It has retained the Fiat 131“s boxy and instantly recognizable family sedan silhouette, but beneath its bodywork lies a powertrain that bears little resemblance to that of the 1970s. For more than twenty years, Paolo Diana has been shaping his ”131 Racing Proto” into one of the most spectacular machines in European rallying. Yet it cannot claim dozens of victories or titles; still, its popularity is immense because it embodies a certain spirit, where style and spectacle take precedence over the race against the clock and the quest to shave off even the smallest fraction of a second.
A rational choice, at first glance
Long before the audience at Rallylegend As people pulled out their phones as his Fiat 131 approached, Paolo Diana himself was on the other side of the road, among the crowd. Born in 1976 in Rimini, he accompanied his father to the races held around Verucchio and San Marino. There he discovered not only the mechanical fury of the race but also the spectacle of the cars taking corners in a drift, with the front wheels countersteering and the engine roaring to maintain balance until they exited the turn. This image would have a lasting influence on his approach to driving.
Once he had his license, Diana began experimenting on his own with a Fiat 131 1600 TC. Together with friends, he drove on dirt roads and gradually learned how to induce and then control a slide. A locked differential allowed him to discover the handling characteristics of a rear-wheel-drive car where both rear wheels work together. The approach was DIY, and the learning curve was sometimes bumpy, but the foundations were laid. In 2000, he took the plunge and competed in his first rallies. The Fiat 131 was the obvious choice for a very practical reason. Outdated and somewhat forgotten, its low value allowed him to get started on a limited budget.
Diana’s choice was not a genuine Group 4 Abarth 131—identical to the one that won three consecutive World Constructors’ Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1980, but rather a much more modest model, which he stripped down and prepared with the resources at his disposal. His early days were far from easy. The car was quickly wrecked, but Diana chose to rebuild it.
The initial modifications were carried out with limited resources; Diana himself recalls a time filled with angle grinder cuts, welding, and long hours spent in the garage. The bodywork obviously retains the Fiat’s signature styling, but the prototype is the result of serendipity, parts found here and there, and a lot of clever DIY, hence the patchwork appearance of this 131, whose inner workings bear little resemblance to those of a genuine 131 Abarth. As the project progressed, components from a wide variety of manufacturers and specialists found their way into the same car. Diana never set out to rebuild a Group 4 131 that complied with a 1970s homologation specification. Her goal was to create a car that suited her driving style. That’s why the term “Racing Proto” is a much better fit for the spirit of this machine.
In the beginning, there was an Alfa Romeo engine
The most famous configuration of the 131—the one that lasted for twenty years—was developed around a 2-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine tuned by Autotecnica Motori. This Alfa Romeo-sourced engine was derived from a D2-type supertouring engine that had been used in an Alfa Romeo 155 TS. This 16-valve engine features Magnetti Marelli fuel injection and delivers 300 HP. Given the car’s weight of approximately 1,100 kg, the power-to-weight ratio is particularly favorable.
Unlike many modern race cars, the Fiat 131 does not rely on a turbocharger to generate torque. The naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine needs to be kept at high RPMs and delivers its power progressively, with a very direct throttle response. This characteristic is particularly well-suited to Diana’s driving style, as she constantly uses the right pedal to adjust the car’s drift angle.
She also explains the now-iconic sound of this version of the 131. As the RPMs rise, the engine takes on an increasingly metallic tone until it produces that characteristic roar that regulars can recognize even before the car comes into view. Such a powertrain is, of course, demanding. Naturally aspirated racing engines are pushed to their limits, and the pursuit of high-rpm power requires substantial maintenance. The spectacle Diana put on was therefore never free—neither in terms of tires nor mechanics.
The transmission perfectly illustrates the blend of eras that characterizes the car. The engine remains mounted longitudinally at the front and drives only the rear wheels, in keeping with the 131’s architecture. However, sandwiched between them is a six-speed Gabura sequential transmission—a far cry from the drivetrain of a production Fiat. At the rear, a Drexler mechanical limited-slip differential allows the power to be utilized efficiently and, above all, enables Diana to execute her long drifts. When the driver accelerates, the differential helps the two rear wheels transfer torque, allowing the driver to keep the car sliding and adjust its trajectory using the accelerator.
In the configuration unveiled in 2021 at Rallylegend, the front suspension uses a McPherson-type setup with custom tubular arms, while the rear suspension incorporates components derived from the… BMW M3 E30! It’s worth noting that the BMW is a benchmark in rear-wheel-drive rallying.
The car is equipped with Brembo four-piston calipers in the front and AP Racing four-piston calipers in the rear, with front rotors measuring up to 355 mm in the asphalt configuration. The wheels vary depending on the terrain, ranging from 15 inches on dirt to up to 18 inches on asphalt.
A new Japanese heart, then an English one
For the 2022 season, Diana undertook one of the most notable changes to her project by replacing the Alfa engine with a 2.4-liter Honda K24. This “blasphemy” was driven by technical necessities. Maintaining the Alfa D2 remains costly and challenging, as the inverted cylinder head with a cascade of gears requires very frequent overhauls, and machining custom parts is extremely expensive. Its heritage value also makes it a car worth preserving and collecting, rather than risking its destruction…
The K24 retains several key qualities of the previous engine: four cylinders, naturally aspirated, immediate response, and a penchant for high RPMs. In its 2022 configuration, it produces approximately 320 HP at 7,750 rpm, with nearly 300 Nm of torque. The Gabura sequential transmission remains. This engine is a legend in motorsports—made of aluminum, reputed to be indestructible, with thick walls and a forged steel crankshaft of exceptional strength. Its V-TEC system delivers plenty of torque at low RPM and handles high RPM with ease, while being capable of withstanding major turbocharged upgrades. The engine is widely used in engine swaps, hillclimb, Time Attack, and Drift. Given the demands placed on the car by Diana’s driving style, the Japanese engine met all her expectations.
More recently, Diana’s official website showcased the car with a new Millington engine, notably during the Barum Czech Rally. This 2.5-liter Millington Diamond engine is a state-of-the-art British powerplant highly sought after in autocross and rally racing, delivering approximately 340 HP at a maximum rpm of 9,000. The great Colin McRae chose this manufacturer for his own race car project, the McRae R4 developed in 2006, as well as his legendary personal Ford Escort Mk2. More recently, the late Ken Block—Diana’s fellow drift racing legend—also chose a Millington Diamond engine to power his fierce «Hoonigan» Ford Escort Mk2.
Drift as a Signature
“Old-school” gamers may remember the games *Project Gotham Racing* and *Metropolis Street Racer*, where you had to earn “currency” in the form of “Kudos,” style points earned by performing spectacular and technical maneuvers like drifts. The game’s slogan was: «It's not about speed, but about how you drive fast.». While Ken Block perfectly embodied this approach in his famous gymkhanas, Paolo Diana perfectly illustrated this adage on the roads of classic rallies!
However, it would be a mistake to reduce Paolo Diana to merely a drifting specialist. He has competed in actual rallies, driven other race cars, and achieved results in more conventional vehicles. In particular, he has competed in Italian rallycross in an Alfa Romeo Mito 1600 prepared by Tedak Racing, and has also occasionally raced in rallies in a Peugeot 306 Maxi. Another race car that’s revving up! But it was with the 131 that he found an identity that goes far beyond a single race’s standings.
Its design is closely tied to the audience’s experience, which has been at the heart of rally racing since its inception. Diana explains that what has always fascinated her is the excitement sparked by a car speeding by. The 131 thus becomes the ideal vehicle for expressing this philosophy. Its rear-wheel drive allows for sharp turns, its naturally aspirated engine responds instantly, and its power is more than enough to keep the rear wheels spinning. Diana has developed a driving style that exploits these characteristics to the extreme: late braking, early drifting, countersteering, and then accelerating again to prolong the maneuver.
Although it has already secured several podium finishes in certain rallies— whether on asphalt, dirt, or historic routes, the 131 is nevertheless most often entered in «Rally Show» categories or as a pace car—meaning its times aren’t even officially recorded—but who cares! This philosophy finds its ideal setting at Rallylegend, held in San Marino. Every year, the event brings together some of the most legendary cars in rally history and many of the sport’s biggest names. Over the course of her appearances, Diana has become one of the event’s most anticipated figures. Her geographical proximity to San Marino makes her almost a local driver, but her popularity has quickly spread far beyond that. Her drift runs are filmed, shared, and then reposted on social media and specialty channels. The 131 began to gain recognition far beyond the on-site audience. In 2019, Diana notably won the «Jump in the Legend» award, given for the longest jump of the event.
A one-of-a-kind fan club in Italian rallying
This popularity is gradually opening the door to other events. Diana and her 131 are invited to various European countries, notably the Czech Republic and Spain. The reasoning behind these invitations is telling: the organizers know that the Fiat’s presence alone is a draw for the public.
«Ti I want »racing" (which could be translated as «Racing Spirit" »I want you") is his famous motto and trademark. The phrase embodies the very essence of pure, authentic motorsports, where the main goal is to put on a show and thrill the audience. Under this name, Paolo Diana shares his adventures on social media. This rallying cry has also become a clothing and accessories brand, uniting «old-school» rally fans within his fan club, Gang31. The enthusiasm there is almost as intense as that of Valentino Rossi’s fans!
No specific list of achievements can adorn these pages, and yet her driving continues to provoke such an immediate and passionate reaction, a quarter-century after her debut. When the Fiat approaches the braking point of a hairpin turn, the crowd isn’t just wondering if Diana will be fast. They wait to see how she’ll take the turn, at what point the rear end will break loose, how long she’ll maintain the slide, and how long she’ll keep her foot to the floor before bringing the car back on track. All while filling our ears with the furious roar of engines revving up to 8,000–9,000 rpm. A few seconds later, the 131 disappears toward the next turn. The smoke clears, the sound of the engine fades, and the rally resumes. The lap time doesn’t matter. The crowd will remember the run and have felt the thrill.
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