CC’er AmazonRay was in Italy a while back, and sent me pictures of this Fiat 500 Giardiniera, the station wagon version of that little dwarf. When I say “sent me pictures”, I mean that in the old-fashioned way, as in prints in the mail. My scanner is not very good, so excuse the quality. But this is a car we have not seen yet at CC, so we’ll take the Giardinera any way we can, even with a new 500 intruding into the shot. That just goes to show how tiny the original was.
The Giardiniera was the longest-running model of the 500, produced all the way through 1975, although the very latest versions actually carried Autobianchi badging, where most of these were actually built.
The 500’s 17hp 499cc air-cooled twin had to be laid flat to make it work as a station wagon. That certainly improved its utility. If there was a modern Giardiniera version of the current 500, I know someone in my house here who would be all over it. The current 500 just doesn’t have enough room in the back for the occasional bale of straw, a big dog or…Come on Fiat, the 500L just doesn’t cut it, cuteness wise. And we all know that’s what really counts.
What is the new version? That would be this hideous beast.
But by name only, as the 500L is a totally different car. How about a wagon version of the real 500, like the Mini Clubman?
I would say this is its spiritual successor, the Fiat Panda with its 2 cylinder engine.
Yes, and the 500L is more like the spiritual successor to the PT Cruiser.
wow, i didn’t know about these. absolutely would love one. unfortunately, if i like a car that usually means it doesn’t stand a chance in the marketplace.
I know that during the time these were sold Italy was still recovering from the horrors of WW2 and that the only other vehicle that most Italians could afford in those days was a motor scooter, but that tiny 500 had to be a death trap just as much as the Subby 360 was. The new ones are not so big but compared to a original 500, the current 500 looks like a B- Body
The most dramatic illustration of the size difference between the old and new 500s is this pic from Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k-dj/2770110452/in/photostream/
Probably no more of a death trap than any other car of the time, in context of driving one in Europe where you didn’t come across Cadillacs etc, they all have a solid steering column & wheel ready to rearrange your face and cave in your chest. The 500 was also mostly used in crowded cities, so I dare say the crash performance was ‘acceptable’.
It would be interesting to see the results of a crash test – not such a far-fetched thing when such photos do exist for cars that debuted only 5 years later and the Fiat had a long production run.
no more than the others but still death traps…they were the ultimate tin cans plus the front mounted gas tank meant that the car catched fire very easily in a crash…my grandfather lost its life in 1958 in one of the first 500s and according to my dad he never exceeded 40mph…maybe with a bigger, safer car the story could have been different…
There was a very nice looking one sold by an online classic car dealer last decade. I was strongly tempted to buy it and park it in my living room, it was that tiny and cute. Its actual usefulness as transportation, I have no idea of.
http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/62_Fiat_500_c124.html
On my much desired list. Not sure how many parts are shared from the boxer engine, but practical considerations have no place here.
Fiat have done a nice job with the new 500, just as BMW originally did with the Mini. However, given the subsequent stylistic crimes perpetrated by Mini in the name of brand diffusion, I hope Fiat don’t follow too closely.
Lived in Florence, Italy for almost a year (1977)… I don’t remember seeing one.
The New Fiat 500 can not be considered the spiritual successor of the original 500, the new car is a front drive Panda disguised as a 500.
The new 500 resembles the older one only on the surface, the overall feel is not there, it is regrettable that Fiat did not stay fidel to the original concept ( extra light, entry level rear drive air-cooled car) .
The nearest new car to the original 500 is Tata Nano ( the same overall concept), I hope someday a Nano Abarth will hit the roads , but I know this is quite improbable.
Designing a “pushed to the extreme” small car is always a challenge, needs some outside of the box thinking, which holds true for the engineering that went into Nano, the original 500 the original VW Bug, the original Austin Mini, the original Jeep Willys and Citroen 2CV.
When will one of our curbsiders enlighten us with a write up about Tata Nano and its epic market flop?
The Smartfortwo is by your definition, the spiritual successor to the original 500, etc. No way could the Nano, or anything similar, be legally sold in a first world country today. As for its lack of sales in India, very few want one. If a family can afford a used Corolla, no way do they want a new Nano. Also, they had a nasty tendency to catch fire.
Smart fourtwo sits two ( The original 500 sits 4), and Smart is not an entry level car,
There are plans to sell a safed-up cleaned-up version of Nano in Europe in 2015, the price will be under 10 000$ which is considerably lower than Smart for two.
I agree with you that, it is a crazy idea to sell Nano in North America,
there is absolutely no market for such a car, even with all needed emission and safety upgrades.
These are so cool. When my aunt and uncle were in Italy last year (see the “Klockau In Italy” post for some Eye-talian CCs) Dave got me a 1/43 scale version of one of these wagons in red. I could tell just by the scale that these were VERY compact!
I should do a Mini CC with this model and one of my 1/43 Cadillacs or Lincolns!
Ive seen one in grey i just though Fiat 500 wagon and that was it now I know lots more Thanx Paul.
Here’s a good video with both an old and ‘nouva’: 500: http://youtu.be/yb8q8m5eyXY
Giardinieri = pickled vegetable sold in a jar. Like this wagon after a 20kph frontal.
ahahah! My grandma used to prepare lots of giardiniera, heartburns in a jar ! Anyway the giardiniera (the car, not the pickles…) never has been fondly remembered as the sedan, it was too dorky and uglified but its “sole” engine was a very clever idea