idriveaclassic's video: Fiat 1200 Cabriolet - the underrated Pininfarina classic sports car

Check out channel sponsor Bidding Classics! There really is something for everyone (don't blame me if you end up needing more garage space for some of those tempting motors!): http://bit.ly/BiddingClassicsIDriveAClassic Fancy buying this car? Here's a link - but be quick - it won't be around forever! https://www.biddingclassics.com/1962-fiat-1200-cabriolet/ ________ Fiat 1200 Cabriolet The journey of how we ended up with the 1200 Cabriolet begins in 1957, when two new cars were introduced by Fiat. These were the 1200 Granluce - a 4 door saloon, the 1200 Spyder which was a 2 door roadster. The 1200 cars had come in as a conservative step up from the Fiat 1100 - which itself had come to market in the early 50s. If you look at the 1100, it’s easy to see that the Granluce was a straight up derivative of the 1100 saloon and the Spyder was a refresh of the Trasformabile, which is a nice little car in itself although not quite as sporting looking as the 1200. The 1200 cars are largely based on the 1100 underpinnings - with the 1221cc engine and 4 forward speed box. The engine on this is no longer that original engine - but more on that later. And then in 1959, Fiat unveiled what we’ve got here today: the 1200 Cabriolet. The car was running that 1200cc engine but the car, debuted at the Geneva Motor show in 1959, was a Pininfarina design. Now it’s important to note that whilst you’ll see that Pininfarina badging, the model was actually assembled at at the Carrozzerie Speciali Officine Lingotto part of the Torinese house. It wasn’t just any old car and in fact, was coach built with artisan methods. It was an incredibly special car. There were two generartions of the Pininfarina Cabriolets and this being a 1962 car, marks it as part of that first 1200 Cabriolet generation, which ran from the 59 launch until 1963. The second generation ran 64-66 and saw a permanent move towards bigger engines to compete with the sports car market alongside a five speed box, always a welcome addition to a car! So what about the present day? Well, In today’s market, it presents itself as a great alternative to some of those more widely spotted mid-century convertible cars like the MGB or the TR6 or the ever popular but increasingly more expensive, TR cars like the TR4. Especially this car, with it’s uprated engine, the slower days are long behind it! Personally I can’t afford some of these bonkers prices people are asking nowadays, so I’m hunting out the cheaper alternatives, which is why I wanted to show you this today. Now let’s jump inside, I want to show you this dash in greater detail.