Martin Garrad
Club President and Membership Secretary – membership@fiatbarchetta.uk
May 2023 – Welcome to the UK Barchetta Owners’ Club website. We now have a membership of 230 and, with seven new members so far this year, still no sign of failing interest. Our club structure is changing again. Sandy Ranson has done a sterling job as club secretary for the last several years but is now standing down. Fortunately we do have a volunteer offering to take over from Sandy, Dave Skelding has stepped up for which I am grateful. Mike Barnes continues as our treasurer and is responsible for managing our 200 Club. He has restored a healthy bank balance for us, thank you Mike. Neil Mead looks after our website and manages to keep it fresh and up to date whilst Mark Simmons continues in an admin role.
I joined The Club in 2010 and have never regretted it. My wife, Jenny, and I have enjoyed meetings each year since then and added a few continental jaunts too. We are now looking forward to both the annual meeting in Poundbury and to a rather adventurous trip to Norway in June with two other cars from our club. We have created some really good friendships through our little cars. We have 20 cars booked to meet at Poundbury next week, this event proved so popular that all places were bagged within 24 hours of them being released! Thanks to Chris and Aneta Rocker for making all the arrangements for this trip.
Club membership remains free but we do encourage people to sign up to our “200 Club” which provides substantial cash prizes and funds to keep us going! Please consider joining. The prize fund this year looks like reaching £1300 to be distributed to the winners. (Still time to buy a ticket if you are quick! For now, enjoy our website and I hope the information is both interesting and informative.
Very best wishes
Martin Garrad
Michael Barnes
Treasurer
I bought my Barchetta in 2005 at a time when FIAT had just reduced the purchase price and spec of the facelifted model. After much soul searching and domestic debate I placed an order for a new Broom yellow B – and sat back and waited – for quite some time. Only to be told eventually that there was a production problem at the factory and here was a voucher for £1000 to keep me quiet. Youngest son was driving a black Punto at the time – with a fair amount of bravo – and somehow the £1000 dwindled to £500 in keeping the Punto rolling.
Not to worry – the Barchetta finally arrived and I signed up for the UK Barchetta Owners Club and still have my cardboard membership card to this day! I hadn’t been the proud owner for that long -when one or two gremlins started creeping in – problems with the headlights – more seriously the engine cutting out at speed – bit disconcerting actually. Back to the dealership who didn’t seem able to rectify the engine problem -but were very helpful in other ways. A suitably worded letter to the dealership principal and FIAT UK suggesting I might have been better off with the MX5 provoked a response from the dealership but niente from FIAT UK – not a positive start! The dealership however accepted the fact that the car was not fit for purpose and liaised with FIAT on my behalf – a few weeks drifted by – but then – a result – the keys to a brand new yellow Barchetta were handed over. Not so sure I would be so lucky in todays economic climate! It’s been with us ever since, attending all but one of the Club meetings since 2010.
We have made some very good friends , visited some places we hadn’t been to before, drunk copious amounts of wine and generally had a great time – with hopefully more to come. Equally importantly don’t forget the 200 Club!
Very best wishes
Michael Barnes
Neil Mead
Website Manager – info@fiatbarchetta.uk
Hi, and thanks for visiting our club website. Back in 1995 my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting which was followed by a Punto Sporting. However, it was the Barchetta and also the Fiat Coupe that really stood out at the time, they seemed so different to other cars and ever since I have been a fan. Fast forward to 2007 when I got a new job that came with a company car which made me think ‘I wonder how much a Barchetta is now?’ and that of course led to me buying the car I still own today.
There have been times when the car has been off the road but me and my dad did complete a European road trip in the car in 2015 and since joining the UK Owners Club in 2017 it has provided me the opportunity to meet some great people, joining in with some excellent drives during the meetings so I would encourage anybody with a Barchetta to join and make the most of their car, after all it is free!
Social media has of course changed the way we communicate and can be a great tool however at the club we still believe there is a place for a website to communicate news, useful information and archive data for all owners to share so please check back and if you have something to contribute, please get in touch.
Mark Simmons
Administration – info@fiatbarchetta.uk
I have been a member of the barchetta club since 2014 and I was made to feel welcome on my first event . I have been on a few events since which have all been well organised.
When the barchetta was launched I admired the looks and style and kept a few of the then magazine articles on it ( I recommend the Brooklands road test portfolio book to buy). Unfortunately at the time I was unable to afford one and due to my age the group 19 out of 20 insurance group was prohibitive for me ,thank goodness for classic car insurance now !
I have always liked roadsters and bought the default choice the MX5 in 2002 . Having moved to the Suffolk area in 2010 from the London area and having a house with space for cars I bought my barchetta from someone near by in 2013. Thankfully my wife was understanding as it was my 3rd roadster at the time . The car has been very good to me and for a FWD car it brings a big smile to my face on B roads . As a few of my fellow club members know I am a big fan of barchettas with steel wheels (mines on original alloys).
I would encourage you to join the club and of course it is free.