Fiat Ritmo Cabriolet Rayton Fissore

The Fiat Ritmo Cabriolet by Rayton Fissore was a prototype convertible automobile developed in the early 1980s as part of a design feasibility study commissioned by Fiat. The base vehicle, the Fiat Ritmo (sold as the Strada in some export markets), was a front-engine, front-wheel-drive compact car introduced in 1978. The cabriolet variant proposed by Rayton Fissore was an independent reworking of the standard two-door Ritmo platform, intended to assess the viability of a factory-supported open-top derivative. Rayton Fissore, a small Italian coachbuilding and design firm based in Cherasco, undertook the modification of the Ritmo bodyshell by removing the roof structure and reinforcing the underbody to retain torsional rigidity. The resulting prototype incorporated a fabric folding top and design alterations to the rear deck and windshield frame. The vehicle retained the mechanical layout of the standard Ritmo, including MacPherson strut front suspension and a transverse inline-four engine with manual transmission. The specific engine and trim level used for the prototype are not recorded in public documentation. The vehicle was presented to Fiat Group officials in limited review and did not proceed to production. Fiat subsequently elected to develop a cabriolet version of the Ritmo in-house, contracting Carrozzeria Bertone for the design and manufacturing of the series model. The Bertone-bodied Ritmo Cabriolet entered production in 1981 and remained in the Fiat catalogue through the late 1980s. No additional units of the Fiat Ritmo Cabriolet Rayton Fissore were constructed, and the completed prototype remains a one-off. Its current location is not confirmed through official records, though photographic evidence suggests it has appeared in private collections or exhibitions. Chassis numbering and ownership history have not been published. The prototype represents a minor but documented instance of collaboration between Fiat and independent design houses during the early 1980s. While ultimately bypassed in favor of an internal production solution, the Rayton Fissore proposal illustrates the broader context of postwar Italian coachbuilding practices, in which external firms were periodically engaged for concept exploration on volume models.