1959 Fiat Nuova 500 Normale Transformabile 2Dr Sedan

Description

If ever an automobile symbolised Italy, it would be Fiat’s charming 500 Cinquecento, a car that has reached cult status around the world and inspired the current retro-styled model. Launched as the Nuova 500 in 1957 and succeeding the massively popular Topolino, the Fiat provided mass transportation for millions of Italians and ultimately remained in production for the best part of twenty years. Initially powered by a 479cc air-cooled twin-cylinder engine producing just 13 horsepower, the 500 was initially sold as a two-door sedan with a wind-back sunroof, followed closely by the longer-wheelbase station wagon known as the Giardiniera. In recognition of the little Fiat’s importance, designer Dante Giacosa was presented with a Compasso d’Oro in 1959, the first time this award for industrial design had gone to an automobile. Fiat added a more powerful Sport derivative in 1958 using a bored-out version of the motor. After 181,036 Nuovas had been made the original 500 Transformable was replaced by the 500D in 1960, still using suicide doors but with a much smaller folding roof and the Cinquecento ultimately continued in production until 1976. The tiny Fiat could be found squeezed into the most unlikely parking spaces on any street in Rome, Naples or Milan for years but now are sadly becoming all too rare both in Italy and elsewhere and good survivors have long been regarded as collectible by enthusiasts around the world, with early cars particularly favoured by the cognoscenti.