Fiat 500 (1936)

The Fiat 500, commonly known as Topolino, Italian for little mouse, was an Italian city car produced by Fiat from 1936 to 1955 and one of the smallest cars in the world at the time. Launched in June 1936, it had a 569 cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle, later an overhead valve motor, with the radiator behind the engine allowing a low aerodynamic nose. Three models were produced, the Model A and Model B sharing a body and the restyled Model C arriving in 1949, in saloon, convertible saloon, van and estate versions, the estate being the Giardiniera and later the Belvedere. Output was around 10 kW with a top speed of around 85 km/h, the launch price was 9,750 lire and nearly 520,000 were sold. Simca built it in France as the Simca 5 and NSU-Fiat in Germany, and the Fiat 600 and the Nuova 500 replaced it.