[sidindica]

THE RED RACEHORSE

Moments.
When you press that cute button of the mystical remote with your index finger.
Moments.
When the door of the carved out of metal in the shiny gleamy paint unlocks.
Moments.
When the sound of the unlocking inspires you to open her.
Moments.
When you pull her sculpted handle out.



Moments.
When you open the heavy iron metal to get a glimpse inside.
Moments.
When you get inside, and begin to admire the inner beauty.



Moments.
When you start observing the geometry of mathemagic calculations that culminate in different shapes and sizes.
Moments.
When you realise the symmetry of a circle.
Moments.
When you insert the key to happiness.
Moments.
When you turn on the ignition and see a myriad of charming colourful creativeness in the creative instruments.
Moments.
When you are swept away with the whoosh of the needle swipe.
Moments.
When you crank the ignition and hear her start.



Moments.
When her heart comes to life.
Those moments.
You begin to realise the fun that begins when you rev her.
The moments.
When you realise that the heart beats faster.
The moments.
You begin to realise by pressing the clutch with your sexy left leg.



The moments.
You tend to realise by inserting the gear and hearing the tandem movement of the shift synchronizers.
Those moments.
You enjoy when you push the throttle with your heavy right foot.



Those moments.
You enjoy when she accelerates fast, like a fire placed in her buttock.



Those moments.
You begin to enjoy when you listen to the musical tunes of that exhaust note.
Sigh.
Moments.
When you enjoy driving her, take a deep breath, and then you begin to access that reflection comes in all shapes and sizes.
Moments.
When you dig deep into understanding the creativity and design, we begin to realise how creative a human mind is.
Moments.
You begin to think sketching all possible lines, curves and angles to culminate in one final artistic design.



Moments.
Those lights guide the pathways for you in a dark, mystical night and light the way ahead for you to see the road ahead.
Moments.
When you begin to realise "every creation has a reason".



Presenting, the story, of the red racehorse, the story of 2006 Fiat Palio 1.6 16V.
Because, every moment, every season, is enjoyed for a reason.
The red racehorse.
Give in to those moments, again.

[sidindica]

Moments. When roads metamorphasize into runways.



Ever thought getting behind the wheel, to start daydreaming of your dream job perhaps next to a beautiful long winding road by your side?
Ever thought of hugging around the corners, the moment how interesting it sounds?
With an all singing, all dancing big displacement Brazilian Torque engine, the independent McPherson strut suspension and torsion bar rear with telescopic dampers, rear progressive springs, front and rear anti roll bar, superior old school hydraulic power steering, the dream has just turned into reality.
Moments, when we begin to realise the charm of the bygone era.
The charm of the 178 "world car" chassis.
The charm when beautiful driving dynamics takes precedence over ride comfort.
The charm when you realise the admiration you earn from the pit girls at the corner lounge near the chequered flag.
The charm you realise when you feel like a champion conquering the pathways to summit.
With the 1.6, its all possible. With the suspension that handles well as it rides.
Cars like these are not bought to enjoy the jiggly low speed ride. The suspension is stiff and clearly aided towards handling. Below 60, the underlying firmness is clearly felt. Fiat engineers post 2004, for both the 1.2 and 1.6, stiffened the rear springs and that did take a toll on ride comfort. Not a deal breaker, because, for all the firm ride, you get upsized handling. Passengers do not get tossed around with the likes, but bumps and potholes are felt. The moment speeds climb, ride improves, and all the bad roads are ironed out with the famous "Fiat precision". Never as perfect as a corsa sail, though.



Once you enjoy the sheer acceleration of the powerhouse, one can't deny but fall in love with the steering. Its well caliberated, pretty heavy, and precise and pin sharp for a hatchback, though not ikon sharp. Curves, ghats, tracks. She loves them. Perfect looking figure just became more hotter with her belly dancing ballet show. Show her the direction, and she corners with aplomb. Torque steer is balanced, and unlike my Punto, the tail doesn't lose composure under heavy cornering. The wider 185/65 R14 tyres go a long way in improving the high speed dynamics. We never realised this, at a time when this car was launched, a brutal weapon for cheap thrills in precise cornering. Just wish the wheel gap at rear could have been a bit less.

Moments, when you wanna take a break. For cars and coffee. And fashionista. And admiration.



We often criticised the Palio for having spongy brakes and lack of initial pedal bite. It has no ABS, its having discs at front and drums at rear with brake force distribution through a pressure valve. People who drove my car actually complemented with the car having wonderful brakes. Which it actually has been. Now, did Fiat make any changes?
I don't know.
I installed new brake pads just last week (FCA packed TVS Girling) and braking has improved much further. The wheels tend to lock and one has to understand the brake design and engineering prowess of this vehicle to extract the best out of the old school stock brakes.
Repeated braking does cause brake fade and a foul smell from the pads is prominent. The pads are known to last for 45-50,000 kms but my car since just being north of 22,000 kms, its too early to comment.
Yes. With great power, comes great responsibility. When roads seem like runways, the responsibility is even bigger.

[sidindica]

Its a large hearted flying machine.



There is no replacement for displacement.
The moment when you realise you have a big powerplant under the hood, sparks are bound to fly to ignite explosive conversations.
1596 cc, engineered in Brazil, way back in 2000, with a bhp of 100 at 5500 rpm and a torque of 137 nm at 4500 rpm, aided by a 32 bit microprocessor, with two intake and two exhaust valves and twin overhead camshafts driven by a toothed belt, this engine is no slouch.
A reputed media publication timed this car in 11.19 seconds, and for 11 long years, the Palio 1.6 was India's fastest hatch to 100 till the GT TSI became the new king of throne.
Turbocharging, direct injection, downsizing. This is synonymous with today's era. Back in the early 2000s, we had those achche din when taxation never ruled the roost, bean counters never ruled over engineering and quality ruled over quantity.



The big engine even today, is immensely stress free to drive in city, with almost diesel like torque. The first gear is short, second gear tops at 90, is tall, third gear is again in the middle and both 4th and 5th cogs have overdrive. In city driving, its easy to potter at 1200-1400 rpm at 40-50 kmph on 4th gear. The flat torque curve and generous torque spread also makes driving in dense traffic easy. While the over-a-tonne kerb weight of the car does make it cumbersome from today's standards, that feeling of a sense of security is always felt and the thick "A" Pillar only reinforces that fact.
The open long straight road is where the game begins. Feed her a dose of high quality fully synthetic oil (in my case, motul 8100 X-Cess 5W40), with speed 91 octane petrol, and the car begins to fly. The exhaust note is raspy and acceleration is quick. I had swapped my car's ECU with that of a Bharat Stage 2 GTX and the result has been remarkable. Under controlled environment, we did many rudimentry 0-100 runs with stopwatch and speedo and around 11s is easily doable. That said, the engine is still a virgin and once it clocks more miles, will behave more openly. The car's top whack is claimed at 185 kmph, which again is doable provided the right roads are there to do it. While the low end and mid range is where the engine shines best, the BS-3 version does have some struggle towards the top end. After 130, the motor makes a slow progress and part of that is also attributed to the modified exhaust system and a bigger catcon which does rob of some top end grunt. The 4-2-1 header design does support aftermarket mods but in Delhi, quality aftermarket headers with decat is not everyone's cup of tea to undertake and deliver. One can live with it, as always, but wishes for that extra horses is always tempting.

The 5 speed manual gearbox is a delight. Though compared to Japanese boxes, shift action is a bit clunky, its always a joy to use and the much hyped "double bowden" cables help in defining precise gates.

While all that is rewarding, it does come at a cost of being images as a gas guzzler. On highway with AC on, and being driven with heavy foot, I get 12-13 kpl max. Without AC, add a kpl max gain. On a stretch back on my drive to Punjab once, I churned out close to 15 odd kpl with the engine cruising at 90-100 kmph at 3000 rpm on 5th gear.
In city, figures remain in single digits, hovering around 8-9 kpl with AC on. Aggressive driving once even gave me 5 kpl.
One talking point about this engine is its unconventional placement of intake manifold (at front) and exhaust manifold (at rear) whilst most engines have them at opposite. This cast iron block, alloy head motor is having self adjusting hydraulic tappets which does away the need to check valve clearance and if taken care of, is very reliable and abuse friendly.

The redline is marked at 5700 rpm where its best to upshift. The engine revs to 7100 rpm with ease, but above 5700, power tapers off and thats the sweet spot to keep and upshift.

[sidindica]

Moments. From behind the wheel of a 90s flight deck.



Ever sat back, on those wide front chairs upholstered in chequered flag theme, and felt what a driver oriented cockpit of the 90s looks like?
Ever wondered what rounded hooded simplicity of 3 circular Veglia Borletti dials feels like?



The carved out of hard plastic, solid as a rock, built to last, asymmetrical dashboard, the huge silver finished AC panel, the ancient cassette stereo, the solid straight door handles, the unashamedly brash huge size thick meaty steering, with red stitching, the tyre tread themed Fiat floor mats, the wide rear bench, 3 sets of ashtrays, a cigar lighter, height adjustable seat belts, eye catching level placement of radio, tilted toward the driver dash panel, all culminate together to describe your best moment of mathemagical equation.
In fact, your first few seconds of encounter with this unconvectional myraid of mathematics is enough to grab everyone's attention.



The rectangle, unashamedly straight and huge block AC Vent design. Two slider switches of airconditioning harking back to 80s.
The circle. 3 hooded Veglia Borletti Dials. The straight-from-sketch-to-production AC vent switches. Its a drawing, its an art.
The square. Switches around, across, including that of the radio.
The Oval. The shape of radio, its display. The speaker grille on both front doors.
The arc. The cover of the speedo dials. The power window switches on the door.
The trapezium. The glovebox and the odd looking joint over it.
The rhombus. The whole dash outlining inspired by it.
The triangle. The mirror control panels.



This, and more. For your eyes only. The whole night its illuminated in a beautiful shade of green, just like an old aircraft, much to the aid of being environment friendly.



Its one unimaginatively designed dashboard which has so much logic behind it. Sit inside on those wide front chairs, and start admiring how sound the ergonomics existed in the 90s. The brilliant view from the low set windshield, the logical placement of the huge steering wheel, the oh-so-straightforward placement of stereo, the switches, its a brilliant driver aligned cockpit.
The co driver side too has 3 shelves.





One, atop, just to place a tissue box to wipe out your estranged friend's tears who drives a 1.2 litre petrol hatchback with a louder-than-your-girlfriend-last-night exhaust.
One, that glued-to-the-dash-joint meant to keep some handy knick knacks you never know that may be needed to help a friend who just had a breakup.
Below, a large closed glovebox. With two cup holders to enjoy a cup of hot coffee with your girlfriend on a break, and deep inside to store all her paraphernalia. You know why, cause they are so demanding.



The pedal placement is a nightmare. The A-B-C pedals are placed close to each other, and often a newbie ends up being confused of what this logic is all about.



The aircon is a chiller. With a made-in-Brazil scroll type 154 cc compressor, even on peak of 45 degree heat, it cools the cabin in minutes.









The seats are very comfortable with just the right amount of lower back and under thigh support. No, the seats are not velour upholstered nor do they have rotary fore and aft adjustment knob of the old 1.6 cars, but it has a lever placed on the bottom left side. You need to be extremely particular about using this properly as the same is hard.



Legroom is just amazing for a 3763 mm car with a 2373 mm wheelbase up front. With the seats placed far back, the knee and leg space is enormous, much more than many of the competitor hatches provide today. In fact, this car makes the Punto itself look cramped inspite of the Punto having a larger wheelbase.







The rear seat is another surprise. Its wide, low and optimally positioned to make 3 abreast sit comfortably. Legroom is adequate for a car of this size and though I would have liked the seat angle to be a wee bit more reclined, and cushion base to be a bit more deep, it does the job done. In fact, the ingress and egress for a car with low height isn't a challenge, though the doors don't open a full 90 degrees.
Glass area around is massive and the light shades of the upholstery and bright red paint inside cheer up the ambience. The car has rear safety belts also, which the early BS-2 or 2001-2002 cars didn't have.





Marlboro lovers would love to see the car having 1 dedicated ashtray on each of the rear door panel, and one at the front with a functional cigar lighter. But, do remember, smokers package is standard, but smoking inside is strictly prohibited. It causes lung cancer.



The gear lever console has a small shelf for coins and small items, along with controls for rear power window switches with a child lock placed on the same. Remote control for mischievous kids, eh?



Have worries about boot space?
The huge boot of 260 litres, with a double fold rear seat increasing the capacity to 950 litres, gives you those moments where you don't have to think twice before converting into a multi purpose vehicle inside, no matter what the activity is.
Perhaps, some hanky panky?

[sidindica]

Moments, when you soar the skies in style.



Designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro, the once the motoring press described as "car designer of the century", every aspect of this car is crafted with pure Italian style. From the dual parabola slendor headlamps, to the Fiat centenery grille. To the bejeweled taillamps, to the integrated spoiler to the telephone dial alloys. Style thats to the max.



The moments, when designers start to think to execute with the bold fusion of technology and art. The moments, when ideas culminate into myraid shapes and sizes. The moments, when sketches are drawn to execute those ideas. The moments, when a beautiful final shape is chosen and finalised. Moments, when designers fantasise dreams. And moments, when a clay model is drawn, the dreams are converted into realities. These are happy moments. Moments, when the beautiful body draped in high gloss formula red paint turns heads around. Moments, when actually, people ask and admire the simplicity of a 17 year old design. Moments, when you park her and turn behind to have a second glimpse.



Its those moments, which we never realise we encounter, but when these moments are written as stories, we begin to appreciate the good old days of beautiful automobile design. And the Palio is one such car. Its a fusion of power, style and art.
Up front, a huge, simplistic bonnet which is heavy to lift and hold. The bonnet adorning a slender grille with twin mesh garnishes housing the blue Fiat Logo that the company changed in 1999 to celebrate its 100 year heritage. The twin parabola dual beam headlights having seperate low and high beam. The wraparound front bumper having three rows of cooling vents with additional three slats for extra cooling of the radiator.



The side. Low set, beltline with front fender similar in design to the Palio S10 with a flared wheel arch and "100 16V" logo denoting the powertrain underneath. Side skirt painted in body colour. Black side moulding across the waistline. Two heavy doors carved out of single block of heavy steel. Alfa Romeo inspired telephone dial alloy wheels with 5.5J width and 14 inch diameter.



The rear. Integrated dual tone spoiler bolted onto rear windscreen, Flame shaped tail lights. Integrated multi reflector housings for brake, indicator, reverse and parking. Squat tailgate. Simplistic bumper housing the licence plate. Flat solid roof. Kerb weight of 1015 kilos.
Underpinned by Fiat's "world car" 178 platform, launched in 1996, sold in Latin and South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, India, China etc. With a ground clearance of 170 mm. Cofap shocks all around.
But, isn't that enough to be known? To be recognised? To be admired?
A sense of personality is enough. Because, pictures below speak more than a thousand word truth.

[sidindica]

Summarizing the moments of truth and true lies.



This was a car which I always wanted to own. Missed many chances, but from a matter of chance and luck by chance, this car came into my garage in March 2017. It was listed in cartrade and had just 12,000 odd kms in the odo. All checks were done including two visits by my specialist-in-palio mechanic and he gave a all clear to pick this pristine example. Its a October 2006 registered model which I picked up for a lakh which included transfer to my name fee in RC. Got the insurance done later seperately in April and later carried out a lengthy restoration process. Full service with all filters change, all fluids change, brake and clutch bleeding and underpinnings lubrication, with paint work and detailing and underbody protection, to bring to this nick. I think its a safe investment, and yes, the grim reality is that its a challenge to procure parts because the manufacturer never really cared about "Platform 178" car owners and even today, almost all parts are imported. Even the wheel lug nuts come from Brazil. Parts cost reasonable except for suspension arms and shock absorbers which cost a bomb. Luckily though, maintaining is more of a passion than a challenge, as you learn new things about this car everyday. I drove for 10,000 kms till date, and also replaced the ignition coil and got the injectors cleaned and a set of new Fiat OE spark plugs installed. What today is a headache for tidbits, is what tomorrow's thrill is all about. I plan to follow the usual 7,500 kim service interval since I am using the motul 8100 X-cess and am extremely happy with the performance and eagerness of the motor. The car is perhaps made out of the last lot of BS-3 1.6 sport editions in Kurla, Mumbai, before operations shifted to Ranjaongaon and that also saw a drastic dip in quality of the facelift model, called the Palio Stile.



The car does feel built to last and even though the insides are rudimentry, this car doesn't rattle like many cars of today, and even the suspension components are known to last for years.

Yes, its pretty much an impulse purchase. But, after spending a total of a bit above 2 lakhs in everything, its cheap thrills in return, and just the car at this price that one can enjoy driving.



To Summarize, let me pen down the moments of happiness, that is, the positives.

• Its a timeless design, with brilliant proportions. Superb engineering and underpinnings.
• The big old school NA 1.6 litre engine is fast and has excellent torque spread.
• Very capable high speed poise and stability.
• Excellent mile munching capabilities.
• Comfortable seats, spacious and comfortable. Built to last interiors.
• Solid build quality, with sturdy BIW and subframe.
• Nifty features like theatre dimming lights, height adjustable seat belts etc, not found in many entry level cars today.

The moments of hiccups.

• Non existence of manufacturer support. Service parts are available, cosmetic pats are not. Many parts are discontinued, most to my shock the headlights.
• Suspension parts cost a bomb.
• Gas guzzler as a price to pay for all that thrills.
• Harsh Low speed ride.
• Niggles which are or which will be part of ownership, as a known case with Fiats.
• Non existent brand name or recognition.

[sidindica]

The final story. When every moment is culminated to be expressed as a story.



There is always this beautiful moment, when a baby is born in this planet.
There are two types of babies. One is a human being, and another is a motor car.
Humans are created by Planet earth, and machines are created by Humans.
Just imagine those moments when there is happiness in both families. A baby which grows to become an automobile freak, and a motor car which we purchase to enjoy those moments.
Now, just imagine those moments, when we motorheads, from across all corners of the society, meet and greet each other, and admire the machines that all of us own.
Imagine those moments, when two families, the human and machine, come together and create a third family.
A family called the family of car clubs.
Car groups, car culture, cargasm, car-o-mobilia.
Its a family which is small.
Its mystical.
On this world's biggest democracy, we are a mad bunch in a small family.
Its this automotive hysteria, that joins us.
To create those moments, and write stories, and express ourselves.
Today, the world has evolved, and equally, many automobile clubs have evolved.
Because, in this world, there exists a choice.
From the culmination of ideas.
To the clay mockup.
To the factory build.
To the showroom floor.
Choice to buy, build your dreams and see your dreams turn into realities.



There has always been this debate of modernism vs old school. But, once we start to look back into the past, we begin to realise, we got many automobiles that were ahead of our times. Ahead of the mindset. Ahead in technology and precision that we never appreciated.
And forgotten in the lost pages of history books.
The red racehorse is one endangered specie, on the verge of extinction. And, perhaps, till the time we have this, its time to enjoy those moments of thrill, of driving a beautifully engineered driver's car. And to admire the ideas and imaginations of the past.

Yes, its we, that started it all. The moments, when we, the enthusiasts gather, over a cup of coffee, and start debating on cars. And its creativeness. And enjoy together, those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and perhaps years of close knit moments.
A moment called automotive culture. Its exciting, exhilarating and expressive par excellence, which we, the mad clan, in this different world, can only comprehend.



Yes, we can go on and on expressing ourselves, but perhaps, its time to take a break from the moments, moments, which remain together as stories, right from our hearts, buried deep in the lost pages of history books.

Stories, by the people, for the people, of the people, who enjoy moments.
To the max.

--CURTAINS--

[ajmat]

Going live!

Thanks for sharing

[rajeev k]

Fantastic car, especially this one, generating quite an envy.
Many thanks for allowing us to share those wonderful moments.

[WhiteFang]

Beautiful moments. Couple of years back I tried searching for this model in Mumbai. I couldn't find a single one forget about something this immaculate.( I can imagine the future of Punto Abarth few years down the line). She is a real beauty. I wish you many more precious moments like these.

[arvi86]

The Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX. In Red.

A car that I once lusted over. Not just me, I'm sure. Teenagers in the 90's and 00's with even the slightest of inclination towards cars would have dreamt of this one.

Thanks for letting us enjoy this pristine piece of Italian engineering maintained gloriously.

[amit_mechengg]

What a narration, raises emotions !! A true performance hatch sadly forgotten by many. The aftermarket support is next to zero for the 1.6, the tuners don't even touch this car, and buyers don't want this old car anymore.

[vrprabhu]

2006 model with the FIAT logo in blue squares? Around 2004, FIAT had changed it to 'chrome ringed, laurel wreathed, circular' monogram, if I am not mistaken.

Was the "Palio nv" restricted to 1.2 models, post 2005?

There is one more small feature - the dash board clock dims when we switch on the lights. May be they don't want any distraction when you view the Veglia?!

PS - Your pictures and write up deserves a five star

[vsbabu]

Beautiful. That generation Palio is timeless (which seems to be true with Fiat - almost all new models look gorgeous only for facelift to kill it!). Recently, I saw one Adventure 1.6 in TN, which was also almost as meticulously maintained as yours (from outside).

Great writing; great pics. Wishing you many more years of happiness with this beauty.

I bought a 1.9D in 2004 (1.6 GTX had a waiting period; so bought this instead and got the car in 3 days); and my usage had way too much highway drives. That had a blue laurel wreathed circular logo though. Enjoyed it thoroughly till 2007 when I bought an Innova. I still miss Fiat's ergonomics - underthigh support, protection against locking yourself out of the car, nice place to keep umbrella in front of passenger etc come to mind even after 10 years. Completely trouble free experience for 3 years. Only niggle was when some service center guy forgot to tighten some wire - made the car stop right on the road (it came back up though) - and I switched to a 3rd party service center run by a Fiat fan. I didn't have parking for 2 cars then - else would still be having that one.

[Varun_HexaGuy]

Hi @sidindica sir,
Reminds me of my 1.6 GTX which we had bought used in 2006 and was traded in for a Linea 1.3 MJD in 2009. I can relate to your situation sir. This car is a bliss to drive and my dad still misses this beast and in his opinion no other car can fill the shoes of the 1.6 GTX in our garage. I still remember the dad when the GTX entered our garage. The only thing which I hated was it's colour though. It came wrapped in Fern green (I know many of you echo my thoughts). The revv-free NA engine producing 100 horses under-the-hood was a beast in itself. Just couldn't ask for more. The only reason what made us to part ways was it's disappointment was the fuel efficiency and add to that the niggles kept adding by the day and my dad neither had the moolah nor the time to keep her running. So, he bought a Linea as a replacement for the GTX.

Wishing you many miles and happy smiles with this beast

Varun