Huw James will bring Italian flair to the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship when the defending 2WD class champion debuts his brand-new Fiat 131 Mirafiori on this weekend’s Manx National Rally (8-9 May).
The stunning black and yellow car has been engineered by Huw, while all the fabrication work has been done by his co-driver Lewis Sim.
The A&D Tyres/Maxxis supported car will be powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine, developed by KGP Engineering. Based on the Ford Cosworth YB unit, it has the potential to produce around 360bhp and 250lb/ft of torque.
“The Fiat has been a proper labour of love for both of us and a serious ground-up build,” says Lewis.
“I carried out all of the fabrication work, from the shell preparation and chassis modifications through to the finer details, while Huw has been the brains behind the full mechanical package — making sure everything is engineered to work together properly and perform at a high level.
“The car itself is built around a KGP 2.5 YB engine paired with a Tractive six-speed gearbox, and we’ve gone down the route of independent rear suspension to really move the car on from a traditional setup. It’s a proper modern take on the 131, but still keeping the character of the car. Every part of the build has been thought through with performance and reliability in mind.
“The project has been built for A&D Tyres, who are long-term supporters of ours, and they’ve given us the opportunity to run and develop the car – something we’re hugely grateful for.
“From the early running we’ve done so far, the signs are really positive. Even with minimal setup work, it already feels like a strong package and capable of taking the fight to the top 2WD cars. We feel we’ve got a very solid base to build from.”
In addition to A&D Tyres and Maxxis Tyres, Huw is supported by Trinity School of Motoring, Euro M-Sport, Equi Trek Tregaron, Ignite Nutrition, Modurdy Eiddwen Garage, TLL Media, Garej Ystwyth Garage, Edwards Motorsport, Ecumaster and DTAFast, while the Fiat 131 will run on Hoosier tyres.
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