Fiat 500 Giardiniera

The Fiat 500 Giardiniera was an estate derivative of the 1957 Fiat 500, made by Fiat from May 1960. The Nuova 500 had no commercial version after the Topolino Giardiniera disappeared, because its rear air-cooled engine seemed to rule out a longer floor, so engineer Dante Giacosa invented a flat engine laid under the rear floor, with the air intakes moved to the rear pillars and a radial fan. It had the same displacement as the 500 Sport but its power fell to 17.5 horsepower to allow for loads, and the engine had first appeared two years earlier for the Autobianchi Bianchina. The body kept the saloon front but had a square rear with a side-opening door, a wheelbase 10 centimetres longer at 1,940 millimetres, sliding side windows and folding rear seats, and it measured 3.185 metres long. Fiat also offered a van version with two front seats. The cars were built at the Autobianchi plant in Desio near Milan alongside the Bianchina Panoramica.