FIAT TO RESTORE ITS CLASSIC CARS

Italian giant selling ‘as-new’ cars from back catalogue

‘They’ve chosen a fashionable, fairly high-value bunch of cars’

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it will be restoring classic Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Lancias and Abarths and selling them.

The programme, called ‘Reloaded by Creators’, will see FCA Heritage buying classics from its marque’s back catalogues, restoring them and selling them to private customers.

Proceeds from these sales will go to expanding FCA Heritage’s collection, which until now had dealt mainly in authenticity certificates. This follows the expanded heritage operations of other manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover, which have gone as far as remanufacturing old models like the XKSS, as well as offering a restoration service.

So far, five classics have received an official restoration: an Alfa Romeo Spider; Lancia Fulvia Coupé Montecarlo; Pininfarina Spider Europa; Lancia Appia Coupé; and Alfa Romeo SZ. All of the cars are now for sale.

While all of its Italian brands but Abarth are represented by this line-up, including cars made by Lancia prior to the Fiat takeover, the programme does not appear to include FCA’s American brands, which are not currently served by FCA Heritage.

With FCA Heritage based in Turin, British owners of Italian classics will struggle to make an economic case for taking advantage of these services, but will hope that FCA’s financial power will lead to renewed parts availability for their cars.

Owner of classic Fiat specialist, Ricambio International, Franco Roselli, says: ‘I’m surprised they’re doing it, but it’s very interesting and it could be quite positive in terms of parts supply. The Fulvia, for example, is infamously difficult to get parts for. The cars they’ve chosen are a predictable, fashionable, fairly highvalue bunch though. I’ll be interested to see if they attempt some less valuable cars.’