Re: I need Help

["Tim Hancock" <timhancock@domain.elided>]

Joseph Kanellopoulos writes about the Fiat Abarth 1000 TC

<And I am willing to bet it had a much smaller turn radius than the mini.>

If I remember rightly this was RWD rear engine?? so it would not be difficult
to better the turning radius of the Mini.  A bit like nostalgia, the Mini
experience is not quite what it was because the rest of the world eventually
caught up with the handling (try a Peugeot 106 for example). Minis remain
eminently chuckable in a robust rather than an Alfa delicate kind of way, and
they are great fun, but leave your false teeth at home if you plan to drive
over large bumps in the road.

I can confirm that an Autobianchi 500 Van (Fiat 500 Combi without windows) can
turn round in a radius of little more than 10 feet, and only narrowly beats
the Triumph Herald/ Vitesse/GT6/Spitfire chassis which has extra length to
cope with and which has a turning circle of about 23 feet, as long as you can
afford the scrubbed tyres.....and then there is the London Taxi cab

Does anyone out there recall the Steyr-Puch 650 TR2 from the mid 60s which
used a Fiat 500 or 600 ( I forget) shell and which went like stink for such a
small car. I think they are collectors pieces now.

The 164 of course has a turning radius which compares only to the USS Nimitz.
I shall conclude by saying that everyone should drive a Mini at least once.
You will either wonder what all the fuss was about or you will fall in love
with it warts and all.

Tim Hancock   164 TS Lusso   Boston UK

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