A Hidden Gem: The Unheralded Sports Car Linked to the Mazda Miata

The Legacy of the Mazda MX-5 Miata

When it comes to well-sorted driver's cars, few have come as close to perfection as the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Since 1989, the Miata has stood at the forefront of small sports cars, and was so good that it was responsible for the two-seater roadster revival. The Miata has been in continuous production for 35 years now, and recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. With so many years under its belt and so many fans longing to get their hands on a Miata in any way they can, it's understandable for other carmakers to want a piece of that action.

One automaker in particular, Fiat, wanted in so badly they struck a deal with Mazda so they could build their own copy. That copy was called the Fiat 124 Spider, but it didn't see nearly as much fame as Fiat would have hoped.

The Fiat 124 Spider's Revival, Miata-Style

Three Fiat 124 Spider Facts

• Produced from 2017 to 2020
• Shared virtually all underpinnings with the Mazda MX-5
• Flopped in the market, Americans especially were not interested in it

The 124's Roots

Let's take a brief look at the Fiat 124's history. It started its life in 1966 as a simple, four-door sedan. Fiat wanted a car to replace the aging Fiat 1300 and 1500 models. In keeping with Fiat's then-simple approach to engineering, the Fiat 124 wasn't much more than a box on wheels. But, in terms of its ability to shuttle people from point A to point B without a fuss, the Fiat 124 was a resounding success.

The Fiat 124 Sport Spider, the Fiat 124's two-door sports car sibling, was created in 1966. While it looked drastically different from the 124 saloon, it shared many of the same components. The Fiat 124 Sport Spider enjoyed a life lasting 19 years, as it was finally retired in 1985. The Fiat Barchetta, built from 1995 to 2000, was a sort of spiritual successor, but the 124 Sport Spider wouldn't be officially resurrected until Fiat's decision to bring back the nameplate in 2017.

The Modern Fiat 124

In the mid-2010s, Fiat was struggling. They had just entered back into the US market in 2009, but the excitement of the Italian brand quickly dwindled once everyone who wanted a Fiat had one. They needed a way to revitalize the brand and bring in more American buyers, most of whom had never even seen or heard of a Fiat before. The answer, according to Stellantis, lay in Japan.

Initially, Alfa Romeo approached Mazda to co-develop a new two-seater roadster in 2012, but the project fell apart in 2014. Sensing Mazda was still open to collaboration, Fiat approached them in 2015 to propose a joint venture for a front-engine, rear-drive sports car. Mazda accepted, and work quickly began on building a platform which both automakers could use to build their halo sports cars. The result was the Mazda MX-5 Miata ND and the Fiat 124 Spider.

Both the Fiat 124 Spider and the Mazda MX-5 Miata were to be built at Mazda's Hiroshima, Japan manufacturing plant. Because both cars are so similar in build, combining assembly lines was the most cost-effective way to build the two roadsters. After all, the very reason Fiat entered into a joint venture with Mazda rather than develop their own roadster was cost, as the company was quoted commenting on then-new bureaucratic red tape regarding clean-sheet vehicle designs as "the costliest wave of government regulation since the 1970s."

The Miata-Based 124 Spider Wasn't All Japanese Underneath

Of course, the norm for any joint-built vehicle is that the underpinnings are all largely the same, with the only major differences being the exterior and interior styling. While this is mostly the case with the Fiat 124 Spider and the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Fiat also went ahead and sourced their own engines and transmissions. While this did more to help differentiate the two, the Fiat versions just didn't cut it nearly as much as the Miata's powertrain offerings.

We also must touch on the performance-oriented version of the Fiat 124 Spider called the Abarth 124 Spider. The Abarth version came with a hotter engine, with a surprising 30 more horsepower and seven more torques on tap. It also sported exterior styling upgrades, including a blacked-out hood, decklid, and red side mirrors along with special, 17-inch wheels. Inside, the Abarth 124 Spider received black leather and microfiber seats as standard, with the option to upgrade to Alcántara and leather Recaro seats.

Seeing as the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Fiat 124 Spider/Abarth 124 Spider all feature different powertrains, let's take a look at the table below which outlines the specs of each. We've also included the current going price of used examples of each with market average mileage factored in:

Interestingly, despite the Abarth 124 Spider having more power and torque than even the Mazda MX-5 Miata's top-speed, 2.0-liter engine, the Miata is still the quicker car. This is thanks to its shorter gear ratios which, when you think about it, makes a lot of sense in a small roadster. You're not going to be chasing land speed records in a two-seater sports car with less than 200 horsepower, so it's best to make it quick rather than fast. Plus, shortened ratios make for more gear changes, and most of us have heard how well-sorted the Miata's manual transmission is.

The 124's Main Issue Was the Turbocharged Engine

Of course, the norm for any joint-built vehicle is that the underpinnings are all largely the same, with the only major differences being the exterior and interior styling. While this is mostly the case with the Fiat 124 Spider and the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Fiat also went ahead and sourced their own engines and transmissions. While this did more to help differentiate the two, the Fiat versions just didn't cut it nearly as much as the Miata's powertrain offerings.

The 124's main issue was the turbocharged engine. In a small sports car, you want an instant throttle response, which the Mazda provides in spades. Once you got the turbocharged engine in the sweet spot, it was a riot, but it just couldn't compete with the rev-happy nature of Mazda's 2.0-liter NA engine. Those who wanted a more authentic sports car experience naturally pivoted to the Miata, which was also less expensive. - Gerhard Horn, Senior Editor.

This Is Why The Fiat 124 Spider Went Away

We touched on a contributing factor to the Fiat 124 Spider's early demise just a moment ago. It couldn't compete with the Mazda MX-5 in terms of performance. While both cars handled well around corners and the like, the Mazda was simply more fun to drive. Yes, the Fiat 124 Spider is a bit prettier in our humble opinion, and the Abarth version made some nice noises, but that wasn't enough to offset the sheer brilliance of the Miata basic formula.

Not to mention, the Fiat 124 Spider was more expensive. In 2017, the 124 Spider's base price was just over $25,000. The Miata, in the same year, cost just under $24,000. Perhaps it's to be expected, the Italian car being more money than the Japanese one, but, like we said before, it wasn't as well-sorted as the Miata. Not many people were willing to pony up an extra $1,000 for a car that wasn't as good as a Miata. We've driven both, and we know where our money would go.

However, it isn't fair to say the Fiat 124 Spider was inherently bad, because it wasn't. After all, it shared basically the same underpinnings as the Miata, one of the most celebrated sports cars to ever grip an apex. It was just the fact that it was slightly less good than the Miata, which already set a high bar. Not to mention, Americans don't typically buy Italian, except when it comes to food.

When it was new, the Fiat 124 wasn't an underrated car. Fiat failed to build a car as good or better than the Miata, but a few years down the line, it's tough not to look at those used prices and judge the car again. A used 124 is now $5,000 cheaper than a Miata of the same year. The Miata also has huge aftermarket support, and the Fiat has access to almost all of it. It received a fair assessment when it was new, but those low prices have us pondering which option we'd go with now.