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Fiat CEO
Sergio Marchionne yesterday confirmed the validity of recent
rumours that the new Fiat 500's official launch will be
brought forward to July; with speculation now surrounding a
debut on 4th July, a date which would mark exactly 50 years
from the arrival of the iconic original.
Originally scheduled to be presented in September, the
Italian première of the 500 is now set to move two months
ahead as the project rapidly nears completion. Fiat aim to
sell 58,000 units this year, rising to a full capacity of
120,000 next year.
Introduced
on 4th July 1957 as the successor for the
'Topolino', the 'nuova 500' (Fiat project number 110) used a layout
similar to that seen on the 600 with a rear mounted engine driving the
rear wheels and independent suspension on all four wheels. A first for
Fiat was the air-cooling of the engine, a two cylinder 479cc unit with
13bhp. This was coupled to a four speed manual gearbox with a floor
mounted shift. With initial sales much slower than Fiat had expected,
later in 1957 (at the Turin Motor Show) they at introduced two vnew ersions,
the 'Economica' and the 'Normale', both with an engine giving 15bhp. The
'Economica' was effectively the same as the original version (except for
the more powerful engine) but at a reduced price, whilst the 'Normale'
had the revised engine plus various other small changes,
such as opening door windows and a 'proper' rear seat.
The following year, 1958, saw the introduction of the 'Sport'. After
finishing first, second, third and fourth in class at the Hockenheim
12 Hour race, Fiat began sales of the car. It was fitted with a
development of the original engine which, enlarged to 499.5cc and with a
revised camshaft, valves, cylinder head and fuelling, and managed to produce
21.5bhp.
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Introduced
on 4th July 1957, the successor for the
'Topolino', the 'nuova 500' (Fiat project number 110) used a layout
similar to that seen on the 600 with a rear mounted engine driving the
rear wheels. |
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Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne yesterday confirmed the
validity of recent rumours that the Fiat 500 launch
would be brought forward to July; with speculation
now surrounding a debut on 4th July, a date which
would mark exactly 50 years from the launch of the
iconic original. |
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As well as a bold red stripe down each side of the car, the 500 Sport also had a solid
roof, unlike the normal production cars which had a canvas roll-back
arrangement. The Sport also gained this latter feature in 1959. The next major version to be released was the 'Giardiniera'.
Introduced in 1960, this was an estate version, with a stretched
wheelbase and a horizontally mounted engine. Later in the year the 500D
was released. This brought the 499.5cc engine into general useage
(rather than just in the Sport, which was then discontinued) with a power
output of 17.5bhp. A few other detail changes (such as a revised fuel
tank) were also made.
Production of the 500D
model continued until 1965 when it was replaced by
the new 500F version, the main changes being the adoption of front-hinged doors and
a revised transmission system. In 1968 the 500F was joined in production by the Lusso which had revised internal and external trim and details, most
noticeably the addition of tubular 'extensions' (a form of bull-bar)
to the front and rear bumpers.
The final version emerged in 1972. The 500R used the new 594cc engine
from the 126, with a reduced output of 18bhp, adopted the new Fiat logo,
had different wheels and a few other minor changes. It continued in production until 1975 by which time a total over
3,678,000 examples of the 500 had been produced.
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