Fiat Cinquecento

The Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production of the Polish variant of the Fiat 126, the Polski Fiat 126p, was still running. Production of the Cinquecento ended in 1998, when it was replaced by the Seicento. Despite its name, its lowest displacement was 704 cc. The Cinquecento was available in one body style only, a small, angular 3-door hatchback, with a favorable drag coefficient of only 0.33 that bore similarities to the Lancia Y10. It featured several advances compared to older Fiat city cars, including independent suspension both in the front and in the rear similar to the Fiat Tipo, front disc brakes, side impact bars along with crumple zones incorporated in the design and galvanized body panels to fend off corrosion. Steering was by rack and pinion, and although power steering was never offered, the car could be ordered with a number of extras, including central locking, power windows, sunroof and even air conditioning.