JULY: 1971 FIAT 128 FAMILIARE

The 128 marked Fiat’s first venture into producing front-wheel drive cars and the new ground breaking model made its debut in March 1969. Power came from a new belt-driven single camshaft engine featuring an alloy cylinder head and an important first for Fiat was the 128’s rack and pinion steering. Back in the ‘Seventies, the 128 was a reasonably common sight on UK roads and despite suffering from a horrendous rate of attrition, this three-door Familiare or estate version, which is owned by Tom Marshall, was one of the star attractions at the 2017 Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional. What saved this left-hand drive version was being used abroad by an English couple and despite being constructed of poor quality Soviet era steel, the Fiat’s bodywork was found to be in very good condition and only required a small bit of welding before undergoing a full, bare metal re-spray.