhp at 7.200 rpm. And Honda S800
67 bhp at 7.000 rpm…
Erinnert mich an meine Jugend, meine Mutter hatte zwei davon, in gelb und genau in diesem rot. Natürlich mit Kopftuch auf im Tennisoutfit und großer Sonnenbrille 😍…und aus dem Radio trällert Umberto Tozzi mit Gloria ❤❤❤
My brother bought one new. That was a wicked little car with a sort of usable back seat. Once he had to take some family friends somewhere and really old lady wound up riding in the back seat.
We had a series one and a series two in the family when I was a kid (in Australia) and I spent a lot of miles on that back seat. Learnt to drive in my aunt's 850 saloon and dad's 124 coupe.
Perfecto! A positano yellow 1969 850 coupe (US model) was my first car lo those many years ago and it was the perfect introduction to 20th century motoring. Yes it broke occasionally, but it was fun to drive, got great gas mileage and was Italian! I swear if I could find a survivor, I’d buy it, partly for nostalgia and partly because it’s the perfect primal car!
Brings back memories, my bestfriend had one of these in the late 80's. 3 of us travelled from the Isle of wight to London in it. I occupied the back seat for the journey. She flew on the motoway !
Boy that is one little cute car,really clean design.
Jack, thanks for the Video. My uncle had one in the late 60s. The lovely and classy interior, the sound, and the smell of petrol. Lovely little car.
That’s a huge leap from the 17hp of the 500!
The 850 Coupe was an uncle's dream car, he had a little song that he sang as we drove around the mountains in Reggio Emilia, Ottocento cinquanta coupe, ottocento cinquanta coupe. He replaced his 750 Fiat some years later with a Panda.
A word on the feeling Jack describes as the tall front tires 'rolling over' in the corners. Most cars designed prior to the mid-late 1970s (more or less) were intended to use 'bias-ply' tires, which have much stiffer sidewalls than 'radial-ply' tires (given equal sidewall height). Consequently, those cars employed less 'negative camber' in their suspension geometry. I think this accounts for that sensation, and also contributes to what is often a general feeling of 'skittishness' or 'squirminess' in older cars running on modern tires.
Sidewall flex can probably be mitigated by running extra-load tyres as sold for trailers, not sure what it would do to the ride quality, but the springing and damping is pretty soft so should be ok
These have a 5” wheel rim so I think 165 is optimal tyre width (the later FWD FIATs were only a 4.5” rim/145 or 155 tyre)
The front geometry on an 850 is weird because of short upper links and the transverse leaf being a long lower link. It actually goes to positive camber on compression, negative camber when extended - basically the opposite of what you’d expect. The fix for this by Abarth back in period was a lower crossmember with shorter links to match the upper links better. That has been remade today and can be fitted if desired.
Personally I’d leave it standard, it’s part of the charm, and work around it with a suitable tyre choice bearing in mind the good point you made
A family member had one back in the early 70's which i drove a few times and it was terrific. One of my most memorable driving experiences - was disappointed when i arrived at my destination and had to get out. Ditto with a Ritmo in the 90's. Couldn't say the same about subsequent Fiats tho'.
standard 52 bhp from an 850 in 1969 is really quite a lot
My Dad put the Abarth exhaust on his and with a better carb, it made about 60! 🎉😂
@@FarmerDrew Wise man!
Actually the later Series 2 had the big 900cc motor......just like mine first car
@@kidoctane big lol my harley is 1750
903cc
Our Uncle Tom had one of these.
A delightful little car.
Reminds me of a little Fiat Cinquecento I used as a van back in late 90's. It had no power but drove so well.
To me, the most appealing car you've featured yet.
Hello Jack, thanks for reminding me of that nice little car. I remember when they were new and exciting. Good looking cars that are fun to drive and AFFORDABLE seem to be long gone.
Loved this! Boano created a great looking little car. I love these small coupes and have a 1600 DP Ghia, which has a quite different character- quite low revving and high geared , so better for longer journeys, but this little bundle of fun would be much better for the twisties…
You can throw it around the cloverleaf without chirping the tires at 100 km an hour, that's the best fun
A real jewel of a car. Fiat were so good with the smaller car. My favourite would be the 128. Just wonderful things.
Saw this very car in Witney outside our pub the other night. We also have an 850 and couldn’t believe it. This one is a really lovely example 👌🏼
Glad you enjoyed it.. they really are jewels and wonderful to drive around the Cotswolds 👍🏼
Ha, wondered 😊if you’d spot the video
My Unkle has driving this car in the end of the sixties. pretty remembering of my childhout. Thanks for uploud..
The interior reminds me very much of my 1972 FIAT Spider. That was such a cool little car, when it worked properly, which was not often. But I loved it and think I'd probably enjoy having another one, today. With an additional 40 years of automotive technical and mechanical experience, I believe I _could_ now keep it functioning perfectly well - most of the time. Sadly, most of them dissolved into piles of rust, long ago.
Not the best idea to announce that you are speeding on a single lane carriageway (110 km/h = 65 mph) 🤣
Glad you enjoyed the drive as much as we enjoyed your video 👍
Based on my experience with the Fiat 850, the indicated 110km/h is very optimistic.
That may be the case but by actually stating you are doing an indicated speed can render you liable for prosecution - regardless of your opinion on the accuracy of the speedometer.
Just trying to help.
@@grandtrousers At 3:24, his actaul words were: "it's doing an indicated 110km/h now and I think that is probably optimistic". In Australia, the likelihood of such a prosecution being successful is extremely low.
Unfortunately in the UK it's not.
It is too easy to be prosecuted and you have to prove that you weren't actually speeding after you have admitted to it on social media.
Definitely not trying to be a buzz kill.
So it's like the X1-9 of the era?
Lovely little thing.
Thanks Jack.
Greetings from the Netherlands