The Fiat 500
Born: 1936
Died: 1975 (But a resurrection is imminent)
When Fiat brought out its first 500 it was nicknamed "Topolino", or "little mouse", because it was at the time probably the smallest production car in the world. It came about at the behest of Fiat founding family member Senator Agnelli, who famously asked engineer Dante Giacosa if he could design an automobile which could be sold for 5,000 lire.
Giacosa, whose speciality in the Fiat organisation up to then had been the design of military vehicles and aircraft engines, came up with the goods in the form of a 2-seater with a surprisingly smart style, rearward-opening doors, and a 13hp 569cc engine up front driving the rear wheels. It could also carry some 50kg of luggage and had a top speed of 82 km/h.
It didn't make the 5,000 lire price point, though, and with taxes and duties the car actually sold for 8,900 lire at launch. But it was nevertheless immediately bought with enthusiasm and up to the outbreak of war had sold 122,000 copies.
Unlike most automobile companies, Fiat continued production of the Topolino during most of the second World War years, and so was well set to retain its market share after the conflict was over.
That original 500A, its official designation, continued until 1948 with very few changes. Then the 500B was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show of that year, the improvements including a brand-new engine with 3hp more. The body was also slightly modified for the event.
A year later a more radically changed body was introduced as the 500C, with also an upgraded engine. This car remained in production with hardly any changes until 1955, when the Topolino was finally replaced by the rather larger 600. At that point, some 376,000 had been built.
But the 500 wasn't dead and buried, and in 1957 Dante Giacosa came up with the Topolino's "proper" replacement, the "Nuova 500". This time the mechanical layout was rear-engine/rear-drive, and the engine was a 13.5hp air-cooled 2-cylinder 479cc unit which, among other things, consumed about a third less fuel than the original 500A. It was also a 4-seater. The car was quickly nicknamed "Bambino", or "baby", by the Italian buying public, which became even more impressed with it when it soon gained an extra 1.5hp, more chrome, and wind-up windows in 1958.
The 1965 500F had the most significant change in the whole history of the 500, by virtue of its front-hinged doors. This had probably some safety advantage, but for the tight-skirted ladies of the era it made modest egress from the still diminutive vehicle something that required the invention of a whole new technique. . .
The L provided reclining front seats and changes to the instruments and a new steering wheel was also added. and the floors were carpeted!
In 1972, in tandem with the 500, Fiat introduced the equally small 126, to which it officially gave the name Bambino. It too was a rear-engined car, and had an angular more modern design than its sibling. But it never achieved the same levels of sale or affection, although it continued in production right up to 1993.
In 1975, production of the 500 ceased, after more than 3.6 million copies of the little car had been sold. It is a testament to the quality of the concept and its construction that anywhere in Italy you will see old versions still in daily use, and cherished by their owners.
In recent decades the Cinquecento and Seicento tried to wear the mantle of the original 500s, but never seduced the motorist as did the Topolino and "real" Bambino.
The 500 is dead, but is it a case of "Long live the 500"? Maybe in spirit. The Trepiuno concept shown in Geneva in 2004 is to be the basis for a new Fiat small car in coming years (and will also underpin the design of the next Ford Ka). We'll wait and see if resurrection really works.