Fiat Twin Cam engine

Fiat Twin Cam engine
Manufacturer Fiat/Lancia
Production 1959–2000

Designed by Aurelio Lampredi the Fiat Twin Cam (also known as the Lampredi Twin) was an advanced inline-4 automobile engine produced from 1959 through 1994 as a Fiat/Lancia engine until it was replaced by the "family B" series of engines. These B-series engines were designed as turbodiesel units, petrol units and specific Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine (replacing the original Alfa Romeo Twin-Cam in all front-wheel drive Alfa Romeos).[1] As the name implies, it was a DOHC design, which was quite unusual in the late 1950s. The engine was produced in a large number of displacements, ranging from 1297 cc to 2111 cc and was used in Fiat, Lancia, Morgan and Alfa Romeo automobiles. Fiat was the pioneer in engine development during the time period, using a monoblock technology, belt driven camshafts and aluminium alloy heads. Easy to maintain and robust, all versions of this engine were based on the same core. This meant that boring the cylinders of the block, it could be easily upgraded to a larger size. Highly versatile, a version of 1.6 liters producing 110 hp (82 kW), can be tuned to output over 200. Both turbocharged and supercharged versions were also offered.

Contents

Applications

Displacements

Displacement
(cc)
Bore
(mm)
Stroke
(mm)
1297 76 71.5 Lancia Beta, Fiat 131 Supermirafiori
1301 76.1 71.5 Lancia Beta
1367 78 71.5 Lancia Beta, Fiat 131 Supermirafiori
1438 80 72 Fiat 124 Special T/Coupe/Spider
1585 84 71.5 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori/Argenta/Ritmo 105TC; Lancia Beta/Delta GT/Delta HF
1592 80 79.2 Fiat 124 Special T/Coupe, Fiat 132; Lancia Beta
1608 80 80 Fiat 124 Coupe/Spider, Fiat 125
1756 84 79.2 Fiat 124 Coupe/Spider/132/Tipo/Tempra; Lancia Beta/Delta/Prisma
1995 84 90 Fiat Spider 2000/132/Argenta/Strada/Ritmo/Regata/Croma/Tipo/Tempra; Lancia Beta/Delta/Thema

Motorsport

The Fiat Twin Cam engine has been widely used in motorsport and has been the most successful engine in the history of the World Rally Championship. The World Rally Championship for Manufacturers has been won by Fiat and Lancia, using engines based on the Lampredi Twin Cam engine, for a total of 10 years.

Constructor Car used in Championship Titles Seasons
Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth 3 1977–1978, 1980
Lancia Lancia 037 1 1983
Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD and Delta Integrale 6 1987–1992

Footnotes

  1. ^ Excluding the Alfasud (and derived) cars which used an original flat-four Alfa Romeo "boxer" engine