Italian (non-USA import) Pininfarina model?

[wikkid]

I'm looking at Spiders for sale, and one is an '84 that was brought back to the states by a US military serviceman after being stationed in Italy. Are there any differences (pluses or minuses) to a "non-export" Pininfarina, or would they be the same?

[red107]

Are you sure it was a Not a US spec vehicle? I ask this because there were many issues when buying non US spec vehicle for import to the USA. My spider was purchased by my parents while we were overseas. There is a guy on this forum Stefan who is Germany that can most likely answer your questions. I know some earlier cars had different tail lights and the front side markers were round instead of square. Speedometer would be in KM instead of MPH. My spider was purchase in December of 80 and we brought it to the states in Nov of 86. Send Stefan a PM im sure he can answer most of your questions.

[wikkid]

Good call on the km/hr speedo! Come to think of it, I'll bet he could have bought a made-for-USA car and taken delivery in Italy, especially being in the armed services.
Thanks.

[red107]

That sounds about right. We owned 3 fiats while in Germany. Our spider was purchased as a US spec vehicle from a fiat dealer in Ramstein village.We had two 131's that were euro spec. Also Stefan screen name is stefhahn

[Europa]

Look at the upper console below the air conditioning vents; if the plaque says Spidereuropa, then it's a European spec model. If it says Spider Azzura, then it is a US spec model. (to the best of my knowledge).

In addition, as Red mentioned, the speedometer will be in KM/h, oil pressure in bar and the temperature gauge in centigrade.

[wikkid]

.... and I believe the European cars had an espresso machine where the radio fits

Thanks, guys!

[Darsella1]

All of them are imported of course, and all '84 USA imported cars were USA spec cars with California emissions- even military ordered cars as it was very common. They would order it in Italy on base through a sales office, drive it while stationed there and then easily bring it back with them. It was required to be the USA spec in order to import as they were not emissions exempt yet (my USA car also had to have the emissions added/inspected before import as it was imported later in '89). I spoke to the original owner who imported my car about the whole process.

Anyway, the USA cars were called "Azzurra" in '84 with Europe cars called "Spidereuropas". It will have a regular speedo with just a regular "pininfarina" badge in the center console. The Europe spec cars had a small round side marker light in the front fender vs. square, a KM speedo and the badge said "Spidereuropa" in the center console. They didn't have a catalytic converter or the Fiat Cali emission sticker on the window (if original glass). Most Spidereuropas here today came through Canada.

[freddie]

I have a 1984 Pininfarina Spider that came from California. It has the European style indicators on the front guards as opposed to the USA style square ones. Also, no square rear side indicators on the guards.

My speedo is in both MPH and Km/H. I have been looking for one in just Km/H but have never seen one.

My dash has the normal Pininfarina Badge. My temp. gauge is in Farenheit. I have never seen one in Celcius. Are they available for the Pininfarina Spiders ?.

My rear trunk has the round "sails" badge. However, I thought this was to commenorate the America's Cup and not a difference between Europe and USA spec cars. Is this correct ?.

I have not observed any other differences. Are there any others that I am not aware of ?.

Also, I have the Cromodora CD39 wheels which I believe were with the vehicle when imported. I don't know if this was a European spec but I have never seen another spider fitted with these wheels.

[kmead]

My rear trunk has the round "sails" badge. However, I thought this was to commenorate the America's Cup and not a difference between Europe and USA spec cars. Is this correct ?.

This is the logo IAI chose for the Pininfarina Spiders for the US markets. It has nothing to do with America's Cup to the best of my knowledge.

[freddie]

Karl, thanks for the info. Excuse my ignorance but who is IAI. Maybe the sails logo coincided with the America's Cup.

Given that mebe that is the situation, then was there a distinction in logos used for the Europa spec cars and the America spec cars.

[freddie]

Europa, I have never seen a Spider Azzura logo in th elocation in the centre console. Were these actually fitted to Euro style USA cars ?.

Mine is an 84 and it has the Pininfarina logo in the cerntre console. I'd love to get a Spider Azzuar logo if its available.

[adrians]

I thought the Azzura logo was linked to the America’s Cup, as that was the year the Italian vessel " Azzura : challenged the USA for the Cup

Found the reference !

"Why Azzurra ?" - The word means blue in Italian (Azure), and was the name given to the Italian ‘blue’ yacht entered in the 1983 America's Cup competition.
The nautical theme was considered appropriate since Pininfarina had a long involvement in boat design.

( Brookland - Road Test Book )

[Darsella1]

The "Azzurra" was the name of the Italian 12 meter yacht entry into the America's cup in 1983. Meaning the boat was also called the Azzurra and yes, also means blue (ref: Road & Track: On Fiat sport cars 1968-1987). Most of the '83 cars just have the "F" badge in the front and back. The '84 cars on up had the sailboat badge.

All USA Azzurra's and some Spidereuropas and some of the 85-85.5's had the plain "pininfarina" badges in the center console (same badge as the sides). Most spidereuropas had the "spidereuropa" aluminum badge in the center console (it's not a logo, it just says spidereuropa). The name Azzurra was dropped after '84 and the car was just called a Pininfarina Spider for 85 cars (ref: Road & Track: On Fiat sport cars 1968-1987).

They have them for sale on Ebay (Spidereuropa):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fiat-124 ... ccessories

Spiderpininfarina ('85 cars):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fiat-Pin ... ccessories


I've only seen the spidereuropa speedo in KM miles, otherwise I'm not sure it would be europe spec legal? I don't know how it could be both?

Never seen the temp in celcius. The only changes I have seen were the speedo between the Pinin models.

I have only seen the '84 (& regular '85) cars (both euro & USA) with the turbo chromodora wheels. Never seen the CD39's come with any pininfarina (I think were the same or similar to the one's the put on the Dino, I'm not sure). The owners manuals & all publications/brochures also only show the turbo wheels as well. Perhaps the original owner did a few changes?

I googled and found a good detailed set of pictures: http://www.allsportauto.com/english/pin ... europe.php

However, it's not an '82.

[freddie]

Well Drasella, you are a wealth of background information.
The colour Blue is "Azzurro" in Italian. So i presume "Azzurra" (double z & double r) (often mispelt) was derived from this to differeniate it from the" Europa" in keeping with the America's cup theme. It would appear that there was never a "Spiderazzurra" badge made to compliment the "Spidereuropa", but I stand to be corrected . The whole things a bit confusing but not suprising.

I have an 84 Pininfarina Spider from California and it has a spedo in both Km/H and MPH. The MPH is the dominant reading with Km/H in yellow and much smaller. Very difficult to read at night especially since the dial lighting is poor.

The Cromodora wheels (not Chromodora as often posted on websites) are those fitted to the 124 Coupe CC series and similar on the Ferrari Dino. I have the 13 x 6J. They were probably not spec wheels for that model of manufacture but I like them a lot for the classic style. I wouldn' change them for the spec Turbo wheels.

Yes, in Europe the temp gauge is in Celcius and the Oil gauge in Bar.

I was'nt aware of a "Pininfarinaspider " badge. Good to know

Thanks for the helpful links. It all helps to clarify the uncertainty.

[Darsella1]

Please excuse the spelling error in Cromodora (I own two sets), I'm at work and often don't pay attention. I also personally like those style better than the turbo wheels. And to correct, the Europe spec cars are in Celsius (again, foggy brain).

It would be great if you were to post pictures . Does your speedo look like the one in the web site link pictures? I have found that they were not 100% consistent with exact features & good information. So it would be interesting to document your car. I currently just keep track of the '85 vin numbers & details, but I have not yet branched out or had the time to do any of the other years.

Spidereuropa speedo:



If it has yellow MPH and then KM on the inside in yellow (like this speedo only this 120 mph is from an 85.5 car, it just happens to be the only close up one I have on hand) then it's a USA speedo and not a Europa speedo.



Also, another clue would be the emissions. In order to import a Europa to the USA (especially California) it would HAVE to have the emissions added by the buyer as they were not exempt (that's why most were Europas were imported to canada only). If it has the original windshield look for a red/white California emissions sticker. For example, even though I have a USA spec car (w/emissions sticker), because it was purchased by a private buyer and not a dealer and & imported later, they had to add the emissions later on from a mechanic in Italy.

My guess is that you have an Azzurra and not a Europa.