Some Mirafioris!

What a nice early #Fiat 131 and of course, #Mirafiori sounds much nicer. The “Mirafiori” was named after the Turin suburb where the cars were manufactured. It was introduced in 1974 and was available in 2-door, 4-door and 5-door versions. The latter as “Familiare” from Spanish production, where the Mirafiori was produced as #Seat 131. I especially like the early models, here the spartan basic model, recognizable by the angular headlights.

Double round headlights were then available in the slightly better motorized versions. I like this one as the owner, an older gentleman, decorated the interior… One could also say that here just about everything in kitsch and clutter was thrown into this humble Fiat.

Some more #Mirafiori. German race car driver Walter Röhrl won the 1980 Monte Carlo on a Mirafiori – of course an #Abarth. In the picture a Series II “Supermirafiori”. In 1978 a “Racing” was available, and I think this is what we can see here. Out of the showroom this made 180 kmh (110 mph) and probably rusted with the same speed.

Here we have a Series 1, a 131S Mirafiori – and I’m pretty sure it’s a US-Spec. You can already see that from the absurdly large bumpers. In 1971, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard “Standard No. 215” and that required new automobiles to sustain a 5 mph front end or 2.5 mph rear end collision without causing damage to the lighting equipment or fuel delivery system. And that led to absurd huge bumpers on a lot of cars. By the way, the 131 was offered in the USA as “Brava” from Series 2 onwards. It was not successful. In the “Popular Mechanics” Magazine the 1979 Fiat 131 was located in the category “Overall Worst” after surveys of persons in the USA who actually drove a 131. ⁠