Fiat 125

The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodation with sports car performance, a combination which would be more widely adopted by the European volume auto-makers in the decade ahead.

The body

The floor pan was virtually unchanged from that of the longer variant of the outgoing model, the Fiat 1300/1500, and the chassis used was the same as the Fiat 1300/1500. The body was a slightly lengthened development of the Fiat 124: both models shared the same passenger compartment and doors, but the 125's rear seat was set slightly further back, reflecting the 2505 mm wheel-base, inherited from the Fiat 1500 and over 8 cm (3 inches) longer than that of the 124.

Engine and running gear

The new car's engine was based on the one fitted in the Fiat 124 Sport: a 1608 cc DOHC unit with 90 bhp driving the rear wheels. The 125 was equipped with a Weber 34 DCHE 20 or Solex 34 PIA carburettor. The car was fitted with an alternator, reflecting the twin headlights and the increasing number of energy intensive electrical components appearing on cars at this time. Other noteworthy features included the electromagnetic cooling fan clutch.

Developments

The 125 featured one of the world's first intermittent wipers and was praised when new for its handling and dynamics. British Autocar found the slight understeer tendencies were easily cured by adjusting the front camber.

In 1968 the 125S ("Special") was added to the range, with 100 bhp (from a modified cylinder head, camshafts, inlet/outlet manifold and Weber/Solex carburettor) and, unusually at this time, a five-speed gearbox. It also had halogen lights, servo-assisted twin circuit brakes and optional superlight magnesium wheels.
A variety of other improvements were made including improved cabin ventilation, trim and styling.

The Special was facelifted in 1971 using pretty much the same trim as the 125S, but both front and rear lights were new and wider, enhancing the visual width of the car.
The interior gained upgraded upholstery of the seats and a wood facia. A three-speed automatic transmission as well as air conditioning became available as an option.

Variations

A variant, the ''125 T'', was made by the Fiat importers in New Zealand, Torino Motors, for the annual 6 hour production car race, the Benson and Hedges 500. The 125T has larger valves, two twin Weber DCOH or Dell'Orto 40DHLA carburettors (depending on availability), modified camshafts and a higher compression ratio to produce around , lowered and stiffer suspension. All featured Ward alloy wheels and were painted bright yellow. Sources for production figures quote that between 84 and 89 were modified. Reasons for stopping production are sometimes given that Fiat headquarters found out and stopped this venture. However a more likely scenario is that selling the required 200 cars in a market that only sold 1,000 Fiats in total each year was a tall order.

Other versions were built by Moretti, who made the ''125GS 1.6'' with styling similar to the Fiat Dino Spider. Zagato made the ''125Z''; Savio, a ''125 Coupé'' and ''125 Station Wagon''; Bertone, a ''125 Executive''; and Vignale

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