The Fiat Barchetta (; Type 183) is a roadster produced by the Italian manufacturer

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

from 1995 to 2006. ''

Barchetta Barchetta () is an Italian word commonly translated into English as "little boat". The term originally referred to a small skiff used for recreational purposes. It is also applied to some items of clothing, as well as being used in automobile styli ...

'' in Italian means "little

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

", and also denotes a type of open-top sports car body style.

History

The Barchetta was developed between 1990 and 1994 under the project name ''Tipo B

Spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

176''. It was designed by Andreas Zapatinas and Alessandro Cavazza, under the supervision of Peter Barrett Davis and other car designers at the Centro Stile Fiat, and prototyping was carried out by Stola. Production began in February 1995 and lasted until June 2005, with a brief pause, due to the bankruptcy of coachbuilder

Maggiora Maggiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. Maggiora borders the following municipalities: Boca, Borgomanero Borgomanero ( ...

. The Barchetta was based on the chassis of the Mark 1 Fiat Punto, but with shortened wheelbase. The Barchetta has 1,747 cc

DOHC 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 cha ...

petrol engine fitted with

variable valve timing In internal combustion engines, variable valve timing (VVT) is the process of altering the timing of a valve lift event, and is often used to improve performance, fuel economy or emissions. It is increasingly being used in combination with var ...

. The engine has at 6,300 rpm and of torque at 4,300 rpm. The Barchetta weighs 1056 kg (2328 lb) without

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

and can accelerate to in 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). It came in various trim levels which offered different features, for example, diamond cross stitch, patterned red leather instead of the standard black leather or fabric seats, alloy wheels instead of steel wheels, or fog-lights as an option. Arguably one of the biggest external cosmetic changes was made by the addition of the third brake light, first introduced by Fiat on the Lido and Riviera in 2000, and on sub models thereafter. The Barchetta was revised in August 2003 ahead of its relaunch the following year, with some alterations inside and out. The most notable changes were the revised front spoiler and rear bumper. Engine revision decreased torque to . Production of the car eventually stopped in June 2005. Fiat barchetta 1995 interior

Production

Car bodies were welded at ILCAS in ''Sparone Canavese'', and final assembly was done in Chivasso by the coachbuilder

. After Maggiora's bankruptcy in May 2002, Fiat relocated production of the Barchetta to its

Mirafiori The Stabilimento di Mirafiori (in English, the Mirafiori Factory) is the headquarters and industrial district of the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat, a subsidiary of FCA Italy, which is part of Stellantis, and is the headquarters of CNH ...

plant and resumed production two years later. Around 57,700 cars were built up to 2005. Production of the Barchetta was limited to LHD cars only, even though the car was marketed and sold in two RHD markets, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Bertone concept car

The Italian styling house of Bertone created a one off roadster show car for Fiat called the Barchetta in March 2007, at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...

References

External links

www.fiatforum.com/barchetta - International web based club with an active Barchetta owners area FORUMwww.fiatbarchetta.com - unofficial Fiat barchetta website
{{Modern European Fiat vehicles

Roadsters Sport compact cars Front-wheel-drive sports cars 2000s cars Cars introduced in 1995