Aurelio Lampredi Aurelio Lampredi (16 June 1917 – 1 June 1989) was an Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer. Born in Livorno, he began his career before World War II at Piaggio, moved to Isotta Fraschini, and then joined Reggiane. This time he design ...

, the Fiasa engine first appeared in the Brazilian-built

Fiat 147 The Fiat 147 was a three-door hatchback subcompact car produced by Fiat in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais from autumn 1976 until 1987, when it was replaced by the Fiat Uno. It was the Brazilian variant of the Fiat 127. Some were also built ...

in September 1976. The name Fiasa is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsblock Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

with an aluminium cylinder-head with belt-driven

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

s actuating the valves. The engine remained in production until 2001 in Latin America, and also provided the basis for a diesel version (never sold in Brazil, where it was built, as that country did not allow diesel passenger cars). The capacity was initially , but Lampredi designed the engine to be suited for a considerably longer stroke. Sizes eventually ranged between . The last versions of this engine to be built was a 1.5-litre, dedicated-ethanol version developed in Brazil that served the

Fiat Uno The Fiat Uno is a supermini manufactured and marketed by Fiat. Launched in 1983, the Uno was produced over a single generation (with an intermediate facelift, 1989) in three and five-door hatchback body styles until 1995 in Europe — and un ...

and its derivatives, and later yet the Fiat Palio (both the hatch and the Weekend) until 2001.

Engine specifications

The Fiasa engine was produced in a number of stroke lengths but always of nearly the same bore. The first model was very oversquare, using a bore and a stroke of to produce a displacement of 1049 cc. The rod length was an ample , meaning that much larger strokes were possible without any negative consequences. The engine was designed to provide good low-down torque and fuel economy, but not for high peak power, and the compression ratio was a very low 7.2:1 to deal with the low octane petrol commonly available in Brazil at the time. It had a single-barrel

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...

and the intake manifolds were narrow, restricting peak power while providing good performance at lower engine speeds. It had breakerless electronic ignition and chrome-treated exhaust valves with stellite seats, for increased durability. A larger version arrived in 1979, again tuned for low down torque. This has a stroke. This larger engine was also available in a sportier version with twin-barrel Webers (imported from Italy) and more power. A third version of the 1.3 was Fiat's and the world's first modern ethanol-powered engine. As exports to Europe commenced, the 1.3 was later bored out by 0.1 mm, to nudge the displacement above 1.3 liters. This allowed Italian motorists to drive a full on the

autostrada The Autostrade (; singular ) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about . In North and Central Italy, the Autostrade mainly consists of tollways managed by Autostrade per l'Italia, a ho ...

, rather than the which was allowed for cars under 1.3 litres. The diesel derivative was also of this dimension. The Brazilian engines were also exported to Europe in large numbers, both for the 127, Ritmo, and the later Uno as well as a few Milles/Dunas/Elbas sold by

Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, mainly of British Leyland origins. The brand was retired in 1 ...

. The fully finished engines were shipped in large containers containing 144 engines each. The 1.05 was also installed in the

Autobianchi Y10 The Autobianchi Y10 is a city car and economy car manufactured from 1985 to 1995 and marketed under the Lancia brand in most export markets (as Lancia Y10). The car was manufactured at Fiat's Autobianchi plant in Desio, Milan until 1992 and after ...

, where it was also available with turbocharging. Fiat later made a very short-lived derivative, using a stroke. This was only installed in the sporty

Fiat Oggi The Fiat Oggi (named after "today" in Italian) is a two-door sedan based on the Fiat 147, a subcompact car produced in South America by Italian automaker Fiat. The Oggi was produced in Brazil from 1983 until 1985, when it was replaced by the ...

CSS, which was built in 300 examples in 1984. This engine produces . The next version was an undersquare version with a much longer stroke, the version with a which was introduced for the

Fiat Fiorino The Fiat Fiorino is a small commercial vehicle produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat since 1977. Its first two generations have been the panel van derivatives of other small models, such as the Fiat 127 and Fiat Uno, while the curre ...

in 1989. The little 1050 was discontinued in 1989 as well. The final iteration was developed to fit Brazil's new sub-1 liter tax category and was introduced in 1990. Displacing , it had an extremely short stroke of . With a single carburetor, the new engine's specifications were very similar to the 1.05. A higher-powered, twin-barrel ethanol-powered version was introduced in 1991 for the Uno Brio but was discontinued shortly thereafter as it could not meet the new emissions regulations which took effect in January 1992. With these, only the single-barrel 1.0 (now catalyzed) and the 1.5 remained available. The catalyzed 1.0 was not cost effective, and for 1993 Fiat switched to an electronically controlled, double-barrel Weber 495 carburetor and was able to forego the catalyst. The new "Mille Electronic" cost less to build and power was higher than before the new emissions impositions. However, the production cars appear not to have met the 1992 standards and in November 1995 Fiat was fined R$ 3.93 million ($ in dollars) for the 429,928 non-conforming Mille Electronic/ELX sold between December 1992 to June 1995.

Applications

List of vehicles using variations of the Fiasa engine (incomplete): ;Petrol engine *

/Spazio: 1976-1987 *

Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer FIAT from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, ...

: 1979-1987 (export version for Europe) *

: 1979-2000 *

Fiat Panorama The Fiat Panorama is a 3-door station wagon version of the Fiat 147, a subcompact car produced in South America by Italian automaker Fiat. The Panorama was built in Brazil and released in March 1980 as one of the first small station wagons to b ...

: 1980-1986 *

: 1983-1985 * Fiat Uno/Mille: 1984-2001 (Latin American version) * Fiat Prêmio/Duna/Elba: 1985-1999 *

Fiat Ritmo The Fiat Ritmo is a small, front-engine, front-wheel drive family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat, launched in April 1978 at the Turin Motor show and offered in 3- and 5-door hatchback and cabriolet body styles – from 1978 to 1988 with t ...

: 1979-198? *

Innocenti Mille Mille can refer to: People * Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician * Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player Places * Mille Lacs County, Minnesota * Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. * Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River ...

: 1994-1997 *

Fiat Palio The Fiat Palio is a supermini car which was produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 until 2018. It is a world car, developed by Fiat Automóveis and aimed at developing countries. It has been produced in various countries worldwide, ...

: 1996-2001 * Autobianchi/Lancia Y10: 1985-1995 ;Diesel engine *

: 1981-1987 (export version for Europe) *

/148/Spazio: 1981-1990 *

(export version for Europe) *

: 1983-1989 (Europe) *

Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda (Mk 1: 1980–1986 & Mk2: 1986–2003), introduced in 1980, was a two-box, three-door hatchback designed b ...

: 1986-1989 (until 1994 in the Panda Van) *

: 1981-1987 *

Fiat Duna The Fiat Duna (Type 155) is a small car produced by Fiat in Argentina and Brazil, where it was sold as Fiat Prêmio. Launched in 1985 in Brazil, the Duna/Prêmio is based on the Brazilian Fiat Uno, but unlike the Uno, it was a two-door sedan. The ...

: 1987-1991 (export version)

Footnotes

{{Reflist Fiasa Straight-four engines Gasoline engines by model