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FIAT Argenta Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Generations: 2
First production year: 1981
Engines: Gasoline, Diesel
FIAT Argenta photo gallery

Based on the modified platform used by the Fiat 132, the Argenta was the last mass-produced four-door sedan built by the Italian carmaker.

The Italian carmaker was losing ground, and the Germans started to rise back again with Opel and Volkswagen for the mass-market vehicles. The French carmakers were also powerful with Citroen CX, Renault 20, and Peugeot 505. Fiat took an older, appreciated platform and built a new bodywork. It wasn't wholly new since some of the parts were still the same.

The Argenta (silver) featured thicker, rubber bumpers both front and rear and stayed in the mid-size segment. A keen for detail eye would recognize the Fiat's 132 doors, though, with their flush door handles. The fenders and the rear quarter-panels were new. In 1983, Fiat installed the new corporate grille at the front with the four oblique chromed lines instead of the small and round red logo.

Inside, the carmaker installed a new instrument dashboard with a revised instrument panel that sported two large dials for the speedometer and tachometer and two gauges for fuel-level and coolant-temperature. In addition to them, there were a few warning lights. A center stack with air-vents, radio, and ashtray took separated the driver from its side passenger.

Under the hood, Fiat installed a choice of five diesel or gasoline engines. For selected markets, the Italian carmaker offered only the 2.0-liter twin-cam unit that provided 122 hp. Just two years after the facelift, the Argenta was axed and replaced with the front-wheel-drive Croma.

full description and technical specifications
FIAT Argenta photo gallery

The Argenta (silver in Italian) was the last large family sedan built by Fiat on a rear-wheel-drive platform, and it wasn't a completely new car.

Fiat management had the idea to use the older Fiat 132 platform to offer something "new" on the market. While the 132 was introduced in 1972 and went through two facelifts in its career, the Argenta had to be what the 132 never achieved. Unfortunately, the Argenta came in too late for the party, and the change in styling preferences made the customers looked elsewhere.

It is strange to see an Italian carmaker lose the bets against styling when three of the biggest car-design studios were in Italy. Most of the body panels were changed, but that didn't improve the car's overall look, which was still designed in the late '60s. The squared headlights and the bigger, plastic bumpers were the main difference, which could set apart the 132 from the Argenta.

The interior styling was a different story. For that, the Italian carmaker squeezed the designer's imagination, who came up with a good-looking cabin. The instrument cluster was modern, with semi-circular dials for the speedometer and odometer. It even featured a center stack where the manufacturer installed the HVAC controls and the central vents.

Under the hood, Fiat promised a Lampredi engine, which was supposed to offer a vehicle's sporty character. But the drivetrain and the suspension were too weak for what that engine could offer. Later on, a supercharged version was added to the list. For the Argenta, Fiat offered a diesel version as well, by using an engine carried-over from a light utility vehicle.

full description and technical specifications