No other car was showing so much of the Italian attitude to life than the Fiat Nuova 500, which was launched in 1957.
It is even said that the Fiat Nuova 500 for Italy was like the birth of the automobile.
A car with a height of 1.32 m (52.0 in), a width of 1.32 m (52.0 in) and a length of 2.97 m (116.9 in) was able to associate technology with emotion.
And even though it was poorly equipped it was more than just a car and the Italians used to call it ‘Bambina’.
Fiat Nuova 500 © flickr/Dr. Keats
In 1922 the new factory ‘Lingotto’ was built and it was the first using assembly lines for the production. It was a five storey building with a proving ground on top of the roof. Here the predecessor the Fiat 500 ‘Topolino’ was built too and first sold in 1936.
After WW2 a new car was needed and once again Dante Giacosa was asked to design it.
Even before the new Fiat 500 came on the market the Fiat 600 was sold in 1955. It was bigger and somehow old fashioned like a mixture of the old and new Fiat 500.
After four years of development the new car was first sold under the name of Fiat Nuova 500 to point out its relationship with the old 500.
It was the first car with serial-produced self-supporting body and the two-cylinder engine at 479 cc produced 13 bhp.
In the beginning it the Fiat Nuova 500 didn’t sell very well, so it was presented at the Turin Motor Show in autumn 1957 with a new engine producing 15 bhp and a top speed of 90 km/h. And even the price was reduced.
But it was still poorly equipped. The side windows couldn’t be opened and fresh air came from the front of the car through simple tubes ending beneath the dashboard. The car also featured a fabric roof folding all the way back to the rear of the vehicle.
In 1958 the luxury version was sold with a roof only folding back half way and side windows that could be opened. The long roof was still available though.
These were the N models; the Fiat launched in 1960 was the D model producing 17 bhp and bigger rear lights. The doors still were ‘suicide doors’.
In 1960 also the ‚Giardiniera‘, an estate version was sold becoming the longest running model.
The successor of model D was model F producing 18 bhp and with front-hinged doors. The Fiat Nuova 500 model L following in 1968 was mechanically very similar but had different bumpers with and extra chrome nudge bar and an interior with a much more modern look.
In 1972 the model R was the last incarnation of the Fiat Nuova 500. It was much more comfortable and already had a few technical features of the new Fiat 126.
