What are these things on my parcel shelf? '83 pinin

[feelinraudi]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to these cars. My 83 spider has some sort of plastic rails where the back seat would often be. The parcel shelf area. It's not clear to me if these were made with some specific purpose in mind, or if they are strictly decorative or what. Thanks in advance!

[tima01864]

So you can get your fingers under the parcel to lift it out.

[Lckitty]

Seems they (Pininfarina) gave up on the seats and used a shelf when they took over for Fiat at the end of the product line run.

Just a place to throw a bag.

A cargo net helps to contain groceries.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_124_Sport_Spider

"THE PININFARINA SPIDER AZZURA
The Spider 2000 was available until 1982, at which point Fiat ended production of the sporty and beautiful convertible. At that point, Pininfarina took over production – remember them? They were the company that helped design the original Fiat 124 Sport Spider, and they didn’t want to see their hard work simply disappear. And so, starting in 1983, they released their own version of the Spider in the US and Europe.

Here in America, it was called the Pininfarina Spider Azzura, while the European model was dubbed the Pininfarina Spidereuropa."

http://www.pininfarinaazzurra.com/
"Another Azzurra interior shot. Notice no more back seats, instead a carpeted shelf. Note the 3 chromed luggage bumpers on the shelf, an original detail. The Pininfarina Azzurra was an upscale car, at $17K ( $20K by 1985)"

[mikewof]

I believe that even when Fiat had that little back seat back there in the 1970s models, that the car was still officially a 2-seater, likely something to do with import duties. The back "seat" was supposedly a luggage carrier all along anyway. Though back in the 1980s, there was usually someone small enough to fit back there, my sister used to sit back there when I gave her and my friend a lift to school.

[TX82FIAT]

I think the plastic slats were to go along with the overall design of the car. Many cars of that period had strips placed above carpet where storage items/luggage would sit. On my 82. I took the rear seat out and made a storage compartment under the shelf and used aluminum flooring pieces to keep the weight off the cushioned vinyl shelf to preserve the vinyl and add a look to be somewhat similar to the 83-85. You may need to paste the link below in your browser to see the shelf.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2MrYAJZtievC5NWc6