B16B-Swapped 1971 Fiat 500 Type R Abarth Is a Tiny Rocketship
With a tuned Honda motor under its tiny hood, this ultra-cool 1971 Fiat 500 Abarth Type R tribute is no longer a slow city dweller.
Fiat has long been known for churning out small, fun, economical, and affordable cars in Europe, as well as other parts of the world. Problem is, those vehicles may be somewhat sporty, but by American standards, they just don’t offer up the type of performance that we’ve come to expect. Turns out, there is a solution for that – stuff a modified Honda B16B from a Civic Type R into one of those tiny rides, and that’s precisely what has been done to this 1971 Fiat 500 Abarth Type R tribute that’s currently up for grabs over at Hemmings.
The old, underpowered engine that once motivated this tiny 1971 Fiat 500 Abarth Type R tribute is long gone, replaced by the aforementioned B16B – which in this case isn’t stock by any means, and resides out back, like the original powerplant. Rather, the seller gave it a Hondata ECU and had it dyno-tuned, at which point it churned out 191 horsepower at the wheels – a bit more than its stock crank rating, and more than enough to make this lightweight urban Euro ride a true rocket ship.
Now, the new owner can enjoy those same 9,000 rpm redline thrills while also rowing through the gears the way nature intended – with a proper five-speed manual transmission also taken from a Type R, which sends power to a limited-slip differential. Up front, drilled discs help slow it down, while the rear has been treated to Civic Si discs and calipers. Underneath, a custom box frame chassis helps bring all these upgrades together.
Of course, the builder could have stopped there and had a pretty sweet ride, but they also went full bore on the inside and outside, giving this tiny 500 a steel widebody conversion with functional air ducts, which helps make room for a set of deep dish XO Luxury Wheels wrapped with Toyo R888 tires, while covering the whole thing in Ferrari Red helps it stand out from the crowd. Inside the cabin, the vintage ride has bee treated to a custom dash, Bride Low-Max bucket seats, a Sparco steering wheel, a roll cage, and Marshall gauges.
It may seem a bit mad on the surface, given how small and particularly short it is, but this Honda-powered Fiat is undoubtedly a blast to drive. Given the fact that it’s also being sold for a reasonable asking price of $55k, it’s also pretty tempting – even for those of us that don’t have a tiny little space in our garages to spare.
Photos: Hemmings
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