It was the vehicle that allowed the mobility of the European middle class, the cheapest, the smallest and the one with the lowest consumption, during the hard years that preceded the Great War, which it survived.
At the beginning of the 1930s, the automobile manufacturer Fiat, at the request of the Italian Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini, began to work on a project that would materialize in the new Fiat 500 A and that would go down in history as Topolino, “little mouse.” ” translated to Spanish.
Mussolini, in the image and likeness of his colleague Hitler, wanted his own car for the people. Cheap, practical and with a sufficiently low consumption so that the majority of society could afford to travel in it.
Mussolini’s request reached Angelli, then a senator and head of Fiat, who entrusted Dante Giacosa, as project manager, and Rodolfo Schaffer, with the task of designing a charming two-seater vehicle that would not involve an outlay of more than 5,000 lire per unit. .
The first of them was in charge of the mechanical part, while the second took care of the image. Finally, in 1936 the manufacture of the Fiat Topolino began, a car with a four-cylinder front engine and barely 569 cc capacity, but enough to develop a power of 13 CV and reach a maximum speed of just over 80 km/h. Giving a low consumption figure was an objective throughout the project, after various technical adjustments in terms of transmission and some tricks, such as lightening its weight by drilling holes in the chassis, finally the official data was 6 liters per 100 km.
It exceeded three meters in length by 215 centimeters, a surprisingly small car for its time and was capable of accommodating two passengers with their luggage, as long as it did not exceed 50 kilos in weight. Of course, the mechanics did not give dizzying figures in terms of benefits, its interior was quite basic and although it finally went on the market for a price of more than 9,000 lire, affordable for the thirties, it quickly became a sales leader. .
Italy was not its only market. On the roads of France, Holland, Poland or Germany, the Fiat 500 A, il Topolino circulated or, let’s put it another way, cars identical to it but, in some cases, under the name of another manufacturer, as is the case of Simca in France.
Three generations in 20 years
A total of 520,000 Topolinos were manufactured during its long existence. From 1936 to 1955, almost twenty years, with only three changes or generations. The first of them remained in force until 1948, it is more than likely that until the end of the Second World War there was someone who could feel encouraged to produce a new car even though the base had already been created.
The Fiat 500 B was presented at the 1948 Geneva Motor Show. This new generation brought, above all, mechanical changes. The engine, brakes, suspension, and electrical components were brand new. The same 539 cc capacity with a power of 16.5 CV, now provided great improvements in performance. With it you could go at a maximum speed of 95 km/h and its average consumption dropped to 5 liters at 100 km/h.
On the outside it was practically the same as its predecessor, however its interior was updated, improved materials, a new steering wheel, more accessories… In short, this was the preamble to a new version that would be presented just twelve months later.
Evolution towards new demands
The 500 C remained on the market from 1949 to 1955, it was the last and known as the basis for the popular Fiat 600, its replacement. More adapted to the tastes of the 50s, it joined the fashion of having a compartment in the rear for the spare wheel.
Until then it was not uncommon to see a two-seater Fiat Topolino occupied by four or five people, so Fiat decided to lengthen the chassis and introduce the Giardiniera body, for four people, for which users had to give up known benefits and assume a small increase in consumption.
Thanks to which the 500 B has gone down in history as the version with the best mechanical-consumption ratio, although imagining so many people inside such a small car… probably when trying to reach the top of a slope, the fastest method It was that the passengers carried the Topolino and not the other way around.
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