December 5th, 2007 — Tags:fiat, fiat-500, vw

As regular readers know, we have had a bit of a thing for the Fiat 500 and it’s variations. This little blue & white bomb is certainly a variation. Rather that the tiny Fiat powerplant, this little monster has a 2 litre VW mill with all the cool go fast bits. I’m not sure exactly what class you’d be able to race this puppy in, but it would make a hell of a fun lapping day toy.
Bidding is currently at $9,400 and has just over 6 hours left.
July 2nd, 2007 — Tags:abarth, fiat, la-carrera-panamerica, mexico, vintage-rally

Yesterday’s post about Alain Raymond’s Fiat Abarth 850 TC has brought out a few more pics. Firstly, it seems that Raymond has another cool toy at home. This is a real 1968 Fiat Abarth 595 SS, perhaps the hottest evolution of the Fiat 500. This car was restored in France in 1988 and then found it’s way to Quebec and eventually into the hands of Mr. Raymond.
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July 1st, 2007 — Tags:abarth, auction, e-bay, fiat, varac

As a former Fiat owner, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Italian Marque. Perhaps the coolest of the little Fiats was the Fiat Abarth 850 TC. This stunning example is owned by French language auto writer Alain Raymond who writes a weekly column for LaPresse from Quebec and can also be found online at Mon Volant.
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September 28th, 2006 — Tags:alfa, antas-v8-gt, fiat

Building on a century or so of Italian coachbuilding tradition, F & M Auto have introduced the Antas v8 GT. With experience gained from restoring rare Barchettas and Berlinettas, F & M have used traditional techniques to bring the v8 GT to life, from it’s hand built aluminum body, to its’ Maserati V8 engine. From the heart shaped grille, old style ignition flip switch to the downdraft carburetors the Antas exudes old world charm. You can almost imagine some Italian Count barrelling down some winding road in pursuit of a Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo.
Full technical specs and tons of pictures after the break
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July 27th, 2006 — Tags:channel-crossing, fiat, rinspeed

The Swiss have smoked the Italians and looked a damn site cooler doing it! Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht piloted the Rinspeed Splash across the English Channel, setting a new world record of just over 193 minutes to surf from Dover to Sangatte. This record puts the high tech hydrofoil car into the Guiness Book of World Records. I bet it was a hell of a lot more fun than the Fiat Panda Pontoon Party boat.
pics and press release after the break.
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July 23rd, 2006 — Tags:amphicar, fiat, fiat-panda, gearheads, techie

For years now, Gearheads have hooked up with Propellorheads to make cars float. Not many have been very successful. The Amphicar was arguably the most usable one, as it actually made it to production and many are still plying the waters of cottage country around the world. Now, an unsuspecting Fiat Panda has been converted to a pontoon party boat. While this thing is less than attractive, it certainly seems work.
Additional pics of the Panda Terramare and an Amphicar after the break
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June 9th, 2006 — Tags:brand-logos, caseih, f1-cars, ferrari-f1, fiat, grand-prix, michael-schumacher, modena, Nascar, tractors

In an unprecedented marketing move, Fiat has chosen to place it’s CaseIH brand logos on it’s Ferrari F1 cars for the Canadian and US Grand Prix. While the press release proclaims how this partnership shows the importance of the Case brand to parent company Fiat, The Garage thinks it is a clever marketing ploy. America is a huge farming nation. Farmers purchase tractors. Farmers also watch NASCAR. Farmers don’t watch Formula One. Maybe this is actually an attempt to market F1 through the farm network, along with a push on tractors.
Could Ferrari be planning to sell it’s own line of farm implements to compete with those long time competitors from across the home town of Modena? I can see it now, Michael Schumacher does an in store in Witchita and nobody shows up. Michael who?