April 26, 2010
 SCX FIAT 850 Abarth Review By Shawn Smith  From 1964 to 1973 Fiat produced a small rear engine, rear wheel drive car known as the 850. The 850, created by taking the production cars engine displacement of 843cc’s and rounding it up, was a modest little car boasting about 35 horsepower capable of propelling the 850 to a top speed of just under 80 miles per hour. While seemingly not a force to be reckoned with on the race track I can’t help but to image that driving one of these at near top speed was a great thrill, if not a bit nerve wracking!  From a slot car perspective it certainly makes for a rather unique prototype subject. The small size alone made me raise an eyebrow as I sat it on the track and I got a good laugh when placing it next to other 1/32 scale cars. Small size aside the SCX FIAT 850 is a rather handsome recreation and while not lavishly outfitted with a ton of detail it still makes for one great looking little racer. Here you can see how the car is modeled without the heavy steel bumpers which no doubt freed up a bunch of unneeded weight. A nice chrome trimmed badge and chrome trimmed headlight bezels highlight the nose of the FIAT while the hood (below) gets some small chrome wiper arms and pained hood pin detailing.   Side details are also few, notice the lacking side view mirrors leaving only painted door handles and some rather tiny side marker lights on the front fenders being the only other details to speak of.  Inside the cabin our driver wears his open-face helmet and green and red striped racing suit. Both hands gripping the wheel tightly for no doubt is going to be a handful of a ride.  Out back notice the missing bumper yet again. You’ll also notice the detailed plate, engine over pins and chrome trimmed taillight rings.  Moving downward towards the track level the FIAT comes fitted with nicely replicated 4-bolt steel wheels and the tires are free from any side wall detailing and carry a familiar grooved tread pattern found on numerous other SCX small car and rally type racers.  Of course lights work both front (above) and rear (below) and the headlights, while perhaps not prototypical in their bluish cast, look great coming both from the main laps as well as the smaller rectangular driving lights under each headlamp.   And did I mention how small this FIAT is? Here is where it almost gets comical, sitting almost defiantly next to the much lower and wider stance of its SCX cousin the Trans Am Plymouth, I can’t help but smile and think it’s a good thing the FIAT doesn’t have side view mirrors or the sight of the mean looking Trans Am car might be enough to make you steer the FIAT right off the race track and park it.  It is so small that it almost appears 1/43 scale next to the large American iron it’s parked next to. Sure it sits taller but its almost half as wide and roughly 2/3 the length of the Plymouth and weighing in at a slight 62 grams the FIAT 850 is a featherweight in the clot car boxing ring.  And did I say 1/43 scale? Well… while it’s not meant to be you can sure see how easy it is to compare it to one. Here is an SCX 1/43 Tuner and the wheelbase and track isn’t all that much larger. No doubt some 1/43 modelers may want to take a look at this FIAT chassis as a possible kit bashing option.  The SCX FIAT’s motor is the RX-44, an interesting little motor not yet on the Slot Car News Motor List motor list and according to the SCX Worldwide Forum is something that has been used in such cars as the SCX Digital F1 offerings.  This of course is the rear axle assembly; note the brass bushings and shallow pinion turning the grey crown on a grooved axle.  Up front it doesn’t get much simpler; here the axle just snaps in to the chassis just in front of the guide pocket. The guide benefits from a self centering mechanism, as well as has a spring action thanks to the electric tab system used and features the standard SCX doubled braid set up.  From the bottom the motor is very much open and the chassis features the easily removable screw-in bar style magnet which for such a small car really provides for a lot of down force. Also notice the name of SEAT 850 on the chassis. Based on information I found on the web a SEAT version of the car was produced from 1966 through 1974 and when European dealers stopped selling the FIAT in 1972 the SEAT version was sold at FIAT dealers for a couple more years. The fact that the chassis carries a different name certainly lends itself to us seeing other variations of this little gem.  Oh and I talked about the down force from the magnet? Well check this out! Not only is this tiny car equipped with a rather strong magnet the chassis sits very low to the track adding even more traction from the magnet. The effect is very much a full trigger pull on my plastic test track, only needing to blip the throttle for the tightest of turns.  In no magnet trim… well as you might expect the handling is something entirely different. The cars small size, short wheel base and narrow track, added to a rather tall profile means getting too confident with the trigger finds the little FIAT flat on its side doors. That’s not to say you can’t slide the FIAT, as you can, but it doesn’t take too much to turn a slide in to a flat out tumble down the track. It’s actually quite entertaining!  Power supply turned off, controller hanging back on its holder and this review just felt different for me. I know the cars size has a lot to do with that, even if it ended up being a fun little car to throw around the track. If you’re a fan of small displacement, small size and perhaps a more unique option for racing there should be no arguing that this SCX FIAT 850 should fit the bill nicely! It’s a great looking little car, magnet fans will love it and non-magnet fans will have their fun trying to tame the little beast! No matter how you look at it the fun is there to be had! As always HomeRacingWorld.com would like to thank SCX Worldwide for sponsoring this review. If you have any questions feel free to contact me via my email link below. Shawn Smith - SJSlots shawn@homeracingworld.com Thanks Go To SCX For Sponsoring This Review!
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