Overview
Fiat replaced its 124 Abarth works rally programme with a competition derivative of the 131 Mirafiori two-door saloon. Abarth engineered the driveline and suspension while Bertone designed lightweight fibreglass/resin and aluminium body panels with broad arches and functional cooling outlets. The independent rear suspension and 16-valve fuel-injected race engine made the works Group 4 131 quite different from a normal family saloon or the 140-hp homologation road car.
The FIA's Group 4 Fiat Abarth 131 Rally form 647 is valid from 2 April 1976 and specifies a 1,995 cc four-cylinder and rear-wheel drive. Stellantis Heritage says the required 400 homologation cars were built between 1976 and 1978. The road model had a Weber carburettor and roughly 140 hp, whereas contemporary works competition cars used Kugelfischer injection, a 16-valve head and reported 225 hp, increasing to around 245 hp later. A preserved restored specimen's published carburettor and 215-hp values represent a specific preservation/reference state; they are not grounds for flattening every original race car into a single tune.
The 131 won its first WRC round at the 1976 1000 Lakes Rally with Markku Alén/Ilkka Kivimäki. Fiat then took the manufacturers' world titles in 1977 and 1978. The WRC drivers' championship was introduced in 1979; Alén's 1978 achievement was the predecessor FIA Cup for Rally Drivers. Fiat's third manufacturers' crown and Walter Röhrl's drivers' title came in 1980 and must remain identified as next-decade outcomes.