Fiat 600

"600" can also refer to the later Fiat Seicento

Fiat 600
Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1955-1969
Successor	Fiat 850
Class	City car
Body style(s)	3-door
Layout	RR layout
Engine(s)	633 cc straight-4, 21 hp 767 cc straight-4, 29 hp
Length	3215 mm (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" in)
Width	1380 mm (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" in)
Height	1405 mm (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" in)
Curb weight	585 kg (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" lb)
Related	SEAT 600 Zastava 750
Designer	Dante Giacosa

The Fiat 600 (or "Seicento") [say-chento] is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m (126 in) long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 (590,000 lira then). The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori plant was 2,604,000. During 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the car became very popular in countries such as Argentina, where it was nicknamed Fitito (a diminutive of Fiat) and Spain, where it is affectionally known as Pelotilla (Little ball).

Characteristics

The car had hydraulic drum brakes on all four wheels. Suspension was a unique single double-mounted leafspring - which acts as a stabilizer - between the front wheels coupled to gas-charged shock absorbers, and an independent coil-over-shock absorber setup coupled to semi-trailing arms at the rear. All 600 models had 3-synchro (no synchro on 1st) 4-speed transaxles. Unlike the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat 600 is water-cooled with an ample cabin heater, and while cooling is generally adequate, for high-power modified versions a front-mounted radiator or oil cooler is needed to complement the rear-mounted radiator. All models of the 600 had generators with mechanical external regulators. The top speed ranged from 95 km/h (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" mph) empty with the 633 cc engine to 110 km/h (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{" mph) with the 767 cc version. The car had good ventilation and defrosting systems. A year after its debut, in 1956, a soft-top version was introduced, as well as a six-seater variant — the Fiat 600 Multipla. It was a precursor of current multi-purpose vehicles. In the USSR a similar car was manufactured, Zaporozhets ZAZ-965, produced from 1960 to 1963. Despite speculations, that design was copied from the Fiat 600, ZAZ factory representatives say the car was an exclusively Soviet design, created by Soviet ZAZ engineers jointly with colleagues from Moscow's NAMI ^[1]. Also in Spain, the 600 model was made under the make of Seat, from 1957 to 1973. Up to 797.319 Seat 600 were made. The Spanish exported them to Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Etiopia, Gabon, Guinea Ecuatorial, Reunion Island, Lebanon, Senegal, Somalia and Zaire. This car motorised Spain after the Spanish Civil War. In former Yugoslavia the model was very popular, and was produced under the name Zastava 750 (later 850), nicknamed "Fićo" in Serbian and "Fičo" in Slovene. It was produced by the Zastava factory in Kragujevac (in Serbia) from the early sixties until 1985. Zastava 850 had many improvements from original model. The Fiat 850 is largely derived from the 600, but introduces a fully-synchronized transaxle, front disc brakes, and an alternator. The Fiat 850 is thus a popular source of 'upgrade' parts for the 600, but these upgrades can be difficult or costly as few of the parts can simply be exchanged without modification.

The Multipla (1956–1965)

Fiat 600 Multipla 1960

The original Fiat Multipla and 600 Multipla were based on the Fiat 600's drivetrain, model 1100 front suspension, and sat 6 people in a footprint just 50 centimetres (19.7 in) longer than the original Mini Cooper. The driver compartment was moved forward, eliminating the boot in effect but giving the body very MPV-like one-box look. Until the 1970s it was widely used as a taxi in many parts of Italy. The Multipla name was re-introduced in the late-1990s for the Fiat Multipla compact MPV.

The Jolly

The Fiat 600 "Jolly" - with wicker seats

In 1958 Fiat shipped a number of Fiat 600s to the Italian design house Ghia for conversion into the Jolly. Featuring wicker seats and the option of a fringed top to shield its occupants from the Mediterranean sun, these cars were originally made for use on large yachts of the wealthy (Aristotle Onassis owned one). With a cost of nearly double that of a standard "600", they were made in a very limited production. It is believed that fewer than 100 exist today, each one being unique. 32 Jolly cars were used as taxis on the island of Catalina off the coast of Los Angeles in the USA in the years 1958-1962.

References

External links

• Registry for Fiat Multipla and Fiat Jolly MicroCar