The
Fiat 1100 is an
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
produced from 1937 to 1969, by the
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
car maker
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
.
The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the
508 "Balilla"The 508 was a car introduced by Fiat in 1932. It effectively replaced the Fiat 509, although production of the earlier model had ceased back in 1929. It had a three-speed transmission , seated four, and had a top speed of about . It sold for 10,800 lire...
(its real name was the 508C) with a look similar to the 1936
Fiat 500 "Topolino"The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino" , is an Italian automobile model manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.-History:...
and the larger
1500The Fiat 1500 was one of two Italian automobiles:* Fiat 1500 , the 1935 model* Fiat 1300/1500, the 1961 model...
, with the typical late-30s heart-shaped front grille, with styling by the emerging designer, Giacosa. It was powered by a 1089 cc four cylinder overhead valve engine.
The
Fiat 1100 is an
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
produced from 1937 to 1969, by the
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
car maker
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
.
The Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100
The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the
508 "Balilla"The 508 was a car introduced by Fiat in 1932. It effectively replaced the Fiat 509, although production of the earlier model had ceased back in 1929. It had a three-speed transmission , seated four, and had a top speed of about . It sold for 10,800 lire...
(its real name was the 508C) with a look similar to the 1936
Fiat 500 "Topolino"The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino" , is an Italian automobile model manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.-History:...
and the larger
1500The Fiat 1500 was one of two Italian automobiles:* Fiat 1500 , the 1935 model* Fiat 1300/1500, the 1961 model...
, with the typical late-30s heart-shaped front grille, with styling by the emerging designer, Giacosa. It was powered by a 1089 cc four cylinder overhead valve engine. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four speed gearbox, and for the period, its comfort, handling, and performance were prodigious, making it "the only people's car that was also a driver's car". Subsequently the car underwent a partial restyling around the front end and gained new streamlined window-shaped louvres and was re-named the
1100B and popularly known as the "1100 musone" (i. e. "big nose"). After World War II, in 1949, the car was re-introduced with a curvy trunk and new name, the
1100E. Both the 508C and the 1100B were also available as the long wheelbase 508L and mainly used for vans and taxis.
The Fiat 1100-103
In 1953 the 1100 was completely redesigned as a compact 4-door sedan, with a modern monocoque bodywork and integrated front lights. The new model was called the
1100/103 after its project number, and was offered (as usual at that time) in two different versions: "economica" (cheaper) and "normale" (standard). The car became available in a sporty version, the
1100TV with a third light in the middle of the grille and in station-wagon version, with a side-hinged fifth door at the back.
Between 1956 and 1960 the new 1100 underwent several slight changes in fittings and details, e.g. newly designed grille, more rectangular profile, dual color dressing, and eventually small fintails with spear-shaped backlights. A special version, the
1100 Granluce (i.e. "Large light"), without suicide doors, launched in 1959, had both fintails and wider windows. As an option it could be fitted with a new powerful 1221 cc engine.
The Fiat 1100D
Retaining the exterior changes of this model, in 1962 Fiat introduced the 3rd generation 1100, called the
1100D. "D" stood for Delight. It was a sober yet comfortable 4-door sedan, very similar to the Granluce but with simpler sides and a new simpler rectangular mouth. The 1100D was a successful Italian standard in the early sixties and along with its own estate car version survived without any substantial alteration until 1966, when the introduction of the groundbreaking 124 model imposed a further change in styling.
The Fiat 1100D was made in India from 1964 onwards. In 1973 (for that model year alone) it was named the Premier President. From 1974 onwards until it was finally discontinued in 2000, it was known as the
Premier PadminiPremier Padmini was an automobile manufactured in India from 1968 to 2000.Premier Automobiles Limited, erstwhile flagship company of India's Walchand Hirachand Group, assembled Fiat's Fiat 1100 cars from the 1950s until 1997...
.
The Fiat 1100R
The very last 1100 model, born that year, was the
1100R (R = Rinnovata). It had a longer, straighter and slimmer line, with a square back and a front-end look not so different from its bigger sister the
Fiat 124The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
. In terms of styling cues, the vestigial fins were further suppressed and the simple round rear light cluster from the
Fiat 850The Fiat 850 is a small rear-engined rear wheel drive car in the tradition of the Renault Dauphine. It was produced between 1964 and 1973.-Overview:Its technical design was an evolution of the very successful Fiat 600...
replaced the vertical form seen on the 1100D. At the same time, the larger engine was withdrawn in order to avoid undue overlap with the 124. The 1100R was offered only with the older 1089 cc engine, now with a compression ratio of 8:1 and a claimed output of 48 bhp.
Clutch and gearbox were little changed, but the return of a floor mounted gear lever positioned between the front seats and connected to the gearbox with a rod linkage system was welcomed by the motoring press. The absence of synchromesh on the bottom forward speed nevertheless offered a reminder that under the surface this was becoming a somewhat aging design. Between the gearbox and the differential, the propeller shaft had now been separated into two parts with three couplings.
The boot/trunk was usefully expanded, helped by a slight increase in the car's overall length, and with more careful packaging of the spare wheel (under the floor) and the fuel tank (in the rear wing on the right).
As configured for UK sales, reclining front seats were available as an optional extra for £8.
The 1100R finally gave way in 1969 to the new middle-class
Fiat 128The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985.Although the styling was similar to the 124 and 125, the 128 was an advanced and influential design that pioneered the front-wheel-drive revolution at Fiat...
.
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