Fiat 127

The Fiat 127 was a supermini that Fiat built from 1971 to 1983 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Designed by Pio Manzu, it is widely regarded as one of the most influential small cars of all time, because its transverse engine with an end-on gearbox, front-wheel drive and hatchback body became the template for nearly every later B-segment car. It first appeared in April 1971 as a two-door saloon, and a three-door hatchback with a full-depth rear door followed in March 1972 and proved the most popular version, as Fiat's first supermini-sized hatchback. It used a shrunken version of the Fiat 128 platform and the 903 cc overhead-valve engine of the Autobianchi A112, and it was among the first to carry an articulated steering column and crumple zones. Production in Italy ended in 1983 when the Fiat Uno took over.