1973 Fiat 130 Coupe – Classified of the Week

The ‘70s gave us a lot of questionable things. Cheese and pineapple on sticks, big hair, the Austin Maxi. it was a curious decade, but in amongst said curiosity, there were also some good things. The Good Life on TV, for example, was a high point. As for cars, there were many brilliant machines rolled out in the ‘70s, like the one we have here – a 1973 Fiat 130 Coupe. It’s boxier than a boxy thing, but that’s fine. It makes it work. By being a bit brutal in its design, it’s a car that has some serious presence. And, because it harks from the ‘70s, the interior is simply amazing.

The 130 was an interesting car for Fiat. The company didn’t really have form for making large cars, instead favouring small, agile sporty or city cars. It had made a few large saloons, of course, but nothing that could be described as a halo car. The 130 was one of those cars. Introduced in traditional ‘three-box’ saloon guise in ‘69, it wasn’t anything special. However, that didn’t mean it was lacking the potential to be special. Paolo Martin of Pininfarina was in agreement. 

For the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, he penned a new coupe based on the 130. It was boxy and somewhat brutal in its design, but this was bang on trend for the time, so it was well received. The long, uninterrupted lines of the 130 Coupe gave it some serious presence, while the 3.2 litre V6 with 160bhp gave it plenty of bark to back up the imposing looks. 

Of course, because it was such an oddity, it struggled to find fans. Fiat hoped it would be a huge seller, but that simply wasn’t to be. And that’s a shame, as those who did buy one generally loved them – it was a great car. Sadly though, very few were built (approx. 4,000), and of those, even fewer survive. Rust was a massive issue for the 130, with many dissolving at the first sight of moisture. As such, it’s hard to find one today. But don’t fret, because every now and then they do appear.

This 1973 model is, frankly, glorious. It’s a left-hand drive car and comes from a hotter, drier climate according to the vendor. This of course means the car is in excellent order and exhibits no rust or rot. The interior is a glorious red leather number, which is utterly stunning while also being so very ‘70s. But in the best possible way, of course. 

It’s been in the UK for nine years now, and was recently subjected to works totalling some £12,000. As such, this Fiat 130 Coupe is fighting fit and is most definitely one of the finest out there. And at a fiver of twenty grand, it’s not really all that expensive for something so special, so rare and so imposingly handsome.