The twin-cam engine used in the original Fiat 124 Spider was designed by Aurelio Lampredi, a former Ferrari engine designer. It was also one of the first mass-produced DOHC engines to use reinforced-rubber timing belts, a common practice today.
The Fiat 124 platform became one of the most widely produced in automotive history. It was licensed to many other manufacturers, most famously to Lada in the Soviet Union (as the Lada 2101), where it was produced in vast numbers for decades.