The Club Fiat Coupe Portugal has held its first national meeting; the gathering took place in the city of Figueira da Foz it attracted owners of the distinctively styled coupé from around the country.

The Club Fiat Coupe Portugal has held its first national meeting; the gathering took place in the lively, centrally-located seaside city of Figueira da Foz and it attracted enthusiastic owners of the distinctively styled coupé from all around the country.

Just like almost all other European countries, Portugal has a dedicated club for fans of the Fiat Coupe. The club has existed since 2004, and several meetings have already been held at a regional level, in the north, centre and south of the country. This year was finally the year of the first national get together which was scheduled for Figueira da Foz. Situated on the central coast of Portugal, where, besides some of the country's most magnificent scenery, the location was chosen to be central for owners coming from both the north of the country as well as from the south.

The meeting was attended by eighteen Coupes and each version was well represented: from the 1.8 16v to the 2.0 16v, 2.0 16v Turbo, 2.0 20v Turbo, 2.0 20v Turbo Plus and 2.0 20v Turbo LE, all turned up. Apart from the Coupés, a trio of other Italian cars joined in, a Lancia Lybra Intensa along with a pair of Fiat Punto TDs.

The day's program started at 11.00 AM with the concentration of all the Coupes that were arriving from the north, south and center of the country, and after a small break for taking photos and filming there were presentations by the members of the club, followed by convoy to the lunchtime break, the location being a restaurant about 30km away. A very cozy place where the rural and homemade menu was simple but tasty. After lunch, once again the Coupe owners' formed again into a caravan for a scenic drive, travelling several miles to a local lake which was beautiful and private. After a little more photography and a group photo had been taken, the first national Fiat Coupe meeting was successfully wrapped up, with all members having enjoyed the day.

It is already the will of the members to hold an upcoming seminar at the national level, where many more Coupes certainly will be present, since the registration number of Coupes in the club is steadily increasing. In Portugal around 250 examples were sold from new, so there is still a long way to go for the club to try to gather the maximum possible Coupes together. For more information visit Fiat Club Portugal

by Joao Paulo Vilhena