Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS FIAT UNO TURBO MODIFIED: COLLECTING CARS
The 80s were a decade of madness for motorsports. The era of the great supercars, flirting with 16-cylinder engines, sedans that seemed not to take into account the existence of speed limits ... A fashion based on enhancing everything, which also affected the small utilities. And it is that, suddenly, the urban anodyne became light and angry sports. All this thanks to the magic of direct injection and turbo. In this way, a simple Fiat Uno had nothing to do with an energetic Fiat Uno Turbo.
Cylinder up to 1 liters, this vitaminized version produced up to 3CV thanks to its IHI turbocharger. Power not negligible if we take into account its weight of only 845 kilos. In short, the perfect definition of the eighties GTI, marked by fighting engines mounted on light chassis. True sports pumps available to any driver with pilot's whims. That was the Fiat Uno Turbo.
However, some seem to not have enough with these benefits. That is why many units were modified by their owners, who wanted to go even further in that concept of racing utility. So things, this 1988 Fiat Uno Turbo received serious modifications in its mechanics. Also in the suspensions and brakes, something that its new owner will surely appreciate. After all, the main problem that has always been attributed to the Fiat Uno Turbo is that it had too much engine for so little chassis.
FIAT UNO TURBO. FUN FOR EVERYDAY
Introduced in 1985, the Fiat Uno Turbo is one of the most remembered little GTIs. In fact, its commercial success extended its life by a decade over two visually very different generations. Of course, always keeping a inline four cylinder heart in the style of many other small Italian sports cars designed to link curves. A commercial success with more than 50.000 units sold, among other things thanks to the charms of a design signed by Giorgetto Giugaro.
Rectilinear and angular, as the canons of the eighties marked, a small spoiler is integrated into the body of this Fiat Turbo which, together with various stickers and interesting rims, demonstrates its sporty character compared to the rest of the range. Under its forms, an engine derived from the Fiat Ritmo gets up to 5750 rpm with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h set at about 9 seconds. Interesting performance for such a small car, since the same engine block with which the Fiat Uno Turbo is equipped was chosen for the Lancia Delta 1.5 LX.
In fact, and as we said before, right there lies the main problem of the Fiat Uno Turbo. The fact that its performance is ahead of the capabilities of the chassis, which problem digests the entire nerve offered by the motor. Something that this modified unit will surely continue to suffer seeing its characteristics, but that, after all, is also a character sought after by some lovers of these little GTIs. Of course, always starting from the basis that all that stream of fun and expertise behind the wheel carries very little security. In short, everything has its price.
FIAT UNO TURBO IE 1988 MODIFIED
If these popular sports cars have something, it is their ease of being transformed. One of the many reasons that sports car fans have a true devotion to these '1988s GTIs. In this sense, what you have in front of you is a unit of the Fiat Uno Turbo assembled in XNUMX, which just auctioned in the UK after having undergone some major changes. For starters we lowered the hood we found a engine rebuilt by specialist Avanti Motorsport, which was fitted with a Turbo Technics hybrid turbocharger.
Injectors have been rebuilt, a new, more efficient camshaft installed, a Hodson Engineering signed cylinder head and a smoother exhaust system. News with which the performance of this Fiat Uno Turbo has had to improve, although no data has been offered. Besides, also new brake pads and a stabilizer bar have been fitted. Elements that tend to improve the dynamic behavior of a rather fighting car.
A character surely more marked thanks to a new quick clutch and lowered suspensions. Undoubtedly a series of modifications that make this Fiat Uno Turbo a quite original piece, even more so if we count that, in itself, only about 200 units were made with the steering wheel on the right, of which just over 30 still have a circulation permit. If you want one like it, right now you have it impossible. But be careful, because at the end of the day we have said before that these models are very popular, precisely because they are so easily customizable.
