1957 Fiat 600

By 1951, Dante Giacosa’s Fiat Topolino was 15 years old and due for replacement. The 570cc 4-cylinder icon had been warmed over with overhead valves in 1948, and an American body style in 1949, but the whole idea needed to be rethought. For one thing, it needed to be a 4-seater saloon, rather than just a 2-seater coupe, a soft-top cabriolet and an estate car.

The Fiat 500C remained in production until 1955 when the last Giardiniera wagon rolled off the line in February, and current stocks were depleted. However, Fiat had built the assembly lines for the 500C’s replacement starting in August of 1954, and in March 1955 new Fiat 600s were coming off the Mirafiori line at the rate of three cars a minute.

Fiat had sold 900,000 of Giacosa’s Topolinos in 19 years, but they would sell 2,452,107 Fiat 600s in the next 14 years. In all, an amazing 4,921,626 Fiat 600s would be built under license in six countries, from Eastern Europe to South America, in such variations as multipla minivan, convertible, pickup, Jolly beach car, 4-door saloon by SEAT in Spain, and from custom coachbuilders in Italy, like Allemano, Pininfarina, Siata, Vignale, Viotti, and Zagato. Nine versions would be raced by Abarth. As the Sevel it would be built in South America until 1982 and as the Zastava in Serbia until 1985.

The Fiat 600 was an ingenious design, as radical as the original Topolino and shown at the 1955 Geneva Salon as a cutaway, to explain its construction. It had independent suspension all round, by transverse leaf spring up front and by coils and swing axles at the rear. The 22-horsepower, 633cc water-cooled 4-cylinder engine was placed front to back in the rear, with a 4-speed transmission ahead of it. But the radiator was beside the engine, drawing air from under the car and expelling it through the rear grille.

The Multipla minivan was barely longer than the saloon but built as a cabover design, like a Volkswagen bus. The family carrier had three rows of seats, while the taxi had two, with luggage space. Sliding canvas sunroofs were fairly common. The Jolly was a ridiculous topless beach car built in small numbers by Ghia for the wealthy to carry on board their mega-yachts. Today it commands exceptionally high prices.

Road testers described the little 600cc Fiat as willing and nippy, with 40mpg and 60mph. The 1960 Fiat 600D increased engine capacity to 767cc, resulting in 24.5 horsepower and 65mph. Abarth racing versions could be as big as 1000cc and capable of 125mph. Four adults would have to be very friendly to fit into the 600, but it’s significantly bigger than the 2-cylinder 500. The stretched four-door SEAT 800 was built in Spain until 1973, and seems much more practical, though hard to find.

Fiat 600s are becoming rare, despite their production numbers, and their principal enemy is rust everywhere. A gloomy note guessed that fewer than 100 remain in England, but rebuildable survivors may be found in California or the Southwest USA, and other desert climates. Italian survivors may not be rusty but they have invariably led very hard lives. Fiat’s recent revival may have improved the spares situation significantly for older cars.