Now then, what do we have here? A Coupe without a turbo that still gives over 200bhp, now that is very satisfying! A couple of years ago Joe from FCSS decided to transplant the 2.4 engine from the Stilo Abarth into a Coupe, and why not because it's a very nice fit Couple this with a remap and the results were pretty dandy. A trip to Spa proved it's credentials, but this engine is game for more and Joe decided to raid his parts depot. First up was to ditch the VIS system in favour of the earlier Coupe 147 inlet manifold, especially as another 2.4 non VIS Coupe that he had converted had soundly trumped his own after mapping The second step was a set of C&B 20v turbo cams that he had from another engine, now the combination of the two changes did not disappoint.

202bhp @ 6019rpm
190lbs/ft @ 4853rpm
169 wheel power @ 5890rpm



The difference as the dyno graph shows is very profound, massive gains everywhere. The increase in airflow was so great that the standard injectors could not cut it running far too lean, so I introduced the 330cc injectors from the 20vt giving plenty of headroom compared to the original 182cc injectors (see how we are recycling parts here!)

On the road it really does deliver with the instant response expected from a normally aspirated engine and devilishly addictive power delivery. The sound at the top end is just awesome, you could be forgiven for thinking it had ITBs! At the recent Castle Combe track day, which was wetter than wet, well the 2.4 NA came into it's own and gave such a sterling performance against all and sundry. A true Coupe champion, if not one that Fiat ever intended...

nice write up Flea and good work Joe

Wow! I want :-)

Take a look at the dyno video on Facebook!

How much of the power gain would you drop for the 8c temp change and slightly higher ambient pressure?

Good work mind you! How does that compare with a std 16vt? Must be pretty close performance wise!

There is a correction factor as shown on the graph for temp and barometric pressure, so this equalises power according to a standard range.

On the road/track the difference is huge, you can really feel gains on a normally aspirated car as they are hard won!

Very impressive Flea as usual

The torque figures are phenomenal and plenty of it in the lower engine rev range too.

Would like to see it with the stilo 2.4l c&b cams wonder what difference it would make

Well done both for getting this far shows you don't always need a turbo

Great fun this car, the torque makes it a completely different animal to any other coupe. The perfect coupe I would stay..just over 200bhp..no turbo to go wrong,oil cooler to burst, inter cooler in the engine bay.

I would certainly swap my turbo for a 2.4na.

Thanks for the write up Leighton, it's a cracking car to drive, Castle Combe proved this as the other 20vt's on track couldn't catch me

The engines output is well matched with the standard turbo 5sp box and Visco drive but I'm thinking Quaife to protect the diff.

MrsCC is very impressed with the modifications and can't wait to drive this with aggression next year, a return to Spa in 2014

It's very unique, accelerates like a missile and honestly sounds like it's running on ITB's, an outcome I never expected but we've taken this as far as I can and any further adaptions will spoil it as a road car so we'll leave it here....... for now

This is Soooo true

Good effort !

Going to show my ignorance. What's an ITB?

ITB's: Individual Throttle Bodies.

Great effort from FCSS and FCP!

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Also known as the sex!

Awesome Joe/Flea, I'd love to see and hear this in the flesh.

What a sterling job -- i saw the video last night, sounds good, still, I think i'd miss the pfft/whoosh of my own mind you -- but good work none the less, very impressive what you're eeking out of these old motors .

Fiat did build one protoype in 1999 with a 'new engine' and a wider body. Rumoured to be a 2.4 turbo out of the Abarth Stilo with 260-270 bhp, a 2.4 n/a with 190bhp and were looking into Diesel as well. For Japan there were talks about a 1.4. Emissions regulations made them rethink everything as they would be without a fast turbo version. They cancelled the entire project.

What a sound! This is something I've fancied since I got my car. Great work.

Kayjey, how did you hear about the prototype and what happened to it?

Out of interest what sort of cost would take to mod a std N/A. Very tempting prospect:

szkom - first-hand from someone working in the automotive branche getting cars and parts ready for production, mixed with some info from 'others' (the 'rumoured' part) and spots from people local to Fiat (wider body) together with some strange stuff listed in Fiat technical releases at the time.

It's been an easy build for myself as the parts were readily available from stock. If I'd had to of bought these in the parts alone would of been around £2k so not cheap really.

Here's the cars current spec:

Stock 2.4 Stilo engine.
Fiat Coupe 20vt C&B fast road cams.
20vt 330cc injectors.
Stock fuel lines and rail.
Fiat Coupe 147 intake manifold and plenum.
20vt 5 sp early gearbox.
FCSS short shift.
20vt Visco drive LSD.
330mm Brembo front discs and pads.
Koni adjustable suspension.
FCSS lowering springs.
22mm rear ARB.
Lancia Dedra front ARB.
Adapted crankcase breather system to collector.

That's two regular maintenance bills. That's cheap Joe.

Such a shame that never saw the light of day. The more I drive my turbo the surer I become that the powerplant isn't as well matched to the GT nature of the chassis as it could be.

Joe, would I be right in assuming that a 20vt would make the best start point for a conversion like this?