FSO Polonez: История польского автомобиля

Polish motor vehicle

The FSO Polonez is a motor vehicle that was developed in Poland in collaboration with Fiat and produced by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych from 1978 to 2002. It was based on the Polski Fiat 125p platform with a new hatchback design by Zbigniew Watson, Walter de Silva and Giorgetto Giugiaro. It was available in body styles that included two and four door compact sized cars, station wagons, as well as commercial versions as pickup truck, cargo van, and ambulance. Production totaled more than one million units, excluding the pickup truck and van variants. The Polonez was marketed in other nations and was popular in its domestic market until Poland joined the European Union in 2004. The car's name comes from the Polish dance, the polonaise, and was chosen through a readers' poll conducted by the newspaper Życie Warszawy. In 2021, about 33,000 vehicles were still registered in Poland.

The Polonez was based on the Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO) built under license from Fiat. The internal components, including updated 1.3/1.5 Litre engines, (pistons and carburetor), the chassis, and other mechanicals, were from the Polski Fiat 125p. However, the body was an entirely new liftback initially designed in the early 1970s by Centro Stile Fiat as a prototype for Fiat. After the Polish side started cooperation with Fiat over a new car, the original design was changed due to Polish requirements. The car was meant to be equipped with Fiat's 2.0 Litre DOHC engines in the 1980s, but financial problems at the time made it impossible to purchase a license from Fiat. This made producing the 125p alongside the Polonez possible for more than a decade. Moreover, mechanical improvements only occurred when they could be applied to both cars. This limitation changed after the production of the 125p ended in 1991. An advantage of the FSO Polonez is its safety in an accident, especially compared to many of its rivals from the Eastern Bloc. In 1978, it was the only Eastern European car built to pass U. S. crash tests. Crash tests were performed in 1994 according to EU safety regulations, so the Polonez could be exported worldwide. They proved the car to be safe. The Caro 1.9 GLD hitting a concrete block (without an energy absorbing metal cage) with 40% of the front at survived very well. All doors could be opened without any difficulty, there were no critical injuries for passengers, and no fuel leakage occurred.

1970 Fiat launched ESV (Experimental Safety Vehicle) project. 1974 FSO chose Fiat's ESV prototype as the base of a new car. FSO's designer Zbigniew Watson joins Walter de Silva to convert the ESV project to the size of a Fiat 125 floor and design the interior and all body details. The project is known as "type 137". 1975 Fiat prepared prototypes of type 137 named "Polski" and sent them to FSO.

ModelEngineDisplacementValvetrainFuel systemMax. power at rpmMax. torque at rpmTop speedYearsPetrol engines1.4 GTIK161398 ccOHC 16vMulti point fuel injection at 6000 rpm at 5000 rpm1997–19981.6 GLIAB1581 ccOHV 8vSingle point fuel injection at 5000 rpm at 3600 rpm1997–20021.6 GSIAF1581 ccOHV 8vMulti point fuel injection at 5000 rpm at 3800 rpm1998–2002

In total, FSO total exported 226,966 cars to foreign markets, with China, UK, Egypt, and France being the main takers. Complete knock down (CKD) cars were assembled by El Nasr (in conjunction with Arab American Vehicles) in Egypt from 1983 until 1993, succeeding the locally assembled 125p in that market. In some countries, the FSO Polonez was sold as Celina, Prima, Mistral, Piedra, Atou. Imports to the UK ceased in 1997, though sales continued in some parts of Western Europe including France for at least a year afterward. They were withdrawn from those markets due to more stringent emissions requirements and declining demand.

In China, Polonez based derivatives were produced by YTO Group as the Dongfanghong and Yituo. They were released with station wagon (LT5021) and sedan (LT5022) bodywork, though with many modifications. Trim pieces came from the Volkswagen Santana and were powered by locally produced engines, a carburetted 1.5 litre inline four from Beijing Engine Factory. These cars were built with locally made spare parts for imported Polonez, which were common in China then. Nevertheless, many other local parts were substituted (Dongfanghong was also working with Fiat at the time on tractor technology, which may have also influenced the choice of a car). A sales advantage for the vehicles was that their parts were easily interchangeable with Polonez. These cars were not nearly as successful as their actual Polonez counterparts.

The FSO Polonez suffered from relatively poor performance (except for those models equipped with the Fiat 2.0 DOHC, the Ford 2.0 SOHC, or the Rover 1.4 MPI 16V). Polonez parts were relatively cheap and readily available. After 1992, quality began to increase, especially after 1995 when Daewoo started cooperating with FSO. Since 1997, the last production models (the PLUS series) offered new features such as air conditioning. Production ended in 2002, after 24 years. The relatively low price of the Polonez was seen as the main advantage over other cars. But demand slumped, and the last versions of the Polonez produced were the Truck versions, valued for their low price, reliability, and high load capability: up to depending on the version. The Polonez was a common sight in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in its home country of Poland. Once Poland became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004, the car was rapidly replaced by cheap and tax free used cars from Western Europe. The Polonez has been a popular choice for participants in the Złombol Charity Rally. In 2018, around 300 teams, or approximately 40% of all racers, used versions of the Polonez in this event.