Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile - Italian quick-change artist

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile - Italian quick-change artist

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Created on February 11, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Andrew Miterko/Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

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AR Archiv

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Chrysler-Fiat Group

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Archiv

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Designer Rapi made use of some American elements with lots of chrome and the panoramic windshield

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - narrow gauge

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - You could also be standing in front of a shrunken Ford Thunderbird

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The designer Rapi had previously drawn the Coupé 8V

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Narrow stature with a width of around 1.50 meters

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Open-top driving fun in small format

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Designer Rapi gave the small Fiat a lot of chrome

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The implied tail fins were popular on American cars at the time, but did not always suit the taste of Europeans

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - In the second generation, the bumper horns were positioned further to the center

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - If you wanted a radio, you had to pay a premium

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Swivel seats to make it easier for ladies to get in and out of the car

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Clear cockpit with a good view

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Where the predecessor had a Nard wooden steering wheel, the successor had a Fiat three-spoke steering wheel

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The speedometer was in keeping with the spirit of the times, but doesn't look very sporty from today's perspective

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - four-speed gearbox with unsynchronized first gear

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The interior mirror had to be sufficient for the view to the rear, exterior mirrors were not mandatory in Italy at that time

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - There was even chrome trim in the interior

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Chrome was not spared on the front either

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The indicators, which were mounted on the mudguards on the predecessor, were placed conventionally again here

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Matching Numbers, important for value retention

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Opulent chrome jewelry, not to everyone's taste

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - Unusual exhaust layout

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - The small four-cylinder engine produced just over 50 hp

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - 1221 cc small engine

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Fiat 1100 TV (1955) - Premiere - for a happy romp for two - Geneva Motor Show 1955

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Fiat 1100 Spyder (1955) - The bumper horns were still on the outside on the early version

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - The handsome convertible only found a few buyers

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - With clearly pronounced tail fins

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - Like a little American

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Fiat 1200 Spyder (1959) - Design by Fabio Rapi

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1956) - still with 1100 cc

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Fiat 1100-103 TV Trasformabile (1956) - elegant and attractive

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - two-seater

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - Here still with steering wheel gearshift and the wooden steering wheel, which had to make way for a black plastic steering wheel from 1957 onwards

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - Sales brochure French

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - Sales brochure Italian

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - Sales brochure French

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - At the International Auto Show Turin

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Fiat 1200 Trasformabile (1958) - the rare convertible, which took some getting used to visually, was the predecessor of the 1200 Spyder

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Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile (1955) - At the Turin Motor Show

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Fiat 1100 TV Coupé (1954) - Elegance in miniature by Pininfarina

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Fiat 1100 TV Coupé (1955) - exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show in 1955, Pininfarina design

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Fiat 1100 TV Coupé (1955) - exhibited at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show, Pininfarina Coupé

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Fiat 1200 Coupé (1957) - this Pininfarina design already breathes the American spirit

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Fiat 1200 Coupé (1957) - pretty 2+2-seater coupé by Pininfarina

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Fiat 1100 TV Coupé (1954) - interesting design by Pininfarina

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Fiat 1200 Spider (1959) - the new convertible on the Pininfarina stand at the 1959 Geneva Motor Show

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1959) - pretty spider - Auto e Moto d'Epoca in Padua 2017

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Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile (1957) - Advertising photo

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Summary

Fancy something other than an open-top Alfa Romeo? In the 1950s, Fiat offered a small sports convertible called the "Trasformabile", which is likely to cause a stir at many an Italian or classic car meeting today. The design was (presumably) by Fabio Luigi Rapi, who also gave the famous 8V "Otto VU" its timeless bodywork. This report tells the brief history of the Fiat 1200 TV Spyder and its close relative 1100 TV Trasformabile 2 Posti and shows it in many current and historical pictures, as well as in the sales brochure.

This article contains the following chapters

Special name
Rapid evolution
Larger engine
Practical solution
Sports dwarf

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It doesn't always have to be Alfa Romeo, the Turin-based company Fiat has also built exclusive sports convertibles that still inspire every lover of Italianità today. The Fiat 1200 TV "Trasformabile" makes you want to speed off south to the nearest espresso bar! The suffix "TV" means "Turismo Veloce", i.e. "sports tourer". Fiat then called the open-top version not simply "Cabriolet", but "Trasformabile" ("convertible"), which sounds much more exclusive. At the 1955 Geneva Motor Show, the Fiat 1100 TV was presented as a convertible, the predecessor of the 1200 TV. Of course, the Fiat 1100 of the time served as the basis, and the factory developed its own sporty version based on it, having previously given way to independent coachbuilders.

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