Fiat 500 Topolino

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Fiat
Fiat500topolino.jpg
500 "Topolino"
Production period: 1936-1955
Class : Small car
Body versions : Sedan , station wagon , convertible sedan , roadster
Engines: Otto engines :
0.57 liters
(10–15 kW)
Length: 3215 mm
Width: 1275 mm
Height: 1377 mm
Wheelbase : 2000 mm
Empty weight : 535-625 kg
successor Fiat 600
Fiat 500 C, built in 1949
License construction: NSU-Fiat
Fiat Topolino (1948)
with sun awning and luggage rack

The Fiat 500 , often in contrast to the later, eponymous Nuova 500 , called " Topolino ", is a small car manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955 .

Versions and quantities

The first Fiat 500 - also affectionately known as Topolino in Italy (in German: Mäuschen, but also the Italian name of the American comic figure Mickey Mouse from this time) - was built in three versions a total of 516,646 times between 1936 and 1955. In addition to the normal two-seater car version (Berlina), there was also a four-seater station wagon ( Giardiniera Belvedere ) from 1949 and a small delivery van ( Furgoncino ) a few years earlier . All models were available with a folding roof . A four-seater convertible sedan was built for export to England, and the Weinsberg bodyworks built a roadster. The engineer Dante Giacosa was the designer of the Topolino .

  • Fiat 500 B

  • Fiat 500 Weinsberg Roadster

  • Fiat 500 C with an "Americanized" front

  • Fiat 500 Topolino Kombi (" Giardiniera Belvedere ")

Technical concept

engine and gears

The engine of the Fiat 500 A, which was produced from 1936 to 1948, had an output of 569 cm³ and 10 kW (14 hp) at 4000 rpm. The engine block was installed so deep that the slightly higher radiator behind it managed without a water pump ( thermosiphon cooling ). Because the tank was under the front windshield, the car didn't need a fuel pump. The two-bearing four-cylinder in-line engine had vertical valves and centrifugal lubrication. Later models had pressure lubrication with an oil pump. The two main bearings of the crankshaft were supplied directly, the two middle connecting rod bearings via an oil line attached to the outside of the crank web between the first and second cylinder. Therefore problems often arose when overheating, because connecting rod bearing 3 received insufficient lubrication. The four-speed transmission was dubbed only in the third and fourth gear when downshifting in the second and first round had declutching (Italian "la doppietta") are given. Early versions had unsynchronized transmissions. In Italy, Siata sold a sports version with 15 kW (20 hp) at 6000 rpm and an OHV cylinder head. In Germany there were vehicles that had been retrofitted with a VD compressor from Viktor Derbuel, Gera.

For winter operation, a flap on the air intake had to be adjusted so that only air that could pass over the warm engine block could get into the carburetor to prevent carburetor icing. When starting the engine , the starter flap was operated , which enriched the gasoline-air mixture with gasoline. A dead battery wasn't a problem as there was a hand crank to get the engine going with a few turns.

Chassis and body

The rigid rear axle with differential , which was guided in the first series on quarter-elliptical cantilever springs and trailing arms, then on longitudinally installed semi-elliptical leaf springs, was driven by a cardan shaft with a hardy disc or flexible disc (manufacturer: SGF GmbH & Co. KG, type GHL-4). The handbrake acted as a band brake on a drum on the cardan shaft. The front wheels were individually suspended from the lower wishbones and the upper transverse leaf spring. The vehicle had an X-shaped profile frame (with holes to save weight) and a steel body. (The station wagon was initially available as “Woody” with a wooden frame body.) The doors of all versions were hinged at the back and had sliding windows, with the exception of the Weinsberg Roadster, which was also built without doors with a deeply cut body. There was also a flap in each of the front side panels for additional ventilation.

With a curb weight of 535 kg at the beginning, the car reached a top speed of 90 km / h, later 95 km / h.

production

From the first model variant of the Fiat 500, around 122,000 vehicles were built, followed by the Fiat 500 B with a production of around 21,000 from 1948 to 1949. The car had an improved 16.5 hp engine with overhead valves and pressurized oil lubrication with an oil pump. In 1949 the model variant C appeared with an "Americanized" front. With around 370,000 units produced up to 1955, this small car was one of the most successful automobiles in Europe at its time.

In addition to Italy, the Fiat 500 was built under license in England, in France as Simca 5 and Simca 6 , in Germany as NSU-Fiat and in Austria by Steyr-Puch and exported widely, including to China, the USA and Australia. Some examples were also made by Todd Motors in New Zealand before 1937 .

NSU-Fiat in Heilbronn built the car from 1937 to 1955 in different versions. By the beginning of the war in 1939, 4,000 copies were made there. The price was 1925 Reichsmarks. These versions were improved in details and had, for example, standard extended rain protection strips on the front doors and a water temperature indicator on the left of the dashboard. The maximum speed of the normal convertible sedan of the C model was now 95 km / h. The station wagon reached 90 km / h.

The successor was the Fiat 600 built from 1955 .

The 500 Topolino was the basis and parts dispenser for numerous individual designs. Giotto Bizzarrini, for example, built the sporty small car Bizzarrini 500 Macchinetta on its basis in 1953 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Fiat 500 Topolino  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files