Fiat 500: On Its Way

What really brought Fiat to American attention were the minicars that reached U.S. dealerships after World War II. Only a handful arrived by the early 1950s, including the super-cute 500 Topolino (loosely translated as "little mouse"), a tiny two-seater that debuted in 1936 and used a four-cylinder engine ahead of its radiator. Regular importation began with the 500 series of 1957. Fitted with a rear-mounted 479-cc two-cylinder engine developing a tepid 15 horsepower, this 500 carried four passengers and cost a bit over $1,000. Fiat also launched a series of race-oriented Fiat-Abarths.

Fiat 500C

Like the Citroen 2CV in France, the Fiat 500 (Cinquecento in Italian) was often a young driver's first car. Director Federico Fellini evidently liked the 500, too, placing the cars prominently in such films as La Dolce Vita. More recently, in England, Top Gear magazine has called the Fifties 500 the "sexiest car ever."


Measuring a mere 110 inches long, the early 500 had "suicide" (rear-hinged) doors, a rear-mounted 479-cc engine, and a four-speed manual gearbox–which lacked the synchronizers that made for far easier shifting on most cars. Between 1957 and 1975, more than 3.7 million Fiat 500s were built, though exports to America ceased along the way.


Sports-car fans fell instead for Fiat two-seaters, lured by their rich, carefully penned lines. Sales stagnated, however, partly due to the Italian brand's growing reputation for mechanical problems. Enthusiasts often shook their heads, playfully explaining that Fiat may as well have stood for "Fix It Again, Tony."

Fresh-Air 500

Over the years, mini-sized Fiats gained wide audiences in Europe and elsewhere. Americans, in contrast, would never swoon over unconventional, economy-minded minicars. Or would they? History records that dozens of European automakers—Renault, Morris, Lloyd, Goliath—sent small-sized cars to America in the late 1950s, ‘60s, and into the 1970s.