Fiat 126

The blog about small and funny car Fiat-126.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Parents of Fiat-126

In 1933 Fiat announced an internal competition, open to all their departments, to design a small car for the masses. The winning design was penned by Dante Giacosa from the aviation division. The car, officially the 500, became known as the Topolino. It had a 569cc four cylinder side-valve engine hung out ahead of the front axle. This was coupled to a 4 speed gearbox with synchromesh on 3rd and top that carried drive to the rear wheels. Front suspension was independent by transverse leaf and a live rear axle was employed. The car had 12V electrics and hydraulic brakes. For a small car this was all quite advanced. Originally it had been planned to make the car front wheel drive, but the difficulty and expense of constant velocity joints put a stop to that. The car was designed as a pure 2 seater which allowed a reasonable amount of luggage room. This really was a very small car with a wheelbase of only 6ft 6in. Weighing in at just 535kg the 13bhp engine gave sprightly performance for the time and had a top speed of 53mph. The car endured for the next 17 years. During this time it was very successful in all forms of competition including the Monte Carlo Rally and the Mille Miglia road race. In 1948 the side-valve engine was replaced by an overhead valve engine producing 16.5bhp and the car became the 500B. This raised top speed to 60mph. In 1949 the Topolino was restyled and became the 500C. Total production of the Topolino amounted to about 520,000 units.


In 1955 the Topolino was replaced by the 600. This was a larger 4 seater car with a rear mounted 633cc engine. Fiat soon decided that it was necessary to create another small car to take the true place of the Topolino. Hence the Nuova 500 was born. The Nuova 500 looked like a scaled down 600. It retained the rear engine of the 600, but instead of a water cooled four cylinder it had a vertical air-cooled twin of 479cc producing 13bhp. There was a 4-speed gearbox with dog engagement of all gears (no synchromesh).
The Nuova 500 remained in production for the next 18 years. During this time the engine grew to 499cc producing 17.5bhp, and then received another power hike to 22bhp in 1965. In 1972 the Fiat 126 was introduced. For 3 years there was a Nuova 500R made that used the floorpan and most running gear from the 126. This car ceased production in 1975. As well as the saloon car there was an estate car, the Giardiniera, which had the engine positioned horizontally so that a flat floor could be installed. Over 4 million Nuova 500s were produced during its long life. The car has become a cult classic all around the world.

source here

    

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