For Sale at Auction: 1978 Fiat 131 in Carmel, California

Chassis No. 2045727
Engine No. 299
Period Registration No. TO R92450

Fiat's Abarth 131 Rally was homologated for the 1976 season. Around 400 "Stradale" street versions were built to satisfy the FIA homologation directives allowing the car to compete in the World Rally Championship.?Forty-seven special 131s were built by Fiat-Abarth into full Group 4 specification rally machines for their factory teams. The cars proved immensely successful, winning the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers three times, in 1977, 1978, and 1980-a feat which this car directly contributed to.

Chassis number 2045727 is a works 131 Abarth Group 4 that was initially raced by the Fiat France Total team in WRC and French Rally Championship gravel/tarmac events during the 1978-1980 seasons. It was usually driven by Michele Mouton and occasionally by teammate Jean-Claude Andruet. It would be assigned Torino registration number TO R92450 in early 1978, a key identifier in the photographic record.

Mouton, the fearless female rally driver who would go on to great success in Audi's Sport Quattro program, is known to have driven this 131 Abarth in three WRC events. Her successes with the car included 7th?overall at the 1980 Monte Carlo Rally, where it was adorned with distinctive yellow, black and red Calberson livery, and 5th overall on two occasions during the 1979 and 1980 Tour de Corse wearing the usual red, white, and blue of Fiat France.

For 1982, chassis 2045727 would be revived alongside a handful of its ex-Fiat France 131 sister cars for a campaign in Italian rally events as a quasi-works Jolly Club racing team entry. Still owned by the Torino-based Fiat-Abarth factory team, 2045727's major success in its Jolly Club Totip-sponsored livery came at the 1982 Targa Florio, where it finished 4th?overall.

Shortly thereafter, at the 1982 Rallye Isola d'Elba, 2045727 suffered an accident to the left front necessitating replacement of the driver's-side inner fender. This accident would ultimately mark the end of its remarkable four-year works rally career, though it wouldn't be the end of its period competition career.
The 131 Abarth was sold?in February 1983 from the Fiat-Abarth racing team to Vittorio Carlino of Sassari, Sardinia. Carlino rallied it with considerable success, finishing 12th?overall at the Rally Costa Smeralda against heady competition from a strong field of Group B Lancia 037s among others. At the Rally di Roccaruja, chassis 2045727 claimed a remarkable overall victory - the final overall win for a 131 Abarth Rally in period - capping off the model's legendary career as a front-running stage rally icon.

After its active competition days were over, the 131 joined the formidable San Marino-based collection of Fabrizio Violati, one of the world's preeminent collectors of Ferrari and Abarth automobiles. In his stable it shared space with more than 30 other Abarth racing cars, where it saw little if any use. The highly original rally car remained with Violati until it was sold at auction in 2014 alongside a selection of vehicles from his Maranello Rosso Collection.

Following its 2014 acquisition by the consignor, chassis 2045727 was restored by the 131 Abarth specialists at Rallysport Development in Yorkshire, U.K. During restoration, particular attention was paid to preserving the considerable originality found throughout this authentic works rally contender. The body was carefully stripped and placed on a rotisserie. Emphasis was kept on retaining originality of the car's finishes, so repairs were kept to a minimum.

Evidence of all previous liveries was discovered in many places on the car and captured during a photo-documented process of stripping the paint carefully, layer by layer, down to bare metal. The roof bore the evidence of the car's history most plainly, showing evidence of the Fiat France colors, Calberson paint scheme, Totip livery, and its final privateer livery. Evidence of Fiat France colors was also plainly evident on the lower rear valence and inside the window frames.?The decision was made to restore the car to the livery in which it appeared at its final World Rally Championship event with Michele Mouton, the 1980 Tour de Corse.

Its engine, a substantially original works-numbered dry-sump unit, retains its factory competition features. It was carefully stripped down, the block machined for four new liners and line-bored for the crank. New connecting rods and pistons were installed, while the cylinder head was skimmed and a new set of guides and seats installed. The gearbox was rebuilt, while the differential was stripped to ensure correct operation. Brakes and suspension were rebuilt as needed with the Bilstein dampers sent to Germany for refurbishing, while the fuel system was cleaned and new fuel pumps and lines were installed.

The car bears its history in so many ways: from the holes where its rally plates were attached on the rear trunk lid, to the telltale signs of hasty repairs on the rear panel and to the left-front corner, to the evidence of factory paint still visible in certain crevices. Its largely original interior features its original works roll cage, gauges, switchgear, and helmet holders. The windshield, a period item, retains a factory marking nomenclature 'G39,' visible in photos from the '82 Targa Florio and '83 Costa Smeralda.

A painstaking process of photo documentation of the 131 Abarth's competition history was undertaken and the result is a comprehensive binder containing dozens of 8-by-10-inch photos of the car competing in period. An accompanying correspondence file includes documentation of the substantial restoration work performed in the U.K., as well as correspondence with 131 marque experts, including Vittorio Carlino, its first privateer owner and driver.

This Fiat 131 Abarth has been praised as one of the most original WRC cars of its era and boasts a continuous history from its inception in April 1978 until the present day. In preparation for sale, it received a service at Revival Road in Monterey following a period of mostly static display over the last decade. This sensational ex-works, ex-Michele Mouton 131 would make a crown jewel in any collection of important rally cars and is a wonderful example of the 1970s Group 4 rally era.