The Fiat Ritmo was first introduced by the Fiat inallia car company in 1978. For such an unusual appearance of a small family car should pay tribute to the Italian design studio Bertone, which took over the development of the car body. In the UK, Canada and the USA, this car is called the Fiat Strada. Fiat Ritmo was a cheaper alternative in its class, along with automakers such as Ford and Renault. He tried to get more attention outside of Italy. For the Fiat Ritmo, several variants of 4-cylinder engines of 1.1 (60 hp), 1.3 (65 hp) and 1.5 liters (75 hp) volumes were proposed.
They were fairly simple and economical, however, were somewhat weak for a car of this size. In 1980, a 1.7-liter diesel power unit with a power output of 55 hp was proposed for the Fiat Ritmo. In 1981, a version called Ritmo Super (in the UK Superstrada) was released. The car had some external differences, and two modified engines of 1.3 and 1.5 liters were proposed for it, the power of the cat was 75 hp. and 85 hp respectively. Also this year, a sporty version of the Ritmo called the 105TC appears, which was equipped with a 1.5-liter Fiat DOHC gasoline engine (this engine was equipped with the Fiat 131 model), whose power was 105 hp.
Special 14-inch rims were installed on the Fiat Ritmo 105TC with black caps in the center, like on Ritmo Super. It was possible to distinguish the 105TC model by the front fog lamps, which were mounted in the front bumper and rear spoiler. A few months later, a Fiat Ritmo model called Abarth 125TC appeared in Europe, but this version was never officially sold in the UK. The technical stuffing of this version, in comparison with model 105TC, has been carefully processed by Abarth. The car received a 2-liter DOHC engine with 125 hp, ventilated brake discs in the front, a new ZF gearbox from the German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG and a reinforced suspension with special settings.
The maximum speed of this model was 188 km / h, and acceleration to 100 km / h took 8.7 seconds. Also in 1981, under the direction of the design studio Bertone, a version of the Fiat Ritmo Cabriolet was released in the back of a cabriolet. From the features of the technical equipment it is worth noting that for the versions in the body of the convertible, only petrol engine options were available. Outwardly, she practically did not differ from her “colleagues” (except for the collapsible roof) and all further updates to the Fiat Ritmo exterior also included the Cabriolet version. The cabriolet was sold in many European markets until the completion of Fiat Ritmo production in 1988.
In 1982, the Fiat Ritmo underwent external changes that affected the front and rear of the car. All versions except the base received new headlights, consisting of two round headlights on each side (the base still had one round headlamp on the sides, with the exception of the UK, where all versions had dual headlights). The rear lights have also changed. The 105TC received a new trim, an updated dashboard and a new rear spoiler. In the United States, the production of the Fiat Strada was discontinued this year.
The year 1982 was also marked by the advent of the 130TC Abarth version, which was developed on the basis of the previously released version 125TC. In the new model, the 2-liter engine was modified and its power was already 130 hp. In 1985, the Fiat Ritmo received minor external changes, the main ones being the new bumper and the appearance of plastic panels on the doors.
The 3-door model 105TC was replaced by a 5-door version called the 100S. In 1986, a 5-door version called the Ritmo Turbo DS appeared, which was equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine with a power of 80 hp. It is worth noting that the 100S and Turbo DS models were not sold in Britain and Ireland.
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