Cars and stars: Among the celebrities there is a well-deserved fiftieth anniversary

(To Gianluca Celentano)
13/09/19

I think I have to address, motoristically speaking, a dutiful and patriotic tribute to some historic icon of Italian automobile production. A tribute also deserved. It is primarily the revolutionary and conceptually innovative Fiat 128, which is 2019 years in the 50. A car really appreciated on the civilian market, the 70 years and with a significant past even during its military service. Who knows how many of you have owned one.

"Other times" you will exclaim; now past periods where the autonomy of the State was observed also in the use of its motor production, with good reason, envied in the world.

We have to plunge back into history - I recommend it without ever feeling too old - dusting off your memories of the military and, why not, recalling the squares of arms that led to the headquarters building. In fact, the Fiat 128 was a vehicle mostly used by senior officers, who alternated it with the more widespread 127 and 124, rather than the newly appointed generals and admirals.

The youngest career officers who in the 70s got to know the military robes of the 128 will be on leave or important generals today. However, alas, nowadays proposing nostalgic comparisons with the past can be painful and not very productive and, according to some, the best exercise could lie in "accepting in silence" the unknowns dictated both by Brussels and by a blind globalization that for the moment it concerns only the interests of a few. A condition in some ways experienced as a chimera, especially by the weakest, who with patience and guarantee have been waiting for tangible benefits for too many years, such as a serious tax exemption of work rather than wages in step with the cost of living.

Trying not to sin of pessimism, I report quite an interesting news from the economy newspaper Money.it of March 2019, where the Chinese automotive giant Geely could be interested in an ambitious and upcoming acquisition of Iveco. On the subject there are no other official news and I can like you too, express personal and legitimate questions about a hypothetical framework that could be defined: for example, the submission of the Iveco Defense division to the Italian Leonardo could occur, with the entry of Astra in the German Magirus and the bus sector to the French of Heuliez?

Common and morally understandable questions and curiosities in a free country ...

A car based on the stars

Before describing the Fiat 128, many readers will remember the existence of a regulation on the assignment of vehicles, clearly not concerning the operational range. Rules that also referred to the displacement band of the same model. Provisions related to the prestige and office of the officer, a bit like in large companies with managers. In fact in the years' 60 / 70 you could shout to the scandal if from a Fiat 600 a general had come down instead of a young lieutenant. A concept that following the professionalization of the Defense sector, has consistently faded in favor of efficiency rather than image. It should be remembered, however, that the Italian FFAAs were not among the first to reflect a modus operandi similar to the United States Armed Forces.

In this regard, if some military man anonymously confesses to me that there is still a lot of work to do vertically, it is also true that I recently witnessed a lieutenant colonel who autonomously drove a Panda in glossy green livery to reach the off-site training area .

Even today the text SGD - G - 007 "DIRECTIVE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF VEHICLES OF THE DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION" is very clear on the subject, however it should be emphasized that the real problems of the Defense and its personnel are much more serious .

Fiat 128 a revolutionary

The most perhaps remember her in ministerial blue livery, but undoubtedly the 128 was a revolutionary and courageous project born from the pencil of the engineer Dante Giacosa, who in addition to having given him a line and a pleasant front and, humanly speaking, almost smiling - thanks to its large circular headlights and a thin chrome-plated front grille, just like a smile - it is to be attributed the merit of having introduced front-wheel drive on the first ever Fiat model, using soft plastics to replace the interior of the new utility car. of the coldest sheets.

The competition in that period was certainly less traumatic than today but above all en casa, and the contention of the Fiat production was mainly with its closest and most loyal adversary, the luxurious Lancia, which had already been used a few years earlier, of the all-French concept - Citroën Traction Avant of the 1934 - with the Fulvia and Flavia models.

In the barracks, the 128 was most often ministerial blue and the commander sat strictly on the right side of the rear sofa. The success of this car born in the distant '69 lasted until the 1983, a period that saw it admirably wear different liveries besides the blue and the green NATO. In fact it was used for a long time by the State Police (in green or white blue) to replace the Fiat 1100. "I know I have moved many memories ..." Unfortunately, I realized that the military photos of the 128 are very rare.

Engine and mechanics

Its modern load-bearing body and the use of front-wheel drive offered an appreciable lightening of about one quintal compared to the 1100 ancestor. Values ​​of no small importance also observing the consumptions attested to around 12,5 km / l. In some ways a salvation in the '73 with the energy crisis.

Lively and easy to handle, thanks to a good power-to-weight ratio and its Fiat SOHC Engine, the Fiat single-shaft produced up to the 2010 with a volume of 1116 cc that supplied 55 horses, generating a maximum speed of just over 140 km / h. This was the version used in the Armed Forces but a few years after its debut, the same 8 valve engine was increased to 1290 cc - Fiat 128 1.3 - offering powers of 60, 67 and 70 horses, the latter with unofficial speeds at the threshold of 160 km / h in IV, owning exclusively the gearbox to 4 gears. In short, engines that have proudly marked the history of the Italian automotive industry over the last fifty years and that have been appreciated, also as mechanics, on Ritmo, Regata, Uno, as well as on the Lancia Delta and Prisma.

Previously McPherson suspensions with the use of a counter-balancing arm and a transverse crossbow at the rear - a feature that aesthetically lowered the tail - with arms connected to telescopic shock absorbers, an economic solution that also fulfilled the stabilizing task.

The 128 was well planted at the rear while a pleasant and well-controlled understeer appeared in the most aggressive drive; a phenomenon however controllable with the realignment of the steering and the release of the gas. Funny was the version Sport coupé e Rally but I already hear some of you who will surely want me to mention another historical derivative of the 128: the two-seater Fiat X1 / 9 with central engine. A success in the USA, five gears and 185 km / h with a 1498cc engine and 85 horsepower; the same as the Ritmo 85.

There is also another icon, the Fiat 131 Mirafiori

Excluding the less fortunate Fiat 130, a model widespread above all institutionally - a bit like the Alfa 6 and the 90 - the 131 comes to life in the 74 - given the energy crisis it was not a great time - but still standing as the car of service for the generals, subsequently replaced by the Regatta. A model quite rare in battalions or regiments and more widespread in army corps, secretariats and ministries. After driving several selections, they could sit a policeman or a military conscript, and his color was almost always ministerial blue with the exception of some white or green NATO specimens; perhaps used by the police in military police service.

Mechanically it was very similar to the Fiat 124 - rear-wheel drive - and the most used versions in the public sphere were those powered by the 1.6 - 1585 - from 75 horses. However, if the double shaft was still a prerogative of Lancia, at least until the debut of the second 131 series, the engine range with a single side camshaft started from the small but brilliant 1.3 from 65 horses and 150 km / h to the 2.0 from 60 cv and 145 km / h. Yes, that's right, the 1.3 was much more pushed.

Only with the advent of twin-shaft versions - Twin Cam - rather than the Racing series, the power values ​​and stability characteristics did justice to this car, which was much appreciated by Italian families but also in the US, called Brava with 1.8 engine, the same as 132.

He had excellent road skills but it was necessary to enter into symbiosis with his reactions in fast driving. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he never officially made his debut as the Police Car, in the years where the pursuits were a widespread intervention protocol. On the bumpy for example, he did not give the best of himself compared to the Fiat 132 or the Giulia Great. Indeed, the rear could start to scodare and the driver's ability to contain the pendulum was not easy, especially with a steering that was not very direct.

On the other hand, citing another model of the period, the performance of the Fiat 132, the replacement of the flagship 125 - with air conditioning - from which it inherited much of the mechanics, including the rigid bridge rear suspension with shock absorbers instead of rigid crossbows adopted by his ancestor.

Worthy of note are the front suspensions - same layout as the 125 - with transverse wishbones and swinging arms, which unlike the 131, gave the 132 a line pointed at the front.

Several years ago I remember trying an 132, and the feeling I had was similar to that felt at the wheel of the Alfa 75; a pleasant and well-trimmed drive using more of the accelerator than the steering wheel, which is essential for small trajectory adjustments.

Let us not forget, as a curiosity, that the engine of the Fiat AR 76 is derived from its engine, where among the variants there was the chain distribution instead of the belt.

And the armored cars?

"Everything can be armored, it depends on convenience" with these words a great Piedmontese entrepreneur, friendly and very helpful with the press, Dr. Repetti, responded to one of my curiosity about armor plating.

Do you think that a Y10 has been armored, perhaps more as a challenge? turbo. The years of lead crossed precisely with the debut of the Fiat 128 and 131, but the most suitable cars for effective protection - then mainly ballistic steel was used rather than the lighter and more reliable kevlar fibers - were not exactly the average icons of the Fiat house, although 131 (following photo) and 132 were fitted with armor.

It was necessary to have horses but also power and for this reason the most suitable were the Fiat 130 3.2, the Giulia Super 2.0, the Alfetta 2.0 and, subsequently, the Alfa 6 and 90 2.5 but also the younger Croma and Lancia Thema. The performances were drastically reduced while the consumption became abnormal but not only; during fast driving it was essential to consider an advance in maneuvers to counteract the mass and the movements due to rolling. Here, the art of time-shifted double-barreled shots was essential if we look at the changes in the times.

I let you imagine the wear of the brakes, the fading or the boiling of the circuit. Those were years when the diffusion of armored vehicles was very limited despite the terrorists' sights, in addition to the weapons depots inside the barracks, there were also generals, politicians and entrepreneurs; a period when people trusted more in the dissuasive escort procession in siren. Moreover, both in the police and in the armed forces, much more personnel were available to employ than today.

But if all this is not enough for you ...

I would be pleased to inform you, as long as you are a classic and sports car enthusiast, of a major event organized by MILAN AUTOCLASSICA within the Milano Rho Fiera pavilion from 22 to 24 November 2019. Probably there will also be a stand of the Italian Army but above all we will see closely the great brands of the competitions together with the pure historical blood that made the automotive of our country great; Milanoautoclassica.com

I dedicate the article ...

A dutiful greeting to the new Minister of Defense, Dr. Lorenzo Guerini, popularly very well known and respected during institutional assignments in the Lodi area.

A special thought also to the paratroopers brigade and to the friends of the Folgore logistic regiment of Pisa; a department to which I am particularly attached.

Photo: web