A successor to the Fiat Topolino, the Fiat 500 was introduced by FIAT in 1957 and is one of the smallest cars's mass-produced.
The model was smaller than the Fiat 600 introduced two years earlier and was designed to use as little steel as possible. The roof was partly fabric, allowing it to open but this was devised to save some more steel while making the car lighter. The Fiat 500 was meant to be an Italian car for the people. Not only cheap but also easy to maintain. The parts were simple and easily available which also allowed consumers to do the maintenance themselves. The two-cylinder engine was placed in the rear. Furthermore, the car proved easy to navigate narrow streets and could be parked in small spaces, making it easy to use, especially in Italian cities.
On 4 July 1957, the first examples of the Fiat 500 Nuova were shown to the public in Turin. A procession of cars, each Fiat 500 with a photo model on board, drove out of the factory. At the same time, a similar procession drove into St Peter's Square in Rome. Although sales took off with difficulty, as the 500 was delivered very bare bones to keep up with the market share of the Fiat 600, the model achieved great popularity; nearly four million were made.
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