Fiat Ritmo Price Guide

The Fiat Ritmo of 1978 was a transverse front-wheel-drive hatchback with a revolutionary production process. As proudly exclaimed in the original advertising materials, this was the first car produced largely by robots. While not exactly built by cybermen, it was Fiat’s ROBOGATE system which assembled the body using automated welding technology. This transformed automotive manufacturing worldwide. The Ritmo Abarth 125 TC and 130 TC are the performance variants.

In the UK, the Ritmo was marketed as the Fiat Strada, which we have valued seperately from the LHD versions here.

The Car

The Ritmo used 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, and 1.6-litre engines in a five-door hatchback body. The ROBOGATE production system (in which the body was welded by robotic arms rather than human workers) was shown publicly in a television commercial and caused a sensation. The Abarth 125 TC used the 2.0-litre twin-cam producing 125bhp. The Ritmo Cabriolet by Bertone added open-top motoring to the range from 1982.

Buying

The Abarth and cabriolet variants are the collector’s choices. Standard Ritmos are rare survivors.