Fiat introduced the 124 Sport Coupe in 1967 and refreshed the car once in 1969 and again in 1972 until the end of the series, which happened in 1975.
The 124 Sport Coupe was not just another sports car on the market. It was an inspirational vehicle that other carmakers studied. It was a true, daily-driver sports car. Even though it didn’t offer the same power as an American muscle car, its light construction and small engines made them easier to live with.

While Pininfarina designed the 124 Sports Spider, the Sport Coupe version was the last project made by Fiat’s designer Felice Mario Boano before his retirement. His work was continued by his son, Gian Paolo Boano, who took good care not to spoil his father’s work. At the front, the car sported dual headlights mounted on a new panel. Between them, a redesigned front fascia made room for a separate, squared trim around the mesh grille. The 1972 Sport Coupe featured vertically mounted taillights instead of the horizontal types from the 1967 and 1969 models.

Inside, the design team adjusted the dashboard design to accommodate the same vents on the center stack and on the sides. Previously, there were distinct parts, making the manufacturing process more difficult without a real aesthetic gain. A new stereo filled the lower part of the center stack.

Under the hood, Fiat offered the 124 Coupe with either a 1.6-liter or a 1.8-liter engine. The Italian engineers developed the latter engine by enlarging the displacement of the former. For the American market, the 1.8-liter version provided less power than its European cousin due to new U.S. emission regulations.

The revised Fiat 124 came on the market in 1969 with a new front fascia, a new engine and it brought better brakes and suspension.
The Fiat brand was very active in the sport-car segment in the mid and late ’60s. Its models such as the 850 Coupe and the 124 Coupe were hot sales at that time. The 124 Coupe was launched in 1967 and it was a huge success. Only two years later, the Italian company decided to refresh the product. And it came with a truly, better offer.

The Fiat 124 Coupe BC was unveiled in 1969 and it featured a different exterior. The front fascia different. The new, twin headlights were integrated into the grille. In order to do that, the front fenders were higher. In the rear, the car took the same taillights as the Lamborghini Jarama. A new set of Comodora magnesium-alloy wheels were available as an option. Toward the end of the production, in the early ’70s, an option for air condition was added to the list.

Inside, there were more modification. The doors received vinyl panels and the woodgrain decoration was removed. For the twin-cam 1.6-liter engine, a 9000 rpm tachometer was installed.

Under the hood, the 124 BC started with the older 1.5-liter engine from the non-facelifted version, but latter on it was replaced with a twin-cam 1.6-liter unit which was created by Aurelio Lampredi, the same engineer that created the first Ferrari Formula 1 engine in 1951. The newly developed 5-speed manual gearbox was introduced on the 124 BC instead of the older 4-speed. Other new feature for the 124 BC were the 4-wheel disc-brakes and the double-wishbone front suspension.

Based on the Fiat 124 saloon, the 124 Sport Coupe was sold in 3 series, the AC, BC and CC.
All these were slightly different, while the AC had the best handling, the BC had the softest suspension and the CC had the most powerful engines.

The car was also famous for its 5-speed gearbox and disc brakes on all 4 wheels. At that time, only expensive sports cars had such features. The AC version was also sharing its taillights with the Lamborghini Espada and Iso Rivolta. Another interesting feature is the toothed timing belt for the twin-cam engine, making the 124 Sport Coupe AC the first mass produced car with such a system instead of the classic chain.