I traveled to Martinique late 2016 around September time, it has been a long time since I was there about 10 years, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived. It's vastly different car wise compared to Barbados where I come from, almost no Japanese cars were there,mostly European cars and the odd Japanese car there came from the US market because of the prevalent use of left hand drive so even those looked different. Highways filled with Fiats, Renaults, Peugeots and Citroëns were the norm.

I really wondered what car culture was like over there, I saw a few cars some "hella flush" others just slight cosmetic modifications but nothing major, I guess I was looking at the wrong generation.

One morning during breakfast my uncle was showing me some cars that he loved from back in the day. I asked him if any were still around, I haven't seen many interesting cars since I got here, I was beginning to get a little worried about how things were shaping up, and then he just casually said yeah, up the hill there's some. “What do you mean up the hill? “ He just said my friend has a few , we can go look this afternoon, I was a bit apprehensive, I expected to see some old cars lying around, but I had no idea what I was in for. That evening we took a stroll up the hill, me with my camera in hand to a shed.

We exchanged greetings and he opened the shed for me, and sitting there were two gems, first one I noticed was covered by a sheet, but I immediately knew what it was, 1966 Fiat Abarth 1000 TC Corsa

This was one of my favorite cars from classic rally and to see one up close in person was unreal, he kept it unchanged from the factory cosmetically, and mechanically.

A quick breakdown on the specs of this car, the engine is about 982 cc with a single overhead cam along with dual carburetors it makes about 112 HP. The engine is situated in the rear of the car and the car is rear wheel drive, it weighs about 580 kg. Classic European solution to speed, take as much weight out of the car as you can. With a decent power to weight ratio it makes itself a fun car to drive around small roads with.

Classic European solution to speed, take as much weight out of the car as you can. With a decent power to weight ratio it makes itself a fun car to drive around small roads with.

The other car in the shed was another Fiat, a Fiat X1-9 designed by Bertone. It has a mid-engine rear wheel drive layout. Its 1.5 liter engine outputs about 85 hp and it weighs in at 914 kg.  It was still in the process of being restored when I came in and saw it

He had one more car to show me, but I'll save that for another post.

Coming soon, until then, enjoy motoring - Alex