Rallye Racing Forum

Pedro Oliveira · Anmeldedatum: 27.05.2005 Beiträge: 67

So, I decided to create a new topic just for reviews. Like this it will be better in terms of organization.

Finally I got the time and patience to finish the review I talked about in some of the last posts. So the car is: Fiat 131 Abarth – Winner Monte Carlo 1980 – Walter Rohrl. The models in question are the versions from Ixo and Troféu – the manufacturers that produce this car. Solido also makes the 131 Abarth but we can’t compare because it’s quite weak.
Starting with the exterior:
The first thing we can notice is the fact that the models have different proportions. The Ixo is wider. The front lights are very different in both models. In the Troféu the lights are “inside” the front grid. On the Ixo they almost come out. The Troféu is much better if we compare it with the real car (see pics). The front lights of the Ixo make it look very cheap – almost like a toy.
The rear lights are also very different. On the Troféu the rear lights are much bigger than in the Ixo. The rear identification plate is also very different. On the Troféu it’s only one line and on the Ixo it’s divided in two lines. The exaust system is similar in both models – both have double pipes. In this detail the Ixo looks better. The tyres are much wider on the Ixo. The wheels have completely different design. On the Troféu we only have one rear view mirror and on the Ixo there are two. The Troféu it’s more accurate in this case because the real car only had one rear view mirror. The windshield wipers are much thinner on the Troféu and more realistic. In my opinion this is one of the strong points of all the Troféu models. They always gor this wright when compared with some other manufacturers. Another similar situation, is the antenna. In the Troféu it’s thinner and looks better (another detail that Troféu does very well). Still the Ixo is also good. They recently improved this detail on their models. The first Ixos had very thick antennas which looked very bad. Not the case here.
Another physical difference we can notice is on the front of the car. Those lights used to change direction on the road (don’t remember the correct expression in English) are decals in both models. Still, in the Ixo under the decal, the light is defined.
The rest of the differences are mainly decals. The Troféu has some decals that the Ixo doesn’t. Examples: “G41” on the windscreen; “90” on the rear window; a round decal next to the nº 10 on the doors; next to the door on the side window, there’s another small rectangular decal; on the front of the car there’s the inscription “Abarth”; the decacls, mainly in the doors are bigger. And I could enumerate some more differences but you will be able to see them all on the pics.
The interiors are better on the Ixo. These have more detail. Still the seat belts are much better on the Troféu. In the Ixo is (as usual) just a decal on the seats. Ixo really needs to solve this problem. Troféu models have always had seat belts like they should be – they go from the seats to the rear roll-bars.
Here go the pics (Ixo - left, Troféu - right).

_________________

Pedro Oliveira · Anmeldedatum: 27.05.2005 Beiträge: 67

Pedro Oliveira · Anmeldedatum: 27.05.2005 Beiträge: 67

And some pics of the real car:

This last one is from the 1981 Monte Carlo - just to see taht the Troféu configuration of the rear lights existed.

Conclusion: for me the better model is the Troféu. The front lights look a lot better on the Troféu and even the proportions look better. The biggest question in these two models is really the rear lights which are completely different. I don’t have pics of the real from seen from behind. Still one of the pics you will see from the 1981 Monte Carlo are like the Troféu which demonstrates that it it existed. Despite not having pics of the rear car I believe the Troféu is the correct one. It’s a question of logics. I have also the 1980 Portuguese rallye winner from Troféu. This model has the rear lights with similar design as the Ixo. So I have to conclude that if Troféu changed the “normal” aspect of the rear lights it’s because they are sure it’s the correct configuration. Still, this is just logic. It doesn’t mean it’s the truth.
The original review in Portuguese is even more complete but I think this is enough so the rest of you have an idea.
Comments are very welcome.
Best regards:

Pedro Oliveira

Kamikaze · Anmeldedatum: 13.12.2002 Beiträge: 2053

My older Models of the 131 (1977 & 1978) from Trofeu also have the small Rearlights.
So i think fiat changed the Lamps on the roadcar during 1980 (Facelift ?), and so they do it on the Rallye-Cars too.

Andre · Anmeldedatum: 19.09.2002 Beiträge: 2335

Hello Pedro,

thank you for the very good comparison. I think we should extend this kind of topic

I also have the Trofeu Fiat 131 with the wider rear lights. But i do also have some other 131 (Trofeu) from the Monte and the Portugal Rallye and they have the smaller versions. So maybe they changed them during the 1980ies.

When the IXO arrived (i think last year) i planed to buy it either.
But after i saw it i do not liked it anymore. The details are much better of the Trofeu.

Pedro Oliveira · Anmeldedatum: 27.05.2005 Beiträge: 67

Hi:

I agree. We should extend this kind of topic. Still, it would be good if more of the guys who come to this forum participated in the english discussions. Surely there are more guys out there who can wright in english. Even if the english isn't perfect. My english isn't perfect but I think you guys understand what I wright.
Best regards:

Pedro Oliveira
_________________

Kamikaze · Anmeldedatum: 13.12.2002 Beiträge: 2053

I agree, i few more guys to discuss would be very nice.

Pedro, don´t you know any Rallymodel-Collectors from other Forums ?