It failed, but it earned itself a pretty unique place in history doing so.
Italian carmaker Fiat is known today for its small cars like the Fiat 500. But did you know it once tried to go against the Germans in the large luxury sedan segment?
To do that, the brand developed the Fiat 130, released in 1969. Spoiler alert: It wasn't very popular. Fiat sold 19,000 130s, while BMW sold 190,000 E3s over the same period. So, what gives?
Well, despite dismal sales, some argue that the car was actually very good. Among those is the presenter in the video below. He got to drive the 130 and complimented the car's 3.2-liter V6, the larger of the two six-cylinder engines available, making 165 horsepower. It sounds good, but that's a surprisingly low power figure considering that this was designed by Aurelio Lampredi, who made the Fiat Dino V6 engine and the super successful Fiat Twin Cam four-cylinder engine.
But while the engine may have been a bit underpowered, the Fiat 130 weighed only 3,527 pounds; it was noted to be a good handler that could take corners well. Even its five-speed shifter was reported to work well.
What about build quality? Well, the particular car shown in the video looks well-made and plush. The seats on this sedan look particularly enticing and apparently feel like armchairs. Even its styling isn't that ugly; we'd go so far as to say it was very BMW-esque for the era.
So, what killed the Fiat 130? Well, it might have boiled down to first impressions. The early models with a smaller 2.8-liter motor made a measly 140 hp. So even boat-like luxury sedans like the desirable Mercedes W114 could run circles around this thing.
Another weak point of this Fiat was its engine noise. Sure, gearheads appreciate the sound of a screaming F1 engine, but that will get old quickly for people who typically buy luxury land yachts, and despite its Lampredi origins, the base motor didn't sound very special.
Last but not least is that the 130 was prohibitively expensive. According to a commenter from Italy, the Fiat 130 had a sticker price of 3.1 million Lira or around $118,000 in 1972. Many could not stomach this price considering how its early models were anemic and heavy on fuel.
On the used market, things are different, and while it may not have been popular for the era, it's now a piece of automotive history guaranteed to start a conversation with classic car aficionados.
Keyword: Meet The Car That Nearly Turned Fiat Into A BMW And Mercedes-Benz Rival