Fiat Twin Cam engine

The Fiat Twin Cam (also known as the Lampredi Twin Cam) is an advanced double overhead camshaft inline-four automobile engine produced from 1966 through 2000 as a Fiat/Lancia engine. Designed by ex Ferrari engineer Aurelio Lampredi, the engine was produced in a large number of displacements, ranging from 1297 to 1995 cc and was used in Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, SEAT, FSO and Morgan cars. The Fiat Twin Cam engine has been widely used in motorsport and has been the most successful engine in the history of the World Rally Championship. Fiat and Lancia won a total of ten World Rally Championships for Manufacturers using engines based on the Lampredi Twin Cam engine. It was replaced by the Fiat "family B" Pratola Serra engine series.

Design
The Twin Cam uses the block of the overhead valve 124-series engine first found in the Fiat 124 with some modifications to accept the belt drive for the double overhead camshafts (DOHC). The head itself is made in three pieces, one carrying the combustion chamber and valves and one separate casting for each camshaft in tunnel type bearings. The valves had an included angle of 65 degrees. The engine featured a revolutionary new method for adjusting the valve clearance. Usually at that time in double overhead camshaft engines like from Alfa Romeo or Jaguar, small shims were placed on the valve stem inside the bucket tappets, thereby necessitating the removal of the camshafts to get access to these shims to adjust the valve clearance, making for time consuming and very expensive maintenance work. Lampredi’s design placed the shims on top of the tappets where they could be removed with the camshaft in situ after the tappets were pressed down with a special tool. This design was patented for Fiat and was used in the engines of the 128 and 130, and even the Ferrari/Fiat Dino V6 engine was converted to this system.

Fiat was a pioneer in engine development during the time period, using toothed rubber belt driven camshafts and aluminium alloy heads. Earlier Fiat Twin Cam engines were actually O.S.C.A. designs.

Applications
Lampredi's twin cam engine was first seen in the Fiat 124 coupé of late 1966, but was later made available in a large number of cars.

Fiat

 * 1966-1974 124 Sport coupé
 * 1966-1985 124 Sport Spider
 * 1970-1974 124 Special T
 * 1972-1976 124 Abarth Rally
 * 1967-1972 125
 * 1972-1981 132
 * 1981-1985 Argenta
 * 1977-1983 131
 * 1977-1980 131 Abarth
 * 1982-1988 Ritmo
 * 1984-1989 Ritmo 105TC, 125TC, 130TC
 * 1983-1990 Regata
 * 1985-1996 Croma
 * 1988-1995 Tipo
 * 1990-1999 Tempra
 * 1994-1997 Coupé

Lancia

 * 1972-1984 Beta
 * 1973-1984 Beta Coupé/HPE/Spider
 * 1975-1982 Beta Montecarlo
 * 1976-1977 Beta Scorpion
 * 1982-1983 Rally 037
 * 1980-1984 Trevi
 * 1983-1993 Delta
 * 1988-1993 Delta Integrale
 * 1982-1989 Prisma
 * 1984-1994 Thema
 * 1989-1997 Dedra
 * 1993-1999 Delta mk2
 * 1994-1998 Kappa
 * 1997-1998 Kappa Coupe

SEAT

 * 1969-1975 1430
 * 1970-1979 124
 * 1971-1975 124 Sport Coupe
 * 1973-1982 132
 * 1975-1984 131

Alfa Romeo

 * 1988-1991 164 2.0 Turbo 8V
 * 1992-1997 155 Q4

FSO

 * 1973-1975 Polski Fiat 125p Monte Carlo
 * 1973-1977 Polski Fiat 125p Akropolis
 * 1978-1989 FSO Polonez

Morgan

 * 1982-1986 Morgan Plus 4

One version was the CHT (for "Controlled High Turbulence"). This version was mainly used in the first generation Fiat Croma and used a special head and intake with auxiliary intake ducts to provide a better fuel and gas mixture under low or partial acceleration. This meant considerably improved fuel mileage.

Motorsport
The Fiat Twin Cam engine has been widely used in motorsport and has been the most successful engine in the history of the World Rally Championship. The World Rally Championship for Manufacturers has been won by Fiat and Lancia, using engines based on the Lampredi Twin Cam engine, for a total of 10 years.

The four valve version made its first appearance in the Group 4 competition version of the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, where it had 1.8 litres. Group 4 regulations at that time allowed the use of a cylinder head of a "free" design. This engine still used a three-piece cylinder head design with an included valve angle of 46 degrees.

In later years motorsport regulations were changed so that the use of four valve heads was only possible when the homologated cars had four valve heads. Therefore, the homologation series of the Fiat 131 Rally Abarth came with a two-litre version of the four valve engine.

These engines were later used in the mid-engined Lancia 037, where they were supercharged and eventually enlarged to 2.1 litres.

In addition to the titles in the World Rally Championship, the Fiat Twin Cam equipped the Lancia Beta Montecarlo turbo, that won the World Sportscar Championship for two consecutive seasons in 1980-1981.

The Fiat Twin Cam has also been used in hot rods and kit cars, with an aftermarket kit to swap one into the Morris Minor.