06.05.2021Throwback Thursday: Walter Röhrl's Fiat 131 Abarth

On Tuesday, Solido delivered the miniatures to the Fiat 131 Abarth, of which the role model was registered for the Rally World Cup in 1980 and which was occupied with the driver pairing Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer. This version was eighth Rally World Cup organized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile FIA and was held in twelve world championship races from January 19th to December 14th. It was a good year for the racing team because Fiat won the manufacturers' championship. For the second time, an official driver's world champion was also determined: The German Walter Röhrl won this world championship with the Fiat 131 Abarth for the first time. And what, according to his own statements, means a lot to him: Röhrl and his co-driver Christian Geistdörfer also won the Monte Carlo Rally - so the ideal topic for Throwback Thursday!

The 48th Rally Monte Carlo was the first race of the season back then and was very difficult for both due to the weather conditions. There was everything like sun, frost, rain and snowfall to fog. Walter Röhrl took the lead in the second special stage. With a Fiat 131 Abarth, Röhrl took the lead in front of 237 starters. Initially, Markku Alén (Fiat 131 Abarth) was in the lead. In an accident, however, he damaged his car so badly that it could not be repaired within a reasonable period of time. Bernard Darniche in the Lancia Stratos HF was unable to follow Walter Röhrl and lost over 10 minutes in second to the finish. Anders Kulläng came fourth with an Opel Ascona 400 behind Björn Waldegård (Fiat 131 Abarth). At the end of the rally, a total of 88 vehicles were classified for the manufacturers' championship.

Röhrl finished the Rally Monte Carlo and its 30 evaluation tests in a total time of 8:42:20 hours and raced 695.30 kilometers with Christian Geistdörfer. Solido dedicates the vehicle of the two legendary motorsport enthusiasts very attractive modelcars in scale 1:18 that are built from sturdy diecast and have two opening doors and steerable front wheels. The presence of a matching appearance and the correct reproduction of the printing and sponsor stickers of the two-door sedan corresponding to the prototype is a matter of course. The vehicles were produced by Bertone in the number of 400 pieces required for homologation. The 131 Abarth for rally use, which draw up to 177 kW / 240 hp from their 2.0 liter four-cylinder, are available for the showcase under item numbers S1806001 / 421187300. Have a nice Thursday!

Here: Click to the Fiat 131 Abarth Monte Carlo 1980