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Fiat 500 and 600 Jolly - for the beach, boat or golf course

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Created on January 2, 2014

Reading time 3min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Drew Shipley - Courtesy RM Auctions

John Black - Courtesy RM Auctions

Fiat

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Drew Shipley - Courtesy RM Auctions

John Black - Courtesy RM Auctions

Fiat

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Der Fiat 500 lieferte die Technik für die Sondermodelle Jolly

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Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia (1957) - Strandwagen für vier Personen

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Fiat 600 Jolly Ghia (1958) - das Strandfahrzeug auf Fiat-600-Basis, gezeigt am Turiner Salon 1958

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Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia (1958) - zusammen mit dem Fiat 600 'Jolly'

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Fiat 600 Jolly Ghia (1962) - mit aufgespanntem "Wetterschutz"

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Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia (1964) - auf der Basis des Modelles Giardineta

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Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia (1964) - längere Version auf der Basis des Modells Fiat 500 Giardiniera

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Fiat 500 Jolly by Carrozzeria Ghia (1958) - als Lot 184 verkauft an der RM Auction Arizona 2013

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Summary

They were only good for nice weather and were barely tolerable on long journeys, but the Fiat 500 and 600 Jolly beach cars of the fifties and sixties were very popular with the top ten thousand. This report briefly describes the history of the small leisure vehicle and shows it in current and historical pictures. As a foretaste for next summer ....

This article contains the following chapters

The birth of the first Fiat Jolly
Standard technology
An instant hit with the top ten thousand
Many derivatives
Popular collector's vehicles
Further information

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Beach cars were popular in the late fifties and early sixties. Rich and famous people such as Aristotele Onassis, Yul Brynner, Enrico Berlinguer and Silvio Berlusconi bought a Fiat 500 Jolly to park at their beach house by the sea, on their yacht or on the golf course. The beach car was invented by Farina, but they were also produced by Fissore and Vignale. However, the most produced cars of this type are certainly the Jolly models based on the Fiat 500 and 600, which were produced in small series by Ghia. The Italian playboy Gianni Agnelli is said to have inspired the development of the Fiat 500 Jolly. For his 82-foot-long yacht Agneta, he needed a land vehicle that was light, open and maneuverable in tight spaces. As chairman of Fiat, he naturally had the means and possibilities to realize such an idea.

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