 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Fiat Cinquecento" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Fiat Cinquecento | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Also called | FSM Cinquecento (1991–1993) |
| Production | 1991–1998 (1,164,525 units[1]) |
| Assembly | Tychy,Poland |
| Designer | Ermanno Cressoni at Centro Stile Fiat |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | City car (A) |
| Body style | 3-doorhatchback |
| Layout | Front-engine, front-wheel-drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,200 mm (86.6 in)[2] |
| Length |
|
| Width |
|
| Height | 1,435 mm (56.5 in) |
| Kerb weight | 675–727 kg (1,488–1,603 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Fiat 126 |
| Successor | Fiat Seicento |
TheFiat Cinquecento (Type 170) (/ˌtʃɪŋkwɪˈtʃɛntoʊ/,Italian:[ˌtʃiŋkweˈtʃɛnto]) is acity car manufactured and marketed byFiat from 1991 to 1998 over a single generation. It is a three-doorhatchback that seats four passengers and has afront-engine, front-wheel-drive layout.It was manufactured atFiat Auto Poland, which had manufactured its predecessor theFiat 126.
Production of the Cinquecento ended in 1998 with the introduction of theFiat Seicento.
The origins of the Cinquecento trace to the early 1980s, with focused research projects of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in Rome, studying a super-economical vehicle – from which a series ofprototypes evolved, with abbreviations X1/72 to X1/79.[3]
In parallel,FSM, not yet under FIAT's ownership, was studying the BOSMAL, a small car project that would culminate in the conceptBeskid 106. Acquisition of FSM by the Italian automotive group led to the abandonment of this prototype in favor of a car that incorporated some of the concepts of the X1/7 series of previous years (until 1993 the cars produced in Poland were marketed as FSM rather than FIAT models). Notably,Patrick Le Quément, Renault's chief designer, sought similar inspiration from the BOSMAL study, resulting in the first generationRenault Twingo.
Launched in December 1991 to replace theFiat 126, the Cinquecento was designed byErmanno Cressoni in collaboration with Antonio Piovano; the interior was designed by Claudio Mottino and Giuseppe Bertolusso.
The Cinquecento featuredindependent suspension front and in the rear, frontdisc brakes, side impact beams,crumple zone andgalvanized body panels.
Steering was unassisted rack and pinion.
Options included central locking, power windows, sunroof, full-length retractable canvas roof, split rear seat, headlight range adjustment, and air conditioning.
The right hand drive version for the British market was launched in June 1993, as one of the fewcity cars marketed in the UK.
The Cinquecento was initially available with two engine choices, with the 1.1 LFIRE or "sporting" joining the lineup later. Although the 704 cc engine was mountedlongitudinally, the bigger units were fittedtransversely, making the little Fiat one of the few cars in the world available with both configurations at the same time.[4][5]
The smallest engine, intended for sale in Poland only, was a 704 ccOHVtwo cylinder unit, delivering 31 metric horsepower (23 kW) or 30 metric horsepower (22 kW) with catalyst. Cinquecento inherited this unit from the 126p BIS, an evolution of the 126p which was cancelled when the Cinquecento production started.
In order to be fitted in thefront-wheel drive Cinquecento, it underwent a major redesign (although the engine still employed acarburettor), which resulted, among other changes, in thecrankshaft revolving in the opposite direction than in the 126p BIS.[4][5]
The bigger engine was the 903 cc 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) version of the veteranFiat 100OHVfour cylinder engine, which saw service in many small Fiat models, starting withFiat 850. (This engine dates back to the initial 633 cc unit as introduced in the 1955 FIAT 600.)
It was fitted with single pointfuel injection and was the base engine in most markets. Due to fiscal limitations, the displacement of this unit was limited to 899 cc in 1993, with a slight reduction of output, now producing 39 PS (29 kW; 38 hp).[4][5] This engine is derived from that used in the Fiat 127.
While it still retains OHV chain drive pushrod layout it now has hydraulic tappets. Also now uses twin coil distributorless ignition.
In 1994, Fiat introduced the Cinquecento Sporting, featuring the 1108 cc SOHCFIRE 54 PS (40 kW; 53 hp) engine from the entry levelPunto of the same era, mated to a close ratio gearbox. Other additions were a drop in standard ride height, front anti roll bar, 13" alloy wheels, plus colour coded bumpers and mirrors. The interior saw a tachometer added, along with sports seats, red seatbelts and a leather steering wheel and gear knob.
It is the Sporting model which gave birth to arallying trophy and aGroup A Kit-Car version.[4][5]
From 1992 to 1996,Fiat also produced and sold an electric variant of the Cinquecento called the Elettra. The car was offered with either alead acid orNiCd battery pack, providing a ranges of 62 mi (100 km) and 93 mi (150 km) respectively. Unlike purpose built electric cars, the Cinquecento Elettra used two battery packs, one in the engine bay and one under the rear seats, replacing the fuel tank.
Although selling for 140,000francs (~US$23,000), the Cinquecento Elettra enjoyed relative popularity inItaly,France andSwitzerland.[6]
Fiat offered optional extras from the factory labelled with theAbarth name. The Abarth extras for the Cinquecento consisted of cosmetic changes only. A front apron with fitted fog lights, a rear apron, side skirts and a rear spoiler with a fitted 3rd brake light. There were also a set of 13" Speedline five spoke alloys wheels available, instead of the standard Sporting alloys.
Unlike true Abarth models, there were no engine upgrades available from the factory and the car could not be purchased as a whole separate model. The Abarth parts were to be added by the purchaser at the time of ordering, hence it is common to see cars with only some of the Abarth extras.
During the 1990s, a number of concept cars based on the Fiat Cinquecento were developed, by a number of design houses, including one that featured half of the car's interior and arunning board to place bikes.
Another of these designs was the 1992Italdesign Cinquecento and subsequent 1993Lucciola, a proposal for a new Cinquecento by Fabrizio Giugiaro ofItaldesign. However, instead of the car becoming the next smallFiat city car, a version of the design ended up being put into production by theSouth KoreanDaewoo Motor, as theirMatiz in 1998.[7] Instead, Fiat decided to update the Cinquecento's styling in early 1998 and relaunch it as the Seicento, which continued until 2010 and enabled the Cinquecento's basic design and most of its mechanicals to survive for nearly 20 years.
| Year | Production (units)[1] |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 6,020 |
| 1992 | 83,299 |
| 1993 | 192,294 |
| 1994 | 188,973 |
| 1995 | 204,508 |
| 1996 | 205,296 |
| 1997 | 203,589 |
| 1998 | 80,546 |
Established 2007 – A marque ofStellantis | ||||||||||||
| Related companies |
|  | ||||||||||
| Current models |
| |||||||||||
| Historic models (List) |
| |||||||||||
| Concept models | ||||||||||||
| Racing cars | ||||||||||||
| Modified Racing cars | ||||||||||||
| Abarth cars | ||||||||||||
| Armored vehicles | ||||||||||||
| People | ||||||||||||
