From The Classifieds: 1970 Fiat 500

A couple of weeks at the wheel of two current-generation Fiat 500s (actually the first wasn’t a Fiat, it was nominally an Abarth) was inspiration to check the classified pages of carsales.com.au to root out any examples of the car these little retros sprang from.

And we did find some: A 1962 model, a 1969 model and a 1970 model, all irresistibly cute and all in seemingly good (restored) shape.

Although we were tempted by an early, suicide-door right hand drive version, we succumbed to the lovely restoration of this red left hand drive 1970 model from Coogee in Western Australia, that has been kept in its original condition and has done virtually no work since the makeover.

At an asking price of $23,500 it is also the most expensive – though not overly so – and, although the registration is due this month, comes with a roadworthy certificate.

The car that spawned the new front-drive Fiat 500 was, like the Volkswagen Beetle revival, originally rear-engined and considerably less accommodating than the third millennium model.

If you think the current Fiat 500 is small, consider the dimensions of the original: With an overall length of 2970mm, a 1840mm wheelbase and a height of 1320mm equalling its also 1320mm width, it was a car you could almost pick up with one hand. Today’s Fiat 500 measures 3546mm long, is 1627mm wide, has a 2300mm wheelbase and stands 1488mmn tall.

And it was powered by a minuscule 10kW 500cc twin-cylinder petrol engine that makes even the latest down-scaled equivalent, the 63kW/145Nm 875cc two-cylinder Twin Air, look positively massive.

The 500 was introduced to the European market in 1957 with rear-hinged “suicide” doors (front-hinged doors came to Australia in 1969), a fabric sunroof and a basic suspension system utilising swing axles at the back. But four people could be squeezed on board and it was tremendously handy to park or manoeuvre on tight Italian roads.

Over the years, the air-cooled engine was increased in size, from 479cc originally, to 499cc, then to 594cc with attendant power increases. The 500 got away with it because it only weighed 500kg or so.

Sold in Australia from 1962 to 1971 (a wagon was available between 1962 and 1964), the diminutive Fiat wasn’t as well suited to our conditions as it was to its European homeland where it was massively popular as a basic and cheap means of transport.

The last 500 rolled off the production line in 1975, replaced by the also rear-engined Fiat 126 (which didn’t – unless you count the Polish-built Niki which was essentially a re-badged 126 – come to Australia).

From The Classifieds: 1970 Fiat 500