Moretti was an historic brand of the coachbuilt cars world but, unfortunately, like its competitors it began to have financial problems at the end of the sixties: the great coachbuilder era was going to quit and, with the exception of Pininfarina and Ghia, most coachbuilders must shrink their dreams of glory and take care of smaller cars to face the crisis.

No less, the results were often cute like this 850 Sportiva: a sport coupé based on Fiat 850 chassis and engine. Responsible for the lovely exterior design was Swiss stylist Dany Brawand, who had previously worked for Giovanni Michelotti. The car's nose and profile share similarities with the Pininfarina penned Fiat Dino Spider but it is believed that Brawand created the Sportiva design nine months earlier. The original Sportiva was strictly a two-seater as the spare tire filled up the nose, which meant the rear seats were sacrificed for luggage space.

Pretty much built to order, the final specification of the Fiat Moretti 850 Sportiva could be determined by the customer. In 'standard' trim, the compact four-cylinder engine displace 843cc and produced just under 50hp. With readily available tuning kits, the popular Fiat engine could be easily enlarged and the power output grew accordingly. The rest of the car's running gear was identical to the Fiat 850 Coupe.

Priced at 1,095,000 Lire, the 850 Sportiva entered production in 1967. Although some sources suggest as many as 300 examples were built, Giovanni Moretti more recently stated only 40 Sportivas were constructed. Among them were several evolutions, including the four-seater S4 and a Spider version was also added to the line-up. Of the 40 cars, it is believed less than half have survived.

Little known today and very rare, the Fiat Moretti 850 Sportiva remains as one of the most beautiful designs of the 1960s.

This is a very sexy little car (only 111cm high!) is one that will almost certainly be welcomed at any event. As larger-engined coachbuilt cars reach ever higher values, this giant-killer must also be an excellent investment. This 1967 Moretti 850 Sportiva Coupe is complete, has the front shield/whiskers and does have the all-important Moretti instruments and the chrome trim, including bumpers and 12'' Borrani wire wheels. It wears a wonderful leather interior. It has the original 843 cc (Fiat 100G) engine, cylinder head (100GBC) and Weber 30 DIC carburettor. The car was restored in 2011. It has a Dutch registration document.

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