Drive and RestoreThe Lampredi twin cam: Fiat's engine that won ten world rally titles
For more than thirty years, one engine family powered everything from Fiat family saloons to world-championship rally cars: the Fiat twin cam, better known by the name of its designer, Aurelio Lampredi. Here is the story, the versions, and what to know if you own one.
Aurelio Lampredi
Lampredi had worked for Piaggio, Isotta Fraschini and Reggiane before joining Ferrari in the 1940s, where he designed Formula 1 V12s, Formula 2 four-cylinders and sports-car engines. After leaving Ferrari in the mid-1950s he moved to Fiat, where he went on to lead engine production, and from 1973 to 1982 he also ran Abarth’s racing department.
1966: a twin cam for the masses
The twin cam debuted at the end of 1966 in the Fiat 124 Sport Coupé and Spider, based on the bottom end of the 124’s pushrod engine. Two things made it stand out:
- Toothed rubber belts drove the two overhead camshafts. Fiat was an early adopter of belt drive for camshafts, together with aluminium cylinder heads.
- Easy valve adjustment. The shims sit on top of the tappets, so valve clearances can be adjusted without removing the camshafts, unlike Alfa Romeo’s twin cams of the time.
The original 1,438 cc version made 96 hp, impressive for its size in 1966.
The versions
Over its life the twin cam grew and shrank many times:
- 1,438 cc: the original
- 1,608 cc, later 1,592 cc (from 1973) and 1,585 cc
- 1,297/1,301 cc and 1,367 cc smaller versions
- 1,756 cc
- 1,995 cc: the largest road version
- 2,111 cc: for the Lancia 037 Evo II rally car
There were carburettor and injection versions, supercharged (Volumex) and turbocharged versions, and diesels. The CHT version, developed with Yamaha, featured variable intake ducts and appeared in the first-generation Fiat Croma.
Where you find it
- Fiat: 124 (Sport Coupé, Spider), 125, 131 (including the Abarth), 132 and Argenta, Croma
- Lancia: Beta and Beta Montecarlo, Delta, Dedra, Thema, and the Rally 037
- Licensed and related versions also appeared in SEAT, FSO and Morgan cars.
A rally legend
The Lampredi engine has an extraordinary competition record. The Fiat 131 Abarth won the World Rally Championship for manufacturers in 1977, 1978 and 1980. The supercharged Lancia 037 took the title in 1983, and the Lancia Delta won six consecutive manufacturers’ titles from 1987 to 1992. Fiat and Lancia won ten manufacturers’ titles in total with Lampredi-based engines.
Production ended in 2000, when the engine was replaced by Fiat’s modular Pratola Serra family. Lampredi himself died in 1989; his engine outlived him by more than a decade.
Owning one: what to look after
- Timing belt and tensioner. Belt-driven camshafts mean the belt and tensioner are service items. Replace them on time and with quality parts, and if you don’t know when it was last done, do it now.
- Valve clearances. Thanks to the shim-over-tappet design, checking and adjusting them is straightforward, so there is no excuse to skip it.
- Cooling. Like any older engine, it doesn’t like overheating. Keep the cooling system in good order and use the correct coolant.
- Carburettors. Twin-choke carburettors on the classic versions respond well to correct setup and synchronisation; many running problems are mixture or ignition, not mechanical.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Fiat Twin Cam engine
- Italicar: the Lampredi twin cam