Fiat versus Ford – four decades later
The combination of reigning British Rally champion Matt Edwards and a Fiat 131 from Rallysport Development is reshaping the British historic rallying landscape after more than a decade of Ford Escort domination. Victory in the British Historic Rally Championship, with three events to run in the early autumn, is a real possibility.
Those around rallying in the late 1970s will remember the time when co-driver Christian Geistdorfer sat in the back of the works Fiat 131 while Walter Rohrl sat up front. It was all about weight distribution and the practice was quickly outlawed after the 1978 RAC Rally. Reputedly, team manager Giorgio Pianta reckoned the move was worth a second per mile.
What cannot be disputed is that in the Group 4 rallying era the 131 was a match for the Ford Escort Mk2. Fiat’s 131 Abarth
