CLEMENTE EUROPEAN MOTORS'   FIAT 124 COUPE   B-SEDAN CHAMPION

"One to kill 'em all"... Without a doubt, the one car most readily associated with our racing history and success was our B-Sedan 124 Coupe. There was nothing really special about this car on paper and it certainly didn't look the part but it was freakishly fast and a winner from day one. Throughout it's career it notched up four consecutive Regional B-Sedan Championships,  including CASC and ICSCC. On points alone, it would have clinched an SCCA National title but the trip to Road Atlanta was just a bit too far at the time. It held numerous lap records at Westwood and also competed in the original Trans-Am 2.5 Challenge with appearances at Portland and Riverside. Significantly, the success of this car was the fruit of a wonderful collaboration. My father Frank and older brother Gio did much of the preparation work but it was in the hands of our driver Norm Matovich that this simple little Coupe conquered all. Fittingly, this history has been dedicated to his memory.

Building a 124 Coupe was a natural and logical progession after the Applebox. It was a new car and better in every way. It also had numerous technical advantages over many of its contemporary competitors. I'm going to start here with my traditional dig on Datsuns; this car was better than its class rival the Datsun 510 in every possible way. As for the other types in its class, well, with a twin overhead cam motor, five speed tranny, four wheel servo assisted disc brakes, wishbone front and multi link rear suspension all standard equipment, the car was well ahead of its time and most of its rivals. In fairness, a good street car does not automatically make a good racecar but at least this one provided an excellent platform.

This particular platform received all the requisite upgrades necessary to render it race ready but it was not a big budget operation. Although my father was a former Fiat dealer his racing cars were funded entirely out of his own pocket and his means were truly modest. Fiat never put a cent into this car much less any other grassroots competitor which is a shame. In truth, prior to building this car my father had a parting of ways with the Fiat and tore up his contract because of the company's narrow minded internal politics. That's another story altogether but ironically the on-track success of this one car helped him sell more Fiat cars, parts and service than he did during all his time as a dealer. It was the early 70s and it was arguably a time when sedan racing was at the height of its popularity in North America. Success on the track was often closely tied with sales on the street. And so you saw your Coopers and BMWs and Datsuns and Alfa Romeos... and Fiats.

In the first phase of the Coupe's development the car featured a 1438 with basic bolt on equipment and the modifications all compliant to B-Sedan specs. On its first outing the car won outright, a real testament to how good a car the 124 Coupe could be.

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