FIAT BARCHETTATiming chain or Belt?

The Fiat Barchetta is a roadster-type sports car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1995 to 2005. The name 'Barchetta' means "little boat" in Italian, a term also used in that language for convertible sports cars.

This automobile had two seats and featured a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. It was developed between 1990 and 1994 under the project name Tipo B Spider 176. The design was handled by Andreas Zapatinas and Alessandro Cavazza at the Centro Stile Fiat. The sports car was based on the first-generation Fiat Punto chassis, but with a shortened wheelbase.

The Barchetta was equipped with a 1.7-liter DOHC gasoline engine and generated 131 hp. It weighed only about 1,056 kg, and went from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds. The sports car was revised in August 2003 before its relaunch the following year (production had to be halted due to the bankruptcy of the coachbuilder Maggiora). The vehicle underwent some modifications to the interior and exterior. Finally, the car ceased production in June 2005.

Among the competitors of the Fiat Barchetta, we can highlight other options such as the Mazda MX-5 (Miata), the BMW Z3, the Toyota MR2, the Honda S2000, the MG F, and the MG TF. The Barchetta had only one generation.