The Fiat 241 is the Fiat that answered a simple question — how much car can this badge carry? — with 51bhp, 47bhp from 1,438cc, 1,895cc. It was built from 1965 to 1974, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar.
How it came about
The Fiat 241 is a van produced by Fiat between 1965 and 1974. It has a payload of 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) and was available in truck, van and bare chassis variants. The model was a replacement for the 1100T pickup which had ceased production in 1964. The Fiat 241 was offered in parallel to the Fiat 238, with which it shares the cabin design. The 241 has rear-wheel drive, as opposed to the 238 which has front-wheel drive.
The engine in the 241 was centrally located in the cab, unlike the 238 whose engine is housed under the passenger bench, thus, the 241 has only two seats. It had two engine options: a 1438 cc OHV petrol engine, derived from that of the passenger car Fiat 124 Special, producing 51 PS (38 kW; 50 bhp) with a 4-speed gearbox, and a 1895 cc diesel, the same as in the Campagnola, producing 47 PS (35 kW; 46 bhp). Front suspension is independent with coil springs, with semi-elliptic springs at the rear, supported by telescopic dampers and anti-roll bars on both axles. The total length of the vehicle was 4,627 mm (15.2 ft), with a wheelbase of 2,303 mm (7.6 ft) and loading area of 2,860 mm (9.4 ft) by 1,680 mm (5.5 ft). Available in drop-side, platform and pickup versions. It was later replaced by the Fiat 242.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 1,438cc, 1,895cc; it is rated at 51bhp, 47bhp. The gearbox is a 4 speed synchromesh. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Fiat's history is not in doubt: the Fiat 1100T came before it; the Fiat 242 followed it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Škoda Auto Škoda 1203. Its Fiat stablemates include the FIAT 702 and the Fiat 1.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Fiat 241 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.