OVERVIEW AND 1985.5 HISTORY
Some of you may have landed on this ad out of curiosity. Others, may be keenly aware that this car is the "HOLY GRAIL" of Fiat Spiders. A National Award winning, fully restored 1985.5 Pininfarina Azzurra. One of 186 imported to the USA during 1985-86. But more importantly one of the last 40 or so known to exist--and most certainly the best remaining example. A home run collectible for the future.
For the uninitiated, Fiat built approximately 175,000 Fiat Spiders between 1968-1982. We're told about 70% of all Spiders built during that period were imported to the United States. In the early 1980's Fiat was struggling with their sedan line-up against strong competition from Toyota and Honda. Even through hard times, the Spider was still selling reasonably well. The new fuel injected Spider 2000 for 1981 sparked a sales resurgence that carried through the 1982 model year. Unfortunately the lack of dealer support for their other models led Fiat to abandon the US market at the end of 1982 in spite of continued interest in the Spider.
For the next three years (1983, 84, 85) a Domestic firm named International Automobile Importers (IAI) contracted directly with Pininfarina to continue production of the Spider for distribution here in America. These cars were built in extremely small numbers, with sales estimates in the USA numbering about 3500 cars total during the three year run. The new car was renamed the Pininfarina Azzurra due to stipulations by Fiat that no reference to the previous version would allowed in US marketing. Hence the rebadging of the car for our shores as the Azzurra Spider.
In general, the 1983-85 cars had improved build quality compared with those made through the previous Fiat channels. They featured d interiors with better quality materials. Most came with air-conditioning and other luxury options like power windows and leather seating. The cost of these cars was also dramatically higher than the previous Fiat version--about 40% more expensive than the 1982 model. The Pininfarina franchise was most typically taken on by Ferrari dealers, which is why the Azzurra is sometimes referred to as the baby Ferrari. Both cars were built side by side at the Pininfarina factory and even shared some Ferrari parts like electrical switches, door handles, mirrors and trim. While expensive, compared to the $29,800 price of the Ferrari Mondial convertible--the Azzurra Spider seemed like a relative bargain at about $10,000 less.
New safety standards featuring passive restraint systems were legislated for the 1990 model year in the USA. Consequently, the IAI distribution agreement was set to extend into through the 1989 model year, when an all-new version was contemplated. In early 1985, Pininfarina made a large investment in Spider production, featuring mid-year improvements that included rack and pinion steering plus many more upgrades. Unfortunately, several months later Pininfarina was awarded the contract to build 20,000 Cadillac Allante convertibles per year. This economic windfall made low volume Spider production impractical, so Pininfarina abruptly discontinued Spider production. It is not known how many of these upgraded 85.5 versions were produced overall--but only 186 made their way to the USA.
THE SKINNY
This particular 1985.5 was originally restored by Roadster Salon for a collector in 2014. Since then the car has split time between our showroom and appearances at numerous car events where it has become known as one of the finest examples in existence. Prior to its return to our facility, it was driven 2200 miles primarily between show locations. We recently made the decision to repurchase the car from the previous owner. It has now been upgraded once again to the standards of our new ICONA model and carries our standard one-year warranty.
See our website at www.roadstersalon.com for ICONA specifications. A detailed build sheet accompanies the purchase for your records. This is a very unique opportunity. Please note that our current selling price is far less than what it would currently cost to purchase a 1985.5 chassis and build a similar car from scratch--not to mention our 2-3 year timeline for delivery.
DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO OWN THE HOLY GRAIL OF FIAT SPIDERS--A TREMENDOUS COLLECTIBLE THAT CAN STILL BE ENJOYED WITHOUT RELIABILITY CONCERNS. A+
