Sunday 10th January
Shed of the Week: Fiat Coupe
Bangle's baby under the Shed spotlight to kick off 2016
When was your last fight?
As you might expect from the all-encompassing cornucopia of PH forums, there's already andiscussing this very subject. Unfortunately, none of the contributors to that thread have owned up to having exchanged blows across the bonnet of a Fiat Coupe.
To think this shape was first seen in 1993!
Which is a shame, because it would have been interesting to get the back story on the bonnet ripple that is the only apparent flaw of this week's Shed.The current custodian of this two-owner specimen sounds like the sort of chap who would use words like custodian. In his gently written ad he refers to a 'scuffle' (rather than a barney) between the two 'youths' (as opposed to scrotes) who used the Fiat's bonnet as some sort of WWE canvas.
On one level you can understand them choosing a Fiat Coupe as a scrapping venue. Those Chris Bangle-designed Pininfarina curves look purpose-made for a punch up. The recipient of a right-hander to the chops would surely slide gracefully off them, levering himself up off the ground for more punishment by using the handy four-spoke alloys as hand grips.
The lucky purchaser of this green Coupe will no doubt uncover the truth behind the battle royale. Meantime, in the absence of any hard info, how about a new thread: 'best car bonnets to have a fight on'? On grounds of height, razor-edged coachbuilt style and general radiator ornament spikiness you wouldn't expect to see a Rolls Shadow mentioned on there, but a Fiat 500 might be good.
The jury was out on the Fiat Coupe's styling when it appeared in 1993. For many observers it stayed out over the entire seven-year production run. Look at it now though. In an era of monstrosities like the Nissan Joke and the Mini Matricide, its pouncing stance and chiselled panel work add a little more evidence to the growing dossier suggesting that Bangle was a genius ahead of his time.
Two owners, 82K, service history - sounds good
Get beyond the challenging scallops, swage lines and slashes and you'll start to appreciate the detailing, some of it over the top ('racing' filler cap, headlamp lenses modelled on a lady's bum), much of it glorious (body colour dash, round rear lights). Then consider the everyday usability of the 2.0-litre unassisted four-cylindered Coupe with its easy (relative to a Turbo anyway) maintenance demands and all-round good reputation for not destroying its own crankshaft or expensively snapping its cambelt (relative to a Turbo).Every Coupe thread on PH has at least one ex-owner who wishes he wasn't. With a boxful of history attesting to its 82,000 miles and no apparent rust, this car is surely a no-brainer buy for anyone with half a brain, thus leaving them with a full half brain?
You could stick out for a Turbo, of course. The five-pot motor in that will reduce your 0-60 time from something beginning with a nine to something beginning with a six and ramp up your top speed from 129mph to 155mph. And there'son PH's classifieds right now. The only trouble is, you'll need an extra £2,700 on top of the price of our Shed to buy it and a fair-sized war chest to cover worst-case running costs.
Best like green
Is it worth it? Only you can decide. Lightly punch yourself in the face until a moment of enlightenment arrives - and then buy this 16-valver.The Coupe Turbo that came seventh in our 2013 Shed of the Year roundup will almost certainly turn out to be the last of its ilk ever to appear in SOTW. That should tell you something about the potential worth of this 16V car.
We're only at the beginning of January, but the next fifty Sheds we feature this year are going to have to go some to beat it on value, investment or otherwise.
For sale is my wife's Fiat Coupe. We have owned this car for ten years having bought it from the original owner. We have all bills, including the original bill of sale, service history and mot's which support the genuine mileage of just under 82000.It has been a pleasure to own and drives perfectly but since my wife has retired it's no longer needed. It's in remarkably good condition having been well cared for by us and the previous owner. The only negative worth noting is a small dent/ripple in the bonnet caused by two youths falling on it during a scuffle. However, due to it's small size it doesn't show up clearly in the photos. It's not possible to list all works carried out, suffice to say there is an A4 box file full of paperwork which confirms all works carried out as necessary
For any further information please feel free to ask.