In photos: 116 years of Fiat cars
Fiat celebrates its 116-year anniversary on July 11. Happy birthday, Fiat. Glad we knew you. You've had a good run dating back to 1899 when Giovanni Agnelli and his co-investors founded the Italian Automobile Factory of Turin or Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T.). Okay, if we're going to be specific and literal, we are in truth saying arrivederci to the Fiat car brand, not goodbye. We will see Fiat again, but reinvented and diminished. What Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has planned for Fiat-branded cars boils down to "shrink and largely disappear." We heard as much from Sergio Marchionne earlier this year at the Geneva car show. "Fiat no longer intends to offer a full range of products like other mass brands," said the CEO of FCA. "There are two reasons - the economics are not there to develop these cars and the FCA portfolio takes their place." Here are some of the classic Fiats produced since beginning in 1899.
1919 Fiat 501: “’La saetta del Re’ gained its name because at the time, it was produced exclusively for the Italian Royal Army. The model also owes its fame to its widespread use as a taxi over the coming years. In 1919 it was presented at the Turin Motor Show for civilian use,” explains the Fiat website. It came with 23 horsepower and had a top speed of 70 km/h.
1932 Fiat 508 Balilla: “There are those who love the Spider, those who just can't give up their saloons, those who only want a Torpedo. With the Balilla, we've kept you all happy,” according to the Fiat website. It had three speeds, 20 horsepower and a top speed of 80 km/h.
1932 Fiat Mefistofele: “It started off as a 1908 Fiat "SB4".Then Ernest Eldridge transformed it into a high speed record,” according to the Fiat website. It had six cylinders, 320 horsepower and a top speed of 235 km/h.
1936 Fiat 500 Topolino: “The world's first standard production mini. 8900 Lire. 85 km per hour. Once upon a time there was a little mouse, who the Italians knew as Topolino,” reads the Fiat website. With only 13 horsepower it could go 100 km on six litres of gas.
1938 Fiat 1500 B Berlinetta by Touring Estimated price $300,000
1951 Fiat 1101 Campagnola: “The 4x4 designed for both civilian and military use. Manufactured in several versions, from snowplough to photoelectric. The off-road vehicle which set records and made history,” reads the Fiat website.
1953 Fiat Nuova 1100 103: “71,000 employees and the beginnings of Italy's first motorways. The country needed a great car,” reads the Fiat website.
1956 600 Multipla: “The first example of a minivan, with approximately 170,000 units produced, offered spectacular lines and capacity,” reads the Fiat website.
The first relaunch: Fiat re-introduced the 500 in 1957 and had produced almost four million of the little cars by 1975, when it was replaced by more sophisticated designs.
1958 Fiat 8V Cabriolet by Vignale Estimated price: $1.9 million
1958 Fiat 8V Cabriolet by Vignale Estimated price: $1.9 million
Arturo Brunetto and Andrea Frueder, winners of the Liege-Brescia-Liege Rally with a Fiat 500 Sport in 1958.
Fiat 500 Abarth (1958)
1957 Fiat Nuova 500: “Two-cylinder in line engine, 479 cm3 displacement, 13 HP. What beautiful dreams are made of,” reads the Fiat website.
Fiat 500 Abarth Racing (1965)
Testing the Fiat 695 Abarth at Monza in race trim 1966
Fiat 500 F (1965 – 1972)
Fiat 500 Giardiniera (1960 – 1977)
Fiat 500 F (1965 – 1972)
1969 Fiat 128: “A state-of-the-art vehicle designed by engineer Dante Giacosa, and Fiat's first front wheel drive car,” reads the Fiat website. It came with 55 horsepower and a top speed of 135 km/h.
Columnist Peter Cheney's mother, Tharon Cheney, in his Fiat 600 (which she later backed into a ditch)
1970 Fiat 500L
1971 Fiat 127: “One of Fiat's longest standing models by far, the basis for 3 different series. In Europe, this vehicle only went out of production in 1987. In South America, under other names, it was marketed until 1996,” reads the Fiat website.
Fiat 500 Lusso: The Lusso was in production, essentially unchanged until 1972 when the 500's replacement, the Fiat 126, was launched.
Fiat 500 Abarth in the showroom
Fiat Abarth 595SS (Taken Feb. 25, 2000)Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail
Fiat 500 R (1972 1975)
1983 Fiat Uno: “To replace the 127, we needed to design a car that exceeded expectations. With the Uno we did just that,” reads the Fiat website. Over 12 years more than 8.8 million of these cars were produced between the more than 30 different versions.
1994 Fiat Coupe 175: “0-100 km/h in 7.1 seconds, 190 HP turbo, Viscodrive self-locking differential, stated top speed of 225 km/h. Welcome Fiat Coupé,” reads the Fiat website.
The new Fiat Punto Evo is seen on the first press day of the Frankfurt Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009. The car fair runs through Sept. 27. Michael Probst/AP PhotoMichael Probst/The Associated Press
2003 Fiat Barchetta.
2011 Fiat 500 for North American market: Slightly larger than the original, fuel economy with a manual transmission is rated at 6.7 litres/100 km city and 5.6 litres/100 km highway. And they're equipped to a surprisingly sophisticated level with safety, comfort, performance and even mildly luxurious features, depending on whether you pop for a Pop, spring for a Sport or lay down your money for a leather-lined Lounge.
2015 Fiat 500 Pop
2014 Fiat 500L