Ford Pinto engine
It was used in many European Ford cars and was exported to the United States to be used in the Ford Pinto, a successful subcompact car of the 1970s, hence the name which is used most often for the unit. In Britain, it is commonly used in many kit cars and hot rods, especially in the 2 litre size.
Fiat Panda
The 652 cc air-cooled two-cylinder engine was replaced by a 769 cc (34 PS) water-cooled four-cylinder unit, and the 903/965cc by a 999 cc (45 PS, 50 PS (37 kW) in the 4x4) unit. Both new engines were from Fiat's new FIRE family of four-cylinder water-cooled powerplants with a single overhead camshaft. The rear suspension was also upgraded, the rigid axle with leaf springs being replaced by a more modern dependent suspension system known as the "Omega axle", consisting of a non-straight rigid axle with a central mounting and coil springs (first seen on the Lancia Y10, which used the same platform). The 4x4 retained the leaf-sprung live axle set-up, presumably to avoid having to redesign the entire 4WD system.
Improvements were also made to the interior and the structure. The body was strengthened and fully galvanised on later models, virtually eliminating the earlier car's strong tendency to rust. The rear panel design was also revamped to include flared arches that mirrored those of the front wings, replacing the un-sculpted style seen on earlier models, and the doors received a slight redesign with the earlier car's quarter light windows being removed and replaced by a full width roll-down window. The bottom seam of the facelifted model's doors unfortunately retained much the earlier car's susceptibility to rust. In ascending order of specification and cost, the revised range was as follows: 750L, 750CL, 750S, 1000CL, 1000S, 4x4.
April 1986 saw the introduction of a 1301 cc diesel engine with 37 bhp (a detuned 127/Uno unit). Fitted as standard with a five-speed gearbox it was only available in the basic "L" trim and was available until 1989 (until 1994 in the van versions). The van variant of the Panda was also introduced, with both petrol and diesel engines. The van was basically a standard Panda without rear seats. The rear windows were replaced with plastic blanking panels and a small (always black) steel extension with side hinged doors was fitted instead of the usual hatchback tailgate. Neither the van nor the diesel were available in right hand drive markets.