You may now be acquainted with the Fiat 500 as the cute, quirky car we’ve all grown to love. However, it may surprise you to know it is much older than you think!

This week we take a look at the history of the classic Fiat 500 and how it turned from a cheap runaround to a fashion statement for a generation.

Let us know if you have an original Fiat 500 by tweeting us @MotorRange, we’d love to see it!

Where it all began!

The Fiat 500 was first launched in Italy in July 1957 and was marketed as the low cost car. Measuring just over 9 feet long and powered by a 479 cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, it quickly became known as one of the first city cars. The model fitted in well with the post war era that called for economy cars and was then used as a template for other car makers in Europe.

The Fiat 500 Craze

Even though the Fiat 500 was very small, it managed to rise in popularity especially between the 60’s to 70’s and throughout all these years Fiat kept reinventing the model by coming up with new alterations.

The Fiat introduced an opening sunroof with the 500 N, they improved the comfort and safety to a degree with the 500 F and increased the engine size with the 500 R.

End of an Era

The production of the Fiat 500 ended in 1975 as the post war era ended and a new era was born where luxury and comfort became a bigger requirement than economy and even though Fiat released a similar model two years later (the Fiat 126) it never drew the same popularity as it’s predecessor.

Look Who’s Back!

2007 saw the preview of the all new Fiat 500 - 50 years after the first Fiat 500 was presented. The new design kept very close to the original with it’s retro look but updated the technology and made it more relevant with the world we live in today.

If there is one thing you can say for the Fiat 500, is that it’s a fighter! It revolutionised car designs in 1957 and even today it’s design is unlike anything else on the market. It seems to have this ability to translate it’s popularity between different generations and after it’s break it is back and better than ever.

See here for all the Fiat 500s we have in stock.

We hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog, why not let us know by tweeting us @MotorRange.

Until next time!

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