Walter Röhrl won with this Fiat 131 Abarth en route to WRC title

The last time Fiat won a WRC manufacturers’ title? 1980. The first WRC drivers’ championship for rally legend Walter Röhrl? 1980. And this is the car that helped achieve both feats.
1980 Fiat 131 Abarth by J.A. Ackley
May 20, 2025

The last time Fiat won a WRC manufacturers’ title? 1980. The first WRC drivers’ championship for rally legend Walter Röhrl? 1980. And this is the car that helped achieve both feats.



Röhrl competed with this example in the Rallye Sanremo, which he won. Notice the lack of a distinctive livery? That’s no accident. This is how the Fiat looked when Röhrl took the top spot at Sanremo.



Why the plain livery? A strike at Fiat. The works cars were taken out of the factory at night, without prominent markings, to avoid conflicts with striking workers. Interestingly enough, Röhrl only drove this particular example at Rallye Sanremo, but it was a key piece of the puzzle for the 1980 WRC drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.



Find this 1980 Works FIAT 131 Abarth Rally for sale at Copley Motorcars, with an asking price of $395,000.