FIAT RITMO ABARTH | Un error de 100 Millones ¡¿O no?!

Turin, April 1978. At the 57th International Motor Show, Sergio Sartorelli presented the X1/38 project: a body with rounded lines, polypropylene bumpers integrated into the bodywork, and two circular headlights—a design unprecedented on any European city car. It boasted a drag coefficient below 0.40 and structural rigidity superior to any competitor in its segment. But there was more. On the stand, a phrase the industry had never uttered: "Designed by man, built by robots." At the Rivalta plant, Comau's Robogate system assembled up to 800 car bodies daily with dimensional tolerances no human hand could match. It was the first time in history that this had ever happened. The car was called the Fiat Ritmo, and it was born to replace Dante Giacosa's 128. The engine that powered its racing versions had a story that began much earlier. Aurelio Lampredi, the engineer who had built the Ferrari V12 with which the 375 F1 defeated the Alfa Romeos at Silverstone in 1951, and the four-cylinder engine with which Ascari won the 1952 and 1953 titles, designed the Lampredi twin-cam engine in 1966: cast iron block, aluminum cylinder head, hemispherical combustion chambers, valves inclined at 65 degrees, and, a world first, timing belt instead of chain. In its 2.0-liter version, internal reference 138 AR, it was the heart of all the Ritmo racing cars. In the 1980 Monte Carlo Rally, Attilio Bettega started with car number 15 and a 1.5-liter twin-cam Lampredi, competing against Röhrl in the Abarth 131, Darniche in the Stratos, and Vatanen in the 260-horsepower Escort. On the night of the Turini stage, fifteen kilometers of ice at 1,607 meters, Bettega was the fastest of the entire event. Not just in his class: of everyone. A poor choice of tires and a broken timing belt ended his victory. He finished sixth overall. The Italian press called him the heir to Munari. He died on May 2, 1985, in the Tour de Corse, at the age of thirty-two. Abarth developed the Ritmo 105 TC in 1981, the 125 TC Abarth with a 2.0-liter twin-cam engine that same September, and in 1983 the 130 TC with two Weber 40 DCOE carburetors and Magneti Marelli Digiplex electronic ignition: 130 horsepower, 950 kilograms, the most powerful naturally aspirated compact car in Europe. The only European hot hatch of the eighties that never used fuel injection. It won the Italian Rally Championship in 1982 and 1984. Production ceased in 1988. The Lampredi twin-cam engine continued to be produced until 2000. 🟢Get THE MOTORSPORT BIBLE: https://evomaster.es/ 🔵To support the channel, you can join my Patreon and enjoy EXCLUSIVE CONTENT:   / evo_master   🟡Follow me for more content: 🔹Instagram: evo__master 🔹Twitter: evo__master 🔹TikTok: evo__master 📥Contact (business inquiries only): [email protected]