View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverFrom the November 1981 issue of Car and Driver.The sun shone today. We know this because the tops of our heads look like tomatoes, and our hair feels as if it’s been pulled back into cast-iron buns. Running 110 mph in a roadster on a hot day will do this to you. It also serves to clear your head.We must congratulate Fiat’s North American outpost for the encouraging fit of clearheadedness that brought the Turbo Spider to life. Two years ago, Fiat’s roadster was moribund. It needed a cardiovascular transplant. Its body and chassis were standing up surprisingly well in the face of other technical advances, but its engine ran as if choked by pneumonia. Fiat saved the Spider 2000, as it did the X1/9, by shooting it up with a much-needed dose of Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection. View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverRealizing anew that a roadster’s primary intent is to provide sport, Fiat’s American management was then primed to accept some outside help from Legend Industries, onetime purveyor of aftermarket turbo systems that were among the first to gain bureaucratic approval. Thus was born a new marketing ploy, that of a manufacturer (okay, distributor) that turns its cars over to outsiders (imagine that!) for the kinds of underhood shenanigans that used to leave the government alternately in stern disapproval and hysterical laughter, and car-company executives with cold sweat and aggravated hives. Fiat was already in a tight spot, with sales of its small sedans falling off when other companies’ were ascending to new heights, so commendations are in order for having pulled something out of the bag as outrageously spontaneous as the Turbo. More Convertible reviews From the archive
- 1980 Two-Seat Convertibles Comparison Test
- From the Archive: 1979 Fiat X1/9 Tested
- 1981 Fiat Turbo Spider 2000: Give ‘Em a Boost
Since we preview-tested the Turbos for this year’s April issue, Fiat has done away with the automatic version, deciding that its certification cost would not prove to be worthwhile in the face of the demand for the five-speed, even though the five-speed was almost a half-second slower to 60 mph and 0.3 second behind in the quarter-mile.View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverNevertheless, what you must realize if you’re worried about crow’s feet is that the five-speed Fiat Turbo Spider 2000 is a car to stay away from. You put the top down and mash on the throttle, and the next thing you know, the wind is beating in around the edge like Hurricane Willie, and your eyes are getting all squinty because they think that’s de rigueur. Not much of the wind flap spills over to the front part of your face, but your eyes get squinty anyhow, and that’s not the worst of it. It’s all the smiling you do that really squeezes those crow’s feet home. If you mashed on that throttle long enough, you could get out looking like a streamlined prune. With a zero-to-60 time of 9.2 seconds and that top speed of 110 mph, this little Fiat is anything but a willing victim.
No other American-sold roadster approaches this performance, and no other comes across as well. The Fiat is just a very pleasant car to wheel around in. Its directional stability is good over all but the worst surfaces, immediately giving it a jump on the competition, and its steering is particularly pleasant day in and day out. It suffers the usual Italian Trailways angle of the wheel and its single-minded understeer on sharp, hard-taken corners, but it is well connected to the optional 185/60R-14 Pirelli P6s and very comforting on long runs at high speed. View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverSad to say, the brakes and the gas tank are less helpful. Slowing hard more than once is a thankless task bedeviled by lots of fade and plenty of weaving, an indication that the brakes should be uprated to match the engine. The fuel capacity could use some help, too, because the needle on the gauge dropped fearfully quickly as the ever-energetic turbo dragged our C/D observed fuel economy down to 18 mpg, the problem of small tank capacity being worsened by Legend’s partial panacea of enriching the mixture to preclude detonation (the spark timing is also retarded). At any rate, the ride is reasonably supple for a live-axle sportster, and the car is puppy-fun to look at, albeit a bit more serious with its grand Cromodora wheels and little black nose dam. Altogether, our Turbo was striking in its metallic brown body with a tan top and interior. View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverInside, Fiat had a few lapses. The shoulder harnesses rub on sharp seatback releases, the fittings are modest, and the gaudy, Day-Glo red-and-green-trimmed boost gauge is out of place among the simpler gauges in the wood dash insert. All the gauges are well placed and very legible. Fiat’s controls, as usual, work in reverse to logic and world practice, and the levers for heat and so-called ventilation are the stuff for which owners’ manuals are created. The top is a wonderfully easy design to raise, fit, and lower, but every wisp of ventilation disappears when it’s up. The car needs halogen headlights to match its performance, but the AM/FM/cassette stereo isn’t bad, fighting off the intrusions of the wind until about 70 mph. The teensy back seat and okay little trunk provide handy extra capacity. View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverAn undertow of worry about the ultimate reliability of the Turbo Spider aside, it is a lovely little companion for a cruise through skyscrapers or a swing out to the country on a sunny day. It’s not bad when the rain bristles across the canvas, either. SpecificationsSpecifications
1982 Fiat Turbo Spider 2000
Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $12,995/$14,650
ENGINE
turbocharged inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 122 in3, 1995 cm3
Power: 120 hp @ 6000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
5-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 89.7 in
Length: 163.0 in
Curb Weight: 2360 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 9.2 sec
1/4-Mile: 16.6 sec @ 82 mph
Top Speed (redline): 110 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 215 ft
Roadholding, 282-ft Skidpad: 0.72 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 18 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City: 24 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Source: caranddriver.com
