Dardo (automobile)

The Dardo was a small two-seater sports car manufactured in Brazil between 1979 and 1985.

Despite being a being a clear Fiat X1/9 rip-off, Fiat's Brazilian arm not only endorsed its production but also offered distribution, technical assistance and a factory warranty.

With the same powertrain as the 147 Rallye, the Dardo was created by Toni Bianco for Corona S. S. Viatura e Equipamento of Diadema, São Paulo. The company was a subsidiary of Caloi – a Brazilian bicycle manufacturer.

Sadly, the Dardo's excessively high price couldn't be justified. There were severe manufacturing problems with the glassfibre bodywork, not to mention the troublesome Fiat four-speed gearbox.

To add insult to injury, the 72bhp 1.3-litre ‘four’ hardly provided good performance – not even when upgraded to 1.5 litres and 96bhp. Total production amounted to 300 cars.


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