Miguel Sánchez
FIAT 600 WANKEL ANGRY MOSQUITO PHOTOS: BARRET-JACKSON AUCTIONS
If you think of rotary engines, you immediately have in your head Mazda and its RX. Synonymous with drivability and fun, these playful mechanics have galloped through 9 generations - yes, the ninth is falling- since Kenichi Yamamoto will start working on the development of Wankel engines in 1958. Without a doubt it is one of the hallmarks of the Japanese brand, and certainly an emblem of how much fun it can be to drive a lively pistonless engine mounted on a short and impetuous chassis.
Now What if this curious mix wasn't just Mazda's heritage? Don't worry, it's not that any brand is going to copy the wholesale formula but… There is a unique case in which a rotary engine was mounted on a small chassis attached to neither more nor less than the nice body of a FIAT 600. To us, all this reminds us of that sentence of the coach of Muhammad Ali "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee" because anyway ... The joy of that mechanic added to the lightness of a 600 can only give birth to a "furious mosquito".
After all, that's exactly how the bicycle mechanic who came up with this vibrant FIAT 600 in 2012 christened it: "Angry Mosquito". And it is not for less ... A "Restomod" unique in which the charm of the popular classic was added to a Mazda 12A engine along with a lot of new parts and… A good roll cage because yes, this mosquito can fly and bite with a lot of bad milk. If you don't believe it, watch the little one accelerate:
MAZDA, FIAT 600 AND A LORD FROM ARIZONA
We do not know the reasons why a specialist in giving and fixing pedals embarked on this adventure, but what is clear is that he took a lot of courage. And is that for a moment ... Think. East FIAT 600 of 1959 It had original mechanics capable of delivering 22CV, a figure that after receiving a “transplant" motor reaches up to 220CV offered by the Mazda 12A rotary placed in a central position. We are talking about the power being multiplied by just 10!
For you to conceive it in a more visual way, we are going to give you a fact: the 12A was the evolution of the rotary engine that Mazda used during the 70s and the first part of the 80s, coming to push in one of its latest adaptations to the RX-7 . But even within such a mythical sports frame it did not always reach the power offered to the tires of this FIAT 600, which reaches those heights thanks to the push given by extras like the double Weber carburettor and many other high-performance parts.
You have to be an old-fashioned race driver to keep this vehicle on the tarmac, something a four speed manual transmission taken from a Volkswagen and adapted to a nervous evolution of low gears, as well as new brakes and a roll cage in case the worst happens at some point. Something that can easily happen if it is not piloted by the right hands, since with a weight of 580 kilos the weight / power ratio is one that gives fear and joy in equal parts.
CRAFTSMANSHIP AND UNIQUE CHARACTER FOR THIS 600 WITH RATIVO ENGINE
Beyond the incredible of his conception - we recognize that he has knocked us out as if Ali had given us a crochet- how exciting about this "One of one" It is its manufacture, completely handmade, putting the pieces together thanks to the mechanical ingenuity of a motor enthusiast with many hours dedicated to his passion.
However ... Both mechanically and aesthetically, the safe work that has been more than profitable, since it has managed to create a vehicle of those that you will not forget. By price ... We do not know, since has just been sold in the US for 17400 euros at change. After all that we have criticized the price bubble in many classics, the truth is that this figure seems cheap to us, but anyway, it is that this "Angry mosquito" has conquered us as in his time did the boxing style of the young Muhammad Ali "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee". Originality aside 😉
