FIAT 124 Sport Spider 1969-1972 Photos, engines & full specs

Fiat had a good time back in the late '60s when it introduced the first facelift for the 124 Spider and installed a more powerful engine for the little two-seat roadster.

Roadsters were an excellent way to improve or to keep a brand's image high. With a high reputation of a carmaker that built vehicles priced for the masses, but with an emotional design, Fiat introduced the 124 Spider in 1966 as an open-top version for the 124 Coupe. Its first three years proved some flaws in the engineering design that forced the carmaker to act quickly and fix those issues. It took almost three years for the engineers to fix that, and only in 1969, they came with a solution to reinforce the transmission system. Along with the engineering upgrades, the design team made few modifications to the original design.

The 1969 124 Spider featured a mesh-grille instead of the original design with horizontal slats at the front. The designers modified the hood's look with the introduction of two bulges, suggesting that there was a V-engine installed. In the back, the taillights were bigger.

Inside, the carmaker installed two bucket seats at the front and a tiny bench in the rear, which decreased the tax income value. It was close to impossible to fit four people inside. The flat dash featured a glove-compartment on the passenger side and a five-dials instrument panel in front of the driver.

Fiat introduced a 1.6-liter engine under the hood from the 124 Sedan series and a new, 5-speed manual gearbox. Since it shared some mechanical components with the four-door sibling, it took the disc brakes in all corners that helped the car stops better.