Fiat 600 - 55

The Fiat 600 (Italian: Seicento) is a city car produced by

the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1955 to 1969.

Origin

Measuring only 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the  equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money (590,000 lire then). The total  number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori plant in Turin was 2,695,197. During the  1960s, '70s and '80s, the car became very popular in countries such as Spain (as SEAT 600),  where it became the icon, par excellence, of the Spanish miracle, Argentina, where it was  nicknamed Fitito (a diminutive of Fiat) and former Yugoslavia where it was nicknamed Fićo. 

Characteristics

The car had hydraulic drum brakes on all four wheels. Suspension was a unique single double-  mounted leafspring - which acts as a stabilizer - between the front wheels coupled to gas-  charged shock absorbers, and an independent coil-over-shock absorber setup coupled to  semi-trailing arms at the rear. All 600 models had 3-synchro (no synchro on 1st) 4-speed  transaxles. Unlike the Volkswagen Beetle or Fiat 500, the Fiat 600 is water-cooled with an  ample cabin heater and, while cooling is generally adequate, for high-power modified  versions a front-mounted radiator or oil cooler is needed to complement the rear-mounted  radiator. All models of the 600 had generators with mechanical external regulators.  The top speed ranged from 95 km/h (59 mph) empty with the 633 cc inline-four engine to  110 km/h (68 mph) with the 767 cc version. The car had good ventilation and defrosting  systems.  A year after its debut, in 1956, a soft-top version was introduced, as well as a six-seater  variant — the Fiat 600 Multipla. It was a precursor of current multi-purpose vehicles.  Retrospectively the water-cooled Fiat 600 is sometimes over-shadowed by the air-cooled Fiat  500, but the 600 was a remarkably fast seller in its time: the millionth 600 was produced in  February 1961, less than six years after the car's launch. At the time when the millionth car  was produced, the manufacturer reported it was producing the car at the then remarkable  rate of 1,000 a day. As of 2011 there are only 65 left in the UK that are road legal. 

Derivatives

SEAT 600/800

In Spain, the 600 model was made under the make of SEAT, from 1957 to 1973. Up to 797.319  SEAT 600 were made. The Spanish car maker exported them to a number of countries  worldwide. This car motorised Spain after the Spanish Civil War.  SEAT produced various derivatives of the original 600 model some of them with improvements  and special fittings like the use of "suicide doors": the SEAT 600 D/E/L Especial version, the  'Descapotable' convertible and the 'Formicheta' commercial version etc.  The most interesting version produced between 1964 and 1967 by SEAT is though the SEAT  800, the sole four-door derivative of the 600 model which received a longer wheelbase. It  was developed in-house by SEAT and produced exclusively by the Spanish car maker without  any equivalent model in Fiat's range. 

Fiat 600/770 Neckar Jagst

The Fiat 600 was also manufactured at Fiat Neckar in Germany between 1956 and 1967.  Presented in a first time as Jagst 600, in 1960 with the release of Fiat 600D it became Jagst  770. The model was manufactured until the end of 1967, more than 172,000 copies. 

Zastava 750/850

In former Yugoslavia the model was very popular, and was produced under the name Zastava  750 (later 850), nicknamed "Fića" in Serbian, "Fićo" in Bosnian and Croatian, "Fičo" in Slovene,  and "Фиќо/Фичо" (Fikjo/Ficho) in Macedonian. It was produced by the Zastava factory in  Kragujevac, Serbia, from the early 1960s until 1985, during which time it played a major role  in motorisation of the country, due to its affordability.

South American production

The 600 was built as the Fiat 600 R by Sevel in Argentina from 1960 to 1982, with assembly  operations also taking place (beginning somewhat later) in Uruguay by Ayax S.A., and in  Chile. At first, Someca S.A. built the 600 with rear-hinged doors and the 633 cc engine (28  hp), mainly from parts shipped in from Italy. As a new plant was constructed in the Ferreyra,  a suburb of Córdoba, the local parts content steadily increased. In 1962 the 600D was  introduced, with a 32 hp (SAE) 767 cc engine. In August 1964, around the same time that the  local firm changed its name to Fiat Concord S.A., the second 600D was introduced, with  slight changes to its appearance. The suicide doors continued to be used until the April 1965  appearance of the 600E, which also gained some extra power. Early in 1967 the 600E received  a slight facelift with bigger headlights, new rims, and a new "grille" in front.  In November 1970 the 600R appeared. The external differences were limited to trim, but the  interior saw more thorough changes, with a new steering wheel, inner ceiling, and seat  coverings. The hubcaps were replaced with tiny rubber caps. The 767 cc 36 hp (SAE) 600 R  (thanks to higher compression than the E) was in turn replaced by the 32 hp (DIN) 843 cc  (65.0 x 63.5 mm) 600 S in July 1977, a version featuring new bumpers with rubber overriders  and a black plastic faux-grille to replace the previous chrome iteration. Top speed was up  from 105 to 110 km/h (68 mph). The 600 was finally replaced by the new 147 in April 1982,  after having undergone one last tiny facelift in 1981 (black head and taillight surrounds, a  black "shield" up front).  In Colombia, it was assembled in the actual motor plant of Mazda in Colombia, Compañía  Colombiana Automotriz from 1979 to 1982 with 60% Colombian parts and 40% Serbian parts  (from the Zastava 750). Marketed as the Fiat 750Z, colloquially it was called the "topolino". 

1955

Engine 633 cc 4 cylinders Power 26 HP Top speed 110 km/h Lenght/width 3,21 m/1,41 m Weight 585 kg The collections 600 has been fully restaured.