1949 Fiat Topolino (03)
1949 Fiat Topolino (03)
Image by GS1311
The Topolino was the name given to an automobile model manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.
The Topolino (the Italian name for Mickey Mouse, meaning "little mouse") was the name given to the first Fiat 500 which was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1937, three models were produced until 1955, all with only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes. It was equipped with a 569 cc four-cylinder, side valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle, and so was a full-scale car rather than a cyclecar. The radiator was located behind the engine which made possible a lowered wind-cheating nose profile at a time when competitor vehicles confronted the world with flat near vertical front grills. The shape of the car’s front gave it exceptional forward visibility[2].
Suspension at the back initially depended on quarter-elliptic rear springs, but somehow buyers frequently squeezed four or five people into the nominally two seater car, and in later models the chassis was extended at the rear to allow for more robust semi-elliptic springs[2].
Its top speed was about 53 mph (85 km/h), and it could achieve about 39.2 miles per US gallon (6.00 L/100 km; 47.1 mpg-imp). The target price given when the car was planned was 5,000 lire[2]. In the event the price at launch was 9,750 lire [2], though the decade was one of falling prices in several part of Europe and later in the 1930s the Topolino was sold for about 8,900 lire. Despite being more expensive than first envisaged, the car was very competitively priced[2]. Nearly 520,000 were sold.
(Wikipedia)
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Der Fiat 500 der Jahre 1936-57 war ein zweisitziger Kleinwagen der Marke Fiat. In Abgrenzung zu seinem gleichnamigen Nachfolger wird er mit seinem Spitznamen Topolino bezeichnet, das Modell der Jahre 1957–1975 hingegen als Nuova 500.
Der erste Fiat 500 − in Italien auch liebevoll Topolino genannt (zu deutsch: Mäuschen, aber auch der italienische Name der US-amerikanischen Comicfigur Mickey Mouse aus dieser Zeit) − wurde in den Jahren 1936 bis 1955 in drei Versionen insgesamt 516.646-mal gebaut. Außer der normalen zweisitzigen PKW-Ausführung (Berlina) gab es ab 1949 auch einen optional viersitzigen Kombi (Giardiniera Belvedere) und schon ein paar Jahre vorher einen kleinen Lieferwagen (Furgoncino). Alle Modelle waren mit Faltdach lieferbar. Für den Export nach England wurde eine viersitzige Cabriolimousine gebaut und die Firma Weinsberg baute einen Roadster. Konstrukteur des Topolino war der Ingenieur Dante Giacosa.
(Wikipedia)
