RM Sotheby's will offering up a lot of great cars at unbelievable prices during its Arizona sale in Phoenix on 27 January. But not only for $US 65,000 you can have this cool 1958 Fiat 1200 TV Spider, one of 2,350 examples built by Vetture Speciali, the Fiat’s Special Vehicles department.

Very nice car in this triple black color combination...

Here's a follow-up of my previous post about this RM Sotheby's Arizona sale, :



1963 Apollo 3500 GT	1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T	1959 Devin C
$US 125,000	$US 900,000	$US 70,000

1967 Ferrari 330 GTS	Mercedes 300 Alloy Gullwing	1964 Mercedes 300 Roadster
$US 1,500,000	$US 7,000,000	$US 2,200,000

1955 Mercedes 300 Gullwing
$US 1,450,000

History of Fiat 1200

1950 Fiat 1100 Cabriolet (Bonhams)

The Fiat 1200 was produced between 1957 and 1961 in about 400,000 units. There are 3 distinct models, all based on the Fiat 1100 (see photo on the left <) :
+ in 1957 the 1200 Granluce (4 door),
+ the 1200 Spyder (2 door roadster),
+ and the Cabriolet with a Pininfarina's coachwork.

In the 50's, Fiat offered small sport convertibles under the name of Trasformabile (convertible) which made them sound more exclusive. The Fiat 1200 Turismo Veloce Spider is the rarest trasformabile coachwork with only 2,350 examples hand built by Vetture Speciali, the Fiat’s Special Vehicles department between 1957 and 1959.

The design was penned by Fabio Luigi Rapi Italian automobile designer working for Fiat. Inspired by the Lancia Aurelia Cabriolet, Rapi also brought some American elements such as panoramic windows and rear spoilers.

Specification

The Fiat 1200 TV Spider is equipped with 1,221-cc inline-four engine mated to four-speed manual transmission producing around 53 bhp. With its low weight (960 kg), it was more than enough to have fun on the roads

I don't know with on the dashboard there is the Pininfarina signature. The Italian coachworker produced only the following version, the Fiat Pininfarina Cabriolet. So if you have an idea...

This example was finished in triple black (black over black leather interior and black carpets). This model remained in the same family for 43 years. It was restored during more than 5 years (2011-2016) for more than $US 60,000 (almost as expensive as the selling price, not always profitable to have a classic car).