Fiat 500

Fiat 500
1970 Fiat 500 L
Overview
Manufacturer	Fiat
Also called	Puch 500
Production	1957–1975 3,893,294 units[1]
Assembly	Turin, Italy Desio, Italy[1] Termini Imerese, Italy[1]
Designer	Dante Giacosa
Body and chassis
Class	City car (A)
Body style	2-door saloon 2-door semi-convertible 3-door estate ('Giardiniera') 3-door panel van
Layout	Rear-engine, rear-wheel drive
Doors	Suicide (1957–1965) Conventional (1965–1975)
Related	Autobianchi Bianchina NSU/Fiat Weinsberg 500 Vignale Gamine Autobianchi Giardiniera
Powertrain
Engine	479 cc I2 499 cc I2 594 cc I2
Transmission	4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	1,840 mm (72.4 in) 1,940 mm (76.4 in) (Giardiniera)
Length	2,970 mm (116.9 in) 3,185 mm (125.4 in) (Giardiniera)
Width	1,320 mm (52.0 in)
Height	1,320 mm (52.0 in)
Kerb weight	499 kg (1,100 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Fiat 500 "Topolino"
Successor	Fiat 126 Fiat 500 (2007)

The Fiat 500 (Italian: Cinquecento, pronounced [ˌtʃiŋkweˈtʃɛnto]) is an economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car.

Launched as the Nuova (new) 500 in July 1957,^[2] as a successor to the 500 "Topolino", it was an inexpensive and practical small car. Measuring 2.97 metres (9 feet 9 inches) long, and originally powered by a rear-mounted 479 cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, the 500 was 24.5 centimetres (9.6 inches) smaller than Fiat's 600, launched two years earlier, and is considered one of the first purpose-designed city cars.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959, Dante Giacosa received a Compasso d'Oro industrial design prize for the Fiat 500. This marked the first time a Compasso d’Oro was awarded to an automotive manufacturer.^[3]