The Fiat Barchetta (pronounced "bar-KET-ta") is a roadster produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1995 to 2005 (though production was paused between May 2002 and 2004). "Barchetta" in Italian means 'little boat'.
History
The Barchetta was developed between 1990 and 1994 under the project name Tipo B Spider 176. It was designed by Andreas Zapatinas, Alessandro Cavazza under the supervision of Peter Barrett Davis and other car designers at the Fiat Centro Stile, and prototyping was carried out by Stola.
Production began in February 1995 and lasted until June 2005 with a brief pause. The Barchetta was based on the chassis of the Mark 1 Fiat Punto. The Barchetta has 1747 cc dohc petrol engine fitted variable camshaft timing, for the first time in Fiat production car.The engine has 131 PS (96 kW; 129 hp) and 164 N·m (121 lb·ft) of torque. The Barchetta weighs 1056 kg (2328 lb) without air conditioning and can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.9 seconds and has top speed of 118 miles per hour (190 km/h).It came in various trim levels which offered different features. Arguably one of the biggest external cosmestic 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 2003 for its relaunch the following year, with a myriad of small alterations inside and out. The most notable changes were the revised front spoiler and rear bumper. Production of the car finally stopped in June 2005.
Production
Car bodies were welded at ILCAS in Sparone Canavese, and final assembly was done in Chivasso by the coachbuilder Maggiora. After Maggiora's bankruptcy in 2002, Fiat relocated production of the Barchetta to its Mirafiori plant and resumed production two years later. Production of the Barchetta was limited to left hand drive cars only, even though the car was marketed and sold in two right hand drive markets, the United Kingdom and Japan.
