11 of 50: Maria: 1973 Fiat 124 Spider

Fiat’s super popular little roadster, the 124 Sport Spider was the Torinese firm’s contrappunto to Alfa Romeo’s own little droptop (also called the Spider). You’d think that this was designed by a cappuccino-sipping Italian playboy in between photo shoots with Catrinel Menghia’s mom (or something) but no…the 124 was penned by Dutch-American designer Tom Tjaarda. It brought flair, a revvy and sonorous twin-cam inline four cylinder engine, coil sprung four link rear suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes to the cheap roadster party when introduced in 1966. Today they are either being crushed for scrap value or sold cheap as summer toys, but they represent an excellent fun per dollar equation if you don’t mind cursing in the mother tongue while bashing Magneti Marelli ignition components with a finely tuned hammer. Find this 1973 Fiat 124 Spider with a rebuilt 1.8L engine for $4k for sale on craigslist in St. Paul, MN. Thanks to Ryan T for the tip.

This feature is part of Daily Turismo’s birthday celebration of 50 cars in 24 hours..