Josh's FIAT 1500 Cabrio

FIAT 1500 Cabriolet Model History

FIAT (Originally an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino) started building passenger cars in Turin, Italy in 1899. Over the next century, they grew immensely, branching out into many other industries, inluding trains, planes, marine engines, and civil engineering projects. Through a series of acquisitions and partnershops, they grew their market by manufacturing and selling cars in many other countries, around the world.

During the 60s they were the 4th or 5th largest car maker, behind the “Big Three” of Detroit. FIAT’s bread and butter has always been economy family cars. However there have always been sportier cars in the model lineup as well. At various times in its life, FIAT has had active racing programs.

The type 118 cabriolet cars was the result of a joint venture with the design studio Pininfarina (well known for their work with Ferrari). The mechanicals were adapted from FIAT’s popular 1300/1500 family sedan, and the bodies were built at Pininfarina.

The result was an inexpensive but sporty roadster that was well-regarded by reviewers of the time. In general, these cars were not particularly fast, but handled well and had style to spare. (For those looking for more performance, the 1500S and 1600S, with exotic OSCA twin-cam engines, were also available.)

The history of the type 118 FIAT cabriolets of the 60s can be tracked to the type 103 FIAT “Nuova 1100” sedans, first introduced in 1953.

Here is a timeline of these models up to the 1500 Cabriolet:

Marque	Model	Type	Engine	HP (SAE)	Production
FIAT	1100	103	1089cc	36 (41) @ 4400	1953-1956	picture
FIAT	1100 Familiare	103	1089cc	36 (41) @ 4400	1954-1956	picture
FIAT	1100 TV (Turismo Veloce)	103	1089cc	50 (55) @ 5400	1954-1956
Pininfarina	1100 TV Coupe	103	1089cc	50 (55) @ 5400	?	picture
FIAT	1100 TV Trasformabile	103	1089cc	50 (55) @ 5400	1955-1956 (571 total)	picture
FIAT	1100 (Saloon, Familiare)	103 E	1089cc	40 (45) @ 4400	1956-1957 (115,000 total)
FIAT	1100 TV (Turismo Veloce)	103 E	1089cc	56 (61) @ 5200	1956-1957
FIAT	1100 TV Trasformabile	103 E	1089cc	56 (61) @ 5200	1956-1957 (450 total)
FIAT	1100	103 D	1089cc	43 (48) @ 4800	1958-1960 (150,000 total)	picture
FIAT	1200 “Gran Luce”	103 G	1221cc	58 (63) @ 5300	1958-1960 (400,000 total)	picture, picture
FIAT	1200 Trasformabile	103 G	1221cc	58 (63) @ 5300	1957-1959 (2360 total)
FIAT	1100 De Luxe (Lusso)	103 H	1089cc	50 (55) @ 5300	1959-1960 (227,000 total)	picture
FIAT	1100 (Export, Speciale)	103 H	1089cc	55 @ 5200	1960-1962 (272,067 total)	picture, picture
FIAT	1100D (saloon, famliare)	1100D	1221cc	55 @ 5800	1962-1966 (332,000 total)	picture
FIAT	1100R (saloon, famliare)	1100R	1089cc	53 @ 5200	1966-1969 (341,000 total)	picture
FIAT	1300/1500 (saloon, famliare, 1500L)				1961-1967
FIAT/Pininfarina	1200 Cabriolet	118 G	1221cc	58 (63)	1959-1963 (11,000 total)	picture, more info
FIAT/Pininfarina	1500S Cabriolet	118 S	1491cc	80 (90) @ 5800	1959-1962 (80 total)	picture, more info
FIAT/Pininfarina	1600S Cabriolet	118 SA	1568cc		1962-1963 (3089 total 1600S)	picture, more info
FIAT/Pininfarina	1500 Cabriolet	118 H	1481cc	(80)	1963-1965 [1]	picture, more info
Pininfarina	1500 Coupe		1481cc		1960-1967 (2,210 total)
FIAT/Pininfarina	1500 Cabriolet	118 K	1481cc	75 (83)	1965-1966 [1]	picture, more info
FIAT/Pininfarina	1600S Cabriolet	118 SB	1568cc	90 @ 6000	1963-1966 (3089 total 1600S)	picture, more info
Pininfarina	1600 Coupe		1568cc		1960-1967 (300 total)

saloon = sedan estate, familaire, family = wagon trasformabile = convertable

[1] 118-cars total production is somewhere between 22,630 (source?) and 47,000 (Sedgewick).

In 1967, the product line began to switch to the 124 platform, with the 124 spider replacing the cabriolets, the 124 sedan replacing the 1300/1500, and the 128 sedan replacing the 1100/1200. These new product lines sustained FIAT through the 70s, until they pulled out of the US market in the early 80s.

In 1962, the 1200 Cabriolet was introduced. This car shares much of the drivetrain and suspension design with the 1200 sedan, introduced

The front suspension and engine arrangement is quite familiar, using the same basic subframe layout.