Fiat at 120: the Italian marque’s greatest hits and misses

From the fabled 500 to the awful Argenta, here are the company’s biggest ups and downs

Fiat – founded on 11 July 1899 – built some of the most innovative mass-market cars of the 20th century. It also tried its hand at luxury saloons, suave GTs and sexy sports cars – with interesting results.

At its worst, the Turin-based marque made some incredibly underwhelming cars. At its best, however, Fiat delivered sophisticated engineering and motors that were always fun to drive.

So, as the famous firm celebrates its 120th birthday, here are its greatest hits and misses.

Hit: Fiat Nuova 500 (1957-’75)

Annoyingly trendy but enduringly cute, the ‘Nuova’ 500 can still be found by the hundreds in most Italian cities.

The cuddly shape proved timeless and, unlike its modern namesake, the classic Cinquecento was a truly small car with modest urge (18bhp in its most potent form) and an ultra-basic spec.

Miss: Fiat 126 (1972-2000)

Offering all the agony of the 500 but without the bonny charm, a staggering 4.7m examples of the compact 126 were built in its 28-year lifespan – most of which were made in Poland, where it gained iconic status as the Polski Fiat 126p. Its nickname? Maluch – or ‘baby’.

Hit: Fiat 600 Multipla (1956-’66)

A prime example of how pragmatic, inventive and original Fiat design has been at its best, the Multipla was the original MPV and made for an ideal taxi, family car or delivery van.

The six-seater variant had a front bench and four individual seats that folded into the floor to create a load area.

Miss: Fiat 1400 (1950-’58)

A miserable blob with monolithic styling borrowed from the US, the 1400 was Fiat’s first post-war offering and the firm’s first to use a monocoque.

Also built by Seat and Zastava, the 1.4-litre machine found little success outside of Italy – nor did its more powerful 1900 cousin, launched in ’52.

Hit: Fiat 8V (1952-’54)

Probably the most exotic post-war production Fiat, the 8V had an all-alloy 2-litre V8 good for 105bhp and was the company’s first model with fully independent suspension.

Bodies were made in Fiat’s experimental department, but famed coachbuilders Bertone, Ghia, Vignale, Farina and Zagato all made versions of their own.

Miss: Fiat 850 Special 850 Idroconvert (1968-’73)

Launched in 1968, the 850 Special was a souped-up version of Fiat’s existing supermini, gaining the coupé’s 47bhp engine, front disc brakes and a new interior trim.

Unfortunately, the unpopular Idroconvert model failed to deliver on its promise of an automatic transmission: while the clutch was electric, the driver still had to change gears manually.

Hit: Fiat 124 Coupé (1967-’75)

A civilised, nifty-handling four-seater with exotic features such as twin-cam engines, all-disc brakes and five-speed transmissions, the 124 Coupé proved that Fiat could mass-produce great drivers’ cars.

More than 300,000 were built but it’s nearly extinct in the UK today.

Miss: Fiat 131 (1974-’84)

In the 1970s, Fiat had a bad habit of producing new cars that were quantifiably worse than the ones they replaced. Case in point: the boxy 131, introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1974 as an update of the rear-drive 124 concept – and somehow duller in every conceivable way.

Hit: Mephistopheles (1923)

This Land Speed Record monster was as demonic as its nickname suggested. Born as a skimpy Grand Prix racer in 1908, it was revived in the ’20s with a 21-litre Fiat A12 engine meant for an airship.

With 320bhp, chain drive and brakes only at the rear, it set a presumably terrifying record of 146.013mph.

Miss: Fiat 127 Rustica (1979-’81)

This short-lived, bottom-end variant of the 127 was the very definition of a poverty model.

Introduced at the end of the ’70s, the Rustica was available only in beige and featured such delights as rugged tubular bumpers and ultra-basic hammock seats. The only option was a roof rack.

Hit: Fiat 128 (1969-’85)

Car of the Year in 1970, the pioneering 128 was a brilliantly packaged saloon and its side-by-side engine/gearbox arrangement set the template for most modern front-drive machines.

Thrifty and lively, it also gave rise to a whole range of variants to suit every family. Little wonder some 3m were built.

Miss: Fiat Croma (1985-’96)

Revived as a crossover estate in 2005, the original Croma was pure ’80s landfill disguised as a family wagon.

Based on the Alfa/Lancia/Saab Type 4 joint project, it was Fiat’s first large front-wheel drive car and, even with a shell penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was an utterly forgettable model.

Hit: Fiat 130 Coupé (1971-’77)

This graceful Pininfarina-designed coupé was sumptuous and refined, and influenced a generation of three-box shells.

Not as fast as it looked, the V6 engine (not the same as the Dino’s, no matter what some claim) had the potential for much more power – think 300bhp in various Abarth prototypes. 

Miss: Fiat ESV 1500 (1973)

One of a run of extraordinarily ugly safety vehicles that preoccupied Turin during the 1970s – thanks to a plea from the USA’s National Highway Safety Bureau – this 128-based horror was built for a safety car conference held in Kyoto. Thankfully, it never made production.

Hit: Fiat 500 Topolino (1936-’55)

A hugely successful people’s car that brought motoring within the reach of the Italian working classes, the 500 was a basic 53mph, 48mpg two-seater – although Italian families often found a way to fit five inside.

It was nicknamed Topolino or ‘Little Mouse’ by the public, who took to it in their hundreds of thousands. 

Miss: Fiat Argenta Diesel (1981-’85)

If the 132 was bad, Fiat managed to make it even uglier as the Argenta saloon, launched in the UK around the time of the Falklands War.

Mediocre as standard, the Italian firm offered the option of making it slower and noisier with a diesel engine, or its first turbodiesel motor from 1984.

Hit: Fiat Campagnola (1951-’87)

Italy’s answer to the Land-Rover, the Campagnola – Italian for ‘country girl’ – came with a military-type open body, plus four-wheel drive with high and low ranges.

Originally powered by a 2-litre petrol engine, more popular diesels arrived in ’53 and Fiat proved the model’s strength with a record-breaking 11-day run from Cape Town to Algeria.

Miss: Fiat Ritmo/Strada (1978-’88)

Launched at Turin in 1978, this compact was sold as both the Ritmo and the Strada – and it was bizarre by any name.

Designed by Sergio Sartorelli and ‘hand-built by robots’, between the odd angles, weird rims and round lamps, the best thing about it was the circular doorhandles.

Hit: Fiat 2300S (1961-’68)

The handsome, Ghia-designed 2300S was Fiat’s flagship for most of the 1960s and well-loved by lucky owners, including the lies of Paul Frère.

Around 7200 were built, but only 70 or so made it to the UK – and they were almost exclusively the Abarth-tuned S models, good for 136bhp.