Alexandre
Fiat a officially stopped the production of its venerable and renowned engines Fire. After 35 years of productionIt's a page that's being turned. The famous Italian mill is leaving after 23,233,856 units produced. A figure that shows the success and the reliability of this model which will have accompanied three decades of Fiat history.
Launched in 1985 to replace the old engines, which are admittedly quite anemic, the "Fire"which is an acronym for "Full Integrated Robotised Engine is a revolution at FIat. In addition to the technical characteristics that allow a much better performance, the industrial tool that allows to manufacture this engine makes a good place to theautomations, up to the amount of 80% of the entire factory build process of this engine. A novelty!
Moreover, the complexity of the engine itself is reduced. While today - and even then - the number of parts of an engine was being made more sophisticated, heavier and more numerous (a process that is still going on), in 1985 Fiat took the opposite gamble and makes the engine go Fire from approximately 6,700 pieces previously to only 4,500 for the Fire. What is it? improve reliability but also save time in the factory. This reduces the manufacturing time to 46.5 minutes of machining and 61 minutes of assembly, compared to 114.4 minutes and 171 minutes for the previous generation of engines.
Fewer defective parts to change, less approximation in the construction thanks to the reduced number of parts and automation, saving time. All of this is a good equation for Fiat, which reduces its costs and can further reduce the price of its cars leaving the factory.
Immediate success!
It is Autobianchi which has the privilege of debuting this new engine on the model Y10also sold under the name of Lancia Y10 in some markets. 4-cylinder engine, displacement 1.0 L, power 45 hp. The chic city car has the honors of this engine.
Other models will follow, including the Panda and the Uno. The mythical Fire are an integral part of the success of these vehicles.
These engines are quickly declined in a whole range, from 750 cm3 to 1.4 L. Then it was thearrival of turbos making them even more powerful and alert. These are the T-Jet. In 2010, it is the cylinder head with constantly variable distribution. Hello then to MultiAir.
The Fire engine could have disappeared a long time ago, but its low cost has always argued in its favor. It is in 2010 that Fiat is thinking of striking a deliberate blow to the Fire with the famous twin cylinder TwinAir. But it is a damp squib that is not very successful and is often criticized by the specialized press. The atmospheric 1.2L Fire then continues to make resistance with a beautiful insolence...
But in this May 7, 2020the Fire was definitely pushed into retirement, after a monumental success and having been an icon of Italian automotive history. The new FireFly engines are now the focus of the brand's hopes. The 3-cylinder 1.0 (naturally aspirated 70 hp, turbocharged 120 hp) and 4-cylinder 1.3 (150 hp and 180 hp) take over. As the ultimate tribute, the very name of these new engines is composed of the name of Fire.
The name Fire is now engraved - and forever - on the front of Fiat history.