FIAT 500 TOPOLINO(1944)
CHASSIS N. 055489
ENGINE: 4 CYLINDER
DISPLACEMENT: 570 CC
POWER: 13 BHP
BODY STYLE: CONVERTIBLE SALOON
A WONDERFUL PREWAR TOPOLINO, READY FOR THE MILLE MIGLIA!
Charged in the mid-‘30s with the development of the new small Fiat, Dante Giacosa created a short chassis with a front anular crossmember onto which the small engine was fixed. With a weight of just 535 kilos, even the miserly 13 horsepower were able to develop a speed of 85 km/h, more than sufficient for the roads of the time.
Around 83,000 examples of the first series, later retroactively called “Topolino A”, were produced between 1936 and 1940. In the meantime some technical improvements were made including the rear suspension, so that today the “As” are in turn divided into the ‘short’ and the ‘long’ leaf spring versions.
The vehicle proposed today belongs to this sub-series, around only 38,000 examples of which were produced between 1940 and 1948. In particular, very few examples were produced between 1940 and 1945, and these were mainly destined for official use, probably like this one which was first registered in Rome.
So this Topolino is a rare wartime vehicle given that the documents state it was registered in 1944.
It was purchased immediately after the war by the father of the current owner, an engineer who dedicated his life to the automobile: the founder of the most important automotive research and experimentation center and a co-founder of Quattroruote magazine for which he was the technical commentator for decades.
The Topolino was used for a long time before being preserved, to then be restored twenty or so years ago. Today it is in perfect condition, apart from the absence of a clock, a component which can be easily traced.
This vehicle represents an excellent opportunity to purchase, for a modest price, an example of a very pleasant vehicle to be used for relaxing trips around the countryside.
But above all, this Topolino represents the most affordable admission ticket to the coveted Mille Miglia where a vehicle like this is accepted almost automatically.
The vehicle is in excellent mechanical condition but for safety reasons, we advise the purchaser to have it checked over and to replace the fluids, filters and perishable elements.