1957 Fiat Nuova 500 Is the Most Thrilling Turbocharged STI Swap in History
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Have you ever looked at a classic car and had this thought?
Wow, it’s so beautiful—if only it had a modern motor in it to give it a little more grunt, it would be perfect.
Well, Motoexotica—the sellers of this 1957 Fiat 500 convertible - opens in new window or tab.—took that sentiment and ran with it in the craziest possible direction. Those guys installed a turbocharged engine from a Subaru WRX STI, boosting it to within an inch of its life to generate a whopping 300 horsepower at the wheels.
Three-hundred horsepower might not sound like a lot in a modern context, but consider that the original 1957 Fiat Nuova 500 made do with, ahem, 13 horses from its 500 cc engine. Weighing in at just over 1,000 pounds, there was a lot that had to be done to the Fiat’s chassis to make sure it wouldn’t snap in half the first time the driver put the pedal to the metal.
The updates to the Fiat platform include a full tube chassis, a Porsche limited-slip transaxle, and Porsche CV joints at the rear axles, as well a full roll cage. The car also features a T3/T4 turbocharger and a more capable fueling system to keep up with the demands of whatever nut elects to put the Fiat through its paces either on the street or track.
The tiny subcompact car still looks fairly stock from the outside, as it features almost all of its original trim. Of course, that’s only true if you look at the Fiat Nuova 500 from the front, because in back the exposed engine bay is protected by a steel wing/cover, the exhaust and air intake sit just above each other as they perch over the pavement, and the entire setup trails a wheelie bar to make sure the vehicle doesn’t instantly flip over on throttle-up.
It’s hard to image the kind of iron will that it takes to drive such an outrageous automobile, but maybe you have what it takes. One last bonus: it’s a convertible, so if you’re worried that you can’t fit inside the notorious tight confines of this Nuova 500 - opens in new window or tab., you can always ride around with your head sticking out through the roof as you howl with joy.
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