Fiat
(1899 - today)
Brand:
Country:
Italy
Fiat stands for ‘Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino’ and was founded in 1899. The company developed into the largest car manufacturer in Italy. Famous models included the Fiat ‘Topolino’, the Fiat Balilla, the Fiat 500, the Fiat 600, the Fiat 124 and the Fiat 1100. For a long time, the focus was on small cars and mid-range vehicles. Fiat took over Lancia and Ferrari in 1969 and Alfa Romeo in 1986. In addition to car manufacturing, the portfolio also included the production of lorries, industrial vehicles and even aircraft and ships. In the new millennium, Fiat merged with Chrysler (FCA) and finally merged into Stellantis, which also includes the French PSA Group.
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When Fiat won major prizes
FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) had barely been founded in 1899 when the Turin-based company ventured onto the racetrack and immediately claimed its first victories. Founding member and senator Giovanni Agnelli Senior immediately understood the advertising power of motor racing and Fiat took on the foreign competition with ever more powerful racing cars. The first major success was celebrated in 1904 at the Brescia-Cremona-Mantua-Brescia race, the last in 1927 at the Gran Premio di Milano. Fiat bid farewell to Grand Prix racing and only returned to today's Grand Prix scene much later through Ferrari. This report will outline some of the outstanding events and successes.
The Fiat 1100 S was built 401 times as a competition coupé from 1947 to 1950. Three of the cars finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall in the 1948 Mille Miglia, beating the big names from Ferrari, Maserati and Cisitalia. The aerodynamic coupé was of course just the right car for the first Ennstal-Classic in 1993. This report looks back on the first Ennstal-Classic, shows Herbert Völkers' car in many pictures and reminds us of the beautiful stories surrounding this rare piece.
When Fiat presented the "8 V" (pronounced "Otto Vu" in Italian) at the Geneva Motor Show in 1952, it was a real sensation. The racing coupé featured outstanding aerodynamics, an eight-cylinder engine and innovative approaches to suspension design. This report briefly describes the design and history, but above all portrays one of the surviving vehicles and shows it in many pictures. The two original sales brochures and many historical photographs are also unique.
When the new Fiat 1100 was launched in 1953, it was ahead of the competition in many ways. Sporting talent and generous space made it a high-flyer. The Fiat did not lose its strengths even with the continuous model improvements, from which the family-friendly estate also benefited. This vehicle report tells the story of the model, over 1.8 million of which were produced and which, despite its importance, has almost been forgotten today.
Between 1956 and 1964, Carlo Abarth built racing-oriented coupés based on the technology of the Fiat 600, but equipped with an independent and attractive GT body. At that time, these coupés had to be beaten in their class in motor racing, which only a few succeeded in doing in the long term. This report briefly outlines the history of the Fiat-Abarth Zagato coupé and looks at the technology and one example in particular, which raced at Le Mans in 1960/1961 and at the Targa Florio in 1967, supplemented by archive photos from the time.
The chassis of passenger cars from the fifties provided a good basis for custom-built vehicles. The MEB, the Meister's own 1961 model, was based on a 1953 Fiat 1100, but where is it today? This short article tells the story of the MEB 1961, as far as it is known, illustrated with beautiful historical pictures.
The Abarth 1300 OT was built in around 50 units between 1965 and 1966 and dominated Division 1 of the GT World Championship in 1966 and 1967. Beneath the attractive fiberglass body, designed by Mario Colucci, are a Simca 1000 box-section frame, Fiat 850 suspension components and the twin-camshaft engine from Abarth. This article goes into the history of the 1300 Omologato Turismo and shows a vehicle from 1966 in detail, both visually and tonally, as well as on historical photo material and in the original sales brochure.
In 1966, Fiat presented the 124 Sport Spider at the Turin Motor Show. The design came from Pininfarina/Tjaarda, the technology from the 124 saloon. The package turned out to be a hit, as the convertible was built until 1985 and around 200,000 units were sold. This vehicle report portrays an early 1.4-liter version from 1969 and describes the history of the beautiful Spider in words and pictures.
Between 1966 and 1971, Abarth produced the 124/1300 model, which combined the coupé body of the Fiat 850 with the engine of the 124 saloon. With 75 hp, the compact car offered very competitive driving performance, but this was also reflected in a self-confident price. This report portrays a Fiat-Abarth 124/1300 Series 2 and shows the various models in historical photographs.
In 1983, Fiat presented the Uno, a pretty and not overly complicated compact car. In 1984, the speedster, which was available as a three- and five-door model, was voted "Car of the Year". Just how right the Fiat engineers were is shown by the fact that almost nine million Uno cars were built. This historical technical report analyzes the design of the Fiat Uno, supplemented by many illustrations.
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All 425 Fiat models
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