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A lot of power for the money - Fiat 850 in the (historic) test

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Created on November 5, 1964

Text:

Clauspeter Becker

Photos:

Fiat Press

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Archiv

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Fiat Press

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Archiv

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Fiat 850 (1964) - the "car full of ideas" in a contemporary factory photo

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Fiat 850 (1964) - tough test conditions for the small Fiat, low temperatures beyond the Arctic Circle

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Fiat 850 (1964) - The driver is already fed up with Mario and Angelina's eternal arguments

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Fiat 850 (1965) - the Automobil-Revue test car

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Fiat 850 (1965) - looks a little awkward, but drives very nimbly and agilely

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Fiat 850 (1965) - The rear panel can be removed for better access to the engine

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Fiat 850 (1965) - The four-cylinder engine sits longitudinally in the rear. To the right is the fan for the water cooler

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Fiat 850 (1965) - with 37 hp, it was one of the most powerful in its displacement class

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Fiat 850 (1964) - a textbook example of the Beetle: the front trunk holds over 200 liters

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Fiat 850 (1964) - simple but practical and well thought-out cockpit

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Fiat 850 (1964) - Despite interested glances: the interior was rather plain

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Fiat 850 (1964) - There is space for two travel bags behind the rear seat and above the engine

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Fiat 850 (1964) - Transparency drawing

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Fiat 850 (1964) - front and rear axle including engine and steering

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Fiat 850 (1966) - 850 Coupé, Saloon and Spider combined

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Fiat 850 (1965) - charmingly presented

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Fiat 850 (1965) - Advertising photography by Fiat

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Fiat 850 (1965) - a small car for fine occasions

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Summary

For a completely new car, the Fiat 850 contained shockingly few innovations. On the contrary: it stuck to the technical concept of its predecessor, which had only been modernized in a few respects. However, with its free-revving four-cylinder engine and fiery 37 hp at the rear, it not only drove away from its competitors, but also poached in the territory of the one-liter class. It almost goes without saying that so much power at such a competitive price meant that savings had to be made elsewhere, as this historical test report shows.

This article contains the following chapters

A six-hundred in a Sunday suit
Nevertheless, a touch of Abarth
Shifting gears is a pleasure
Pushkin comfort
All-wheel steering as standard
The workmanship still leaves a lot to be desired
Lean equipment, plenty of features
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 21min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Today, when someone tries to sell us a brand new car, washing powder or brand of cigarettes, they are eager to give the new product some sensational feature. We want it that way. What is new has to be modern or regulated, foamy, miraculously springy or do something else that has never been done before. By now, word of this extremely strange peculiarity of all customers must have spread all over the world. Except in Turin. There, of all places, they had the courage last spring to present a car to the world market that was absolutely devoid of anything unprecedented. Nothing, not even the slightest hint of a sensation surrounds the Fiat 850. There has probably been no more unsensational new design in the last period of automotive history than this car. Homely and staid, as it presented itself to be, it only garnered a cool enthusiasm, and without further fueling this enthusiasm, the car began to become a well-worn reality on our market.

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