Fiat 850 Sport Coupe

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Launched in 1964, the Dante Giacosa-designed Fiat 850 was an evolution of the hugely successful Fiat 600 which had made its debut nearly 10 years previously.

Beautifully proportioned like all Giacosa’s cars, the little two-door saloon was powered by an 843cc rear-mounted water-cooled engine in two states of tune, ‘normale’ with 34bhp and ‘super’ with 37bhp which gave it a top speed of 78mph. Other versions were also made including a Familiare eight-seater mini-SUV, a Spider Convertible and a Furgonata van.

But the prettiest of all was the sporty Coupe version you see here which made its debut at the 1965 Geneva Motor Show. Cute and perky with a wonderfully cheeky face, it was designed by Fiat’s Centro Stilo (under Boano) and had more than a whiff of scaled-down Dino about it.

To further differentiate it from other models, the Coupe had supportive sports seats, sports steering wheel, wood veneered dash and twin instrument binnacles ahead of the driver. Weighing just 720kg it also had front disc brakes and excellent handling which made the 903cc engine a hoot to drive

This stunning little Coupe dates from 1972 making it one of the last before production finished and is also a rare right-hand drive. The car came to our vendor in a property deal in 2016 without any paperwork and required restoration. Fortunately, our vendor is a lifelong panel beater and restorer who enthusiastically set to work and transformed the car over the next few years to what we see here before us.

With a hint of mini DB4 about it, particularly in its rather attractive hue of Galapagos green, the car sits well on its refurbished centre knock wire wheels. The engine required only a major service, the interior has been refreshed and looks most inviting. The bodywork required more attention with new front panels, front and rear wings, chassis members (fabricated by our vendor) and new spare wheel well.

Now complete, the car looks super and is sure to raise more than a few bidders hands this sale. The history file now contains the V5C and a selection of invoices pertaining to the restoration. The car is of course both MOT and Tax exempt.