Photography by Tom Suddard
At one point, the Fiat 124 Spider seemed poised to knock the Miata off its pedestal. Back in the summer of 2016, the Fiat offered a brand-new, sharply styled, turbocharged platform-mate to the ND Mazda Miata that, at the time, still ran its lower-revving, lower-fun engine.
We got even more excited after we compared the two cars on track at the Streets of Willow Springs, each treated to an equivalent list of Good-Win Racing upgrades. Like the Miata, the Fiat happily responded to familiar suspension tweaks. Unlike the Miata, however, its boost could be turned up. The Fiat was faster and more fun, so clearly the Miata’s days were numbered.
[Fiat 124 Spider: What you need to know before you buy]
Some eight years later, we can admit it: We were wrong. Mazda improved the ND’s powerplant, suspension, interior and more. Fiat discontinued the 124 Spider after just four model years.
So, what did the folks at Good-Win Racing do with their shop Fiat 124 Spider? Rather than park it in the corner or take it out behind the local CarMax, they’ve instead continued development. The torquey Fiat has always felt like a little GT car compared to the buzzy Miata, so what if they could develop a comfortable, affordable, long-travel suspension kit aimed squarely at those GT strengths?
An advantage the Fiat held over the original ND-chassis Miata? Factory turbo power, with its 1.4-liter engine rated at 164 horsepower along with 184 lb.-ft. from the factory. The same-year Miata? Just 155 horsepower and 148 torque units.
The result is a coil-over kit that promises to pair the longest-available travel on the market with OEM top hats and dual-rate, OEM-diameter springs to reduce NVH and complexity. It’s built around a set of adjustable Koni Race dampers, providing more control than Koni Sports and ride height adjustment that wouldn’t be possible with a set of lowering springs and OEM replacement shocks.
Generally speaking, better dampers mean better ride quality with stiffer springs, and Good-Win claims that benefit, too: The company says this $1399 kit features rates that are more than twice as stiff as a standard set of Progress lowering springs, at 390 lbs./in. front and 225 lbs./in. rear.
This all sounds great in theory, but what about in the real world? We hopped on a plane to California to try it out, sampling the prototype RoadsterSport ND ClubSport Coilovers for an afternoon. Note that like many Fiat 124 parts, these coil-overs will also fit all ND Miatas.
Our first impression? Damn, the 124 Spider looks and sounds mean. Some of that credit goes to the aftermarket, as Good-Win fitted its own exhaust and some APR aero parts, but we were immediately transported back to the press launch in 2016, when we first heard the Abarth snarl of the Fiat 124 versus the dainty Miata’s bumblebee buzz. It didn’t hurt that the backdrop for this trip was SoCal’s twisty canyon roads, so we hopped behind the wheel and started driving–first at a reasonable pace, and then at a redacted pace. And wow, were we impressed.
We know, we know–we drove a sports car on beautiful roads and enjoyed it. Big surprise, right? But what was surprising is just how civil these coil-overs were. In short, travel means room for error and it means options.
By keeping the wheels pressed against the pavement, even after a huge bump or during a big dip, traction is more consistent, and the car is faster and easier to drive.
The Good-Win Racing Fiat gets a host of bolt-ons that, as we found, work well in concert. Could the Fiat 124 Spider be today’s sleeper hotrod?
And that’s the headline here: This didn’t feel like a finicky track-tested setup that’s only happy within a 10% margin of error of the smooth surface it was tuned for. Instead, it felt like a true grand touring calibration, where an errant pothole or a dumb control input really doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things.
We found ourselves beginning to aim for bumps in the road, trying to find the limit before remembering we were on public streets in somebody else’s car. In short, we fell in love not just with the setup but with the car, too.
Sadly, there’s one thing suspension travel can’t fix, and that’s the setting sun: As the day drew to a close, we turned off the camera and pointed the Fiata back toward San Diego. That drive left us pondering the model we’d rekindled our relationship with. We’re not sure when the sun will set on this weird, Fiat-shaped blip in the Miata universe, but we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
Despite my typical Italian car ownership experience, the Fiata has a certain charm of its own that I miss sometimes. Especially paired with the Goodwin System One exhaust, which mine also had, it's quite possibly the best-sounding four cylinder engine of all time. And the non-Abarth body (like Goodwin's car in the article) I think is better looking than the blacked-out angry-face Abarth. Maybe one day they'll become collectible.
Yeah but what's it's lap time at the Firm?
jk
In reply to maschinenbau :
I'll be surprised if they don't become collectible, even if it's the Bring A Trailer/Cars & Bids kind of collectible.
I'm by no means a market expert, but I'd say it's the kind of car worth buying sooner instead of later if you have an interest.
I prefer the way these look compared to the current Miata. I'd swap the motor though. 
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
Taking a stock 124 Spider to the FIRM isn't a bad idea.
Anyone have one we can run? (I'm only half-joking.)
Cool. I have always liked the Fiata.
Although $14,000 in parts feels like... a lot.
I'd probably lose all the carbon fiber aero bits and it'll be a lot cheaper and a little more sleeper looking.
On track, the Fiata feels like an ND with 100 lbs strapped to the nose and softer throttle response - because that's what it is. I don't know if we still have lap times for our in-house development car, but it sure would be interesting to see the traces from the FIRM.
Yes, quite the extensive (pricey parts list). While the result is something unique and fun, you're well into 987 Boxster S price territory at this point...
I remember test driving one when they first came out, while the Abarth 500 was in for scheduled maintenance. I'm not a convertible fan, even if I still want another Miata, but I also agree I thought they looked better than the ND. I was disappointed to learn the Abarth version didn't have the same angry exhaust.
How about an ECU tune for that motor?
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