Фиат 1100: История модели (1953-1969)

the Fiat 1100 of 1953 to 1969

The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre war, body on frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was changed steadily and gradually until being replaced by the new Fiat 128 in 1969. There were also a series of light commercial versions of the 1100 built, with later models called the Fiat 1100T, which remained in production until 1971. The Fiat 1100 D also found a long life in India, where Premier Automobiles continued to build the car until the end of 2000.

Like other manufacturers, after World War II Fiat continued producing and updating pre war types. The first clean sheet design was the 1950 1400, the first Fiat with unibody construction, which replaced the 1935 1500. Fiat's intermediate offering between the 1500 and the diminutive 500 was the 1100 E, the last evolution of the 508C Nuova Balilla 1100, first launched in 1937. Its replacement was codenamed Tipo 103; like the 1400 was to use unibody construction, with the 1100 E's 1.1 litre engine carried over unaltered.

The Fiat Nuova 1100, or Fiat 1100/103 as it was called after its internal project number, was introduced at the April 1953 Geneva Motor Show. Unlike the 1100 E it replaced, the 103 had a modern four door saloon pontoon body topping new unibody construction, both pioneered in Fiat's range by the 1950 1400. If the 103's body was all new, its engine was well tested; the car's engine debuted in 1937 on the predecessor of the outgoing 1100 E, the 508 C Balilla 1100. Updated as type 103.000, the overhead valve four cylinder was fed by a single Solex or Weber downdraught carburettor, and put out at 4,400 rpm—just one horsepower more than on the 1100 E. The Type A right hand drive export models were only available in black. They were also equipped with a heater and ventilation system as well. The Type A cars also came with slightly broader body trim strips compared to the Type B. On left hand drive versions of both the Type A and Type B cars, the dashboard contained a large plastic badge (on the right hand side) stating "Millecento" covering the orifice where a radio could be installed. However on the right hand drive cars, this badge which was located on the left hand side contained the wording Fiat 1100 on the Type A cars and Millecento on the Type B cars. The type B came in a choice of paint hues and interior fabrics, and could be ordered with factory fitted whitewall tyres and radio. A distinguishing feature of 103s throughout the 1950s were the doors, both hinged on the centre pillar; The TV was fitted with an improved engine (type 103.006), which developed at 5,400 rpm rather than the of the regular versions, mainly thanks to a twin choke Weber carburettor and a higher 7.4:1 (instead of 6.7:1) compression ratio. Abroad, it was alternatively known as the 1100 Family, 110 Familiale, 1100 Kombiwagen or 1100 Familiar in English , French German , and Spanish speaking markets respectively. The rear door was side hinged, and the vinyl covered rear bench could be folded down to form a flat loading surface, able to carry a load of A third row of two forward facing jump seats allowed to carry a fifth and sixth passenger, folding level with the boot floor when not in use. As its name implied, it was based on mechanicals from the 1100 TV. Like the Turismo Veloce saloon, the American inspired design of the Trasformabile was the work of Dipartimento Carrozzerie Derivate e Speciali, the special bodies department of Fiat, rather than of a third party coachbuilder; it was penned by the department's head, engineer and designer Fabio Luigi Rapi. 571 of these first series Trasformabiles were built. In 1956 it received a more powerful engine (three more horsepower) and a modified rear suspension; 450 more of these were built. From 1957 it became the 1200 Trasformabile as it was now equipped with the more powerful "1200" engine (1221 cc). Production of this model continued until 1959, with circa 2360 of the 1.2 litre Trasformabiles built. The design was first seen on a one off displayed at the 1953 Paris Motor Show and entered by Umberto Agnelli at a race event held in 1954 near Turin, the Orbassano 6 hours Cup. The new series bore the type code 103 E. All models—saloon type A and B, Familiare, TV and TV Trasformabile—were continued. The latter was an elegant saloon, developed from the 1100 designing a more modern bodyshell and enlarging the engine to 1.2 litres, and replaced the 1100 TV. Therefore, the 1100 range was left temporarily without an upmarket variant, and consisted of just two models: saloon and estate, both sporting contrasting colour roofs as standard. The saloon's new tail was longer and carried tailfins. Boot space had increased, and the rear window had also been enlarged. On the other hand, the estate's sheetmetal was unchanged; body colour buttresses were added to fit the new tail lights to the 1954 vintage body. Almost all of the exterior trim was new, including door handles and turn signal repeaters. The Special changed its name depending on the market—e. g. it was named Speciale in Italy and Spezial in Germany. The main difference between Special and Export saloons was the sheetmetal: the Export used a 103 H Lusso bodyshell, while the Special became the first 1100 with four front hinged doors, as it adopted the more modern 1200 Granluce bodyshell. Otherwise the two saloons had nearly identical interior trim and equipment. Both had been stripped of the Granluce and Lusso's glitzy trim and their complex paint schemes—though a contrast colour roof remained optional on the Special. These were nicknamed "millecento" and are specially loved by the Italian descendants.

The Fiat 1100/103 was imported to India and sold by Premier Automobiles Limited (PAL). The older model was known as the Millecento and the one with the centre light on the front grille (1100/103 E) as the Elegant. In 1958, the 1100/103 D tailfin model was introduced as the Select. It was followed by the Super Select in 1961. By 1964, the 1100 D was introduced and it was assembled in India by PAL. This model has most of the parts manufactured locally. In India it was considered a sportier alternative to the Hindustan Ambassador.

Retaining the exterior changes of this model, in 1962 Fiat introduced the third generation 1100, called the 1100 D. It was a four door sedan, very similar to the Granluce but with simpler sides and a new simpler rectangular front end. The 1100 D was a successful Italian Standard in the early sixties and along with its own Estate or Family car version and a Deluxe model that offered a higher performance of , extra side moldings, front bench seat with two reclining backs and carpet floor mats. These survived without any substantial alteration until 1966, when the introduction of the groundbreaking 124 model imposed a further change in styling. Power was at the time of introduction, which was soon increased to now with a compression ratio of 8:1 and a claimed output of
Clutch and gearbox were little changed, but the return of a floor mounted gear lever positioned between the front seats and connected to the gearbox with a rod linkage system was welcomed by the motoring press. As configured for UK sales, reclining front seats were available as an optional extra for £8. The 1100 R finally gave way in 1969 to the new middle class Fiat 128. It was also assembled by the Neckar Automobilwerke in Heilbronn, Germany. Called the Neckar 1100 Millecento it only differed lightly in trim.

The Fiat 1100 T was made from 1957 as a panel van, pickup and minibus. The car was equipped with a in line engine with 1,089 cc (type 103 D.007) with at 4800 rpm and it had a top speed of In 1959, its successor was unveiled, the Fiat 1100 T2, that had a 1,222 cc engine. Production continued with a steady stream of updated engines, until production of the 1100 T4 finally came to an end in 1971.