Benvenuti amici!
The Cream City 500 Club is a Social Motoring club inspired, of course, by the return of FIAT S.p.A. & the iconic 500 to the North American (NA) market. But our fandom, as is evidenced by the entries found within this blog, is not limited to any one model or marque. As the founder of our local clan and the scribe of this blog, I can attest to being a huge fan to a number of notable FIAT-badged models. One such motorway queen is the 850.
The FIAT 850 was first offered in three different models/lifestyle choices; the 850/850 Speciale, the 850 Sport Coupé, and the Sport Spider.
The man credited with designing the 1964 FIAT 850 is none other than the late, great don Dante Giacosa. This should come as little surprise to any self-respecting FIATista. Under his brilliant engineering & styling leadership, one can easily argue FIAT and Autobianchi churned out more noteworthy city cars than any other automaker in history. In my opinion, don Dante is the among the most important designer-engineers to ever put pen to paper. To be clear, his name would appear very near the top of any list of genius automotive innovators I could be tasked with compiling.
If you are unfamiliar with his name or you simply think of his work as too corporate and/or 'safe', because you follow the flashier Italian design houses as opposed to the in-house FIAT S.p.A. dream team/s, I trust this spotlight on the 850 will help you come to some deeper appreciation for his undeniable place in global industrial/automobile antiquity.
The mechanicals of the launch model were largely unchanged from its predecessor & the successor to the 1936 500 'Topolino'... the 1955 600. In the predecessor to the 850, FIAT had a bonafide hit. For decades it was the motorized choice in Italy, Spain, former Yugoslavia, Russia as well was several other countries in Europe. The 600 is also the runabout deserving lion's share credit for mobilizing South America. ABARTH & Co. created more 600-based variants than it did with any other 4-wheeler. The corporate pressure to deliver a replacement that strayed little, in engineering & aesthetics, from his decade old work must have weighed heavily on the shoulders and cranium of don Dante. After all, he was a visionary. He yearned for assignments requiring him to pen models that pushed the automotive language forward. In the end, the late master did succumb to the assumed directive from above.
Sr. Giacosa was not a fan of repeating himself and he did consider his original 850 to be little more than an updated 600, as opposed to a brand new model. Even the internal name of the 850, 100G, followed the generational letter designators of the Seicento. The former (600) held letter designators A through F. However, don Dante did find a way to smooth out the rear quarter humps, add a sedan-like tail end w/circular tail lights as well a more a aggressive, sleeker bonnet & nose (this was accomplished by 'flattening' the former bubble design).
With these slight but confident design changes, Dante Giacosa gave us a glimpse of his new vision for the modern city car. Still, the shape/model most people would identify as being quintessentially 850... the sleeker 850 1965 Sport Coupé... was penned by the Centro Stile FIAT in-house father-and-son team of Felice & Gian Boano. The Boano version, cruising in a fresher and bolder design direction -- without leaving the important Giacosa style cues in the dust, pleased the 'King of Runabouts' and FIATisti alike.
The Boano take on the 850, to be sure, inspired the style language of future offerings from FIAT. The more aerodynamic fastback roofline shape properly drew a crystal clear delineation from the 600. Even the 'mustache' change made a statement. The original bushier mustache was a holdover from a bygone era. The thin pencil mustache the Boanos added, in some way, lends a more modern appearance to the commuter.
But that is not all. Because the Boanos all but started from stratch, with their Sport Coupé, the father-and-son team was able to bestow a better balanced design to the 850. At nearly any angle, there is an almost Yin & Yang energy in relation to the space around the runabout. Later, with the 1968 update, quad head & tail lights were added to the model. This further distinguished the offering from its predecessors.
In his memoirs, don Dante wrote of this variant, "The coupé with coachwork for which the Boanos, father and son, should be given all credit, was one of the most beautiful of all FIAT models." As any leader worth his weight would do, Sr. Giacosa gave audience to the voice/s of his team and credited their effort/s. Thanks to this benevolent act, his employer now had new future-forward curb (sex) appeal.
What FIAT car family/model range would be complete without a Cabrio or a Spider? Apparently, the Agnellis & Giacosa would answer an incomplete one. The automaker introduced the 1965 Sport Spider alongside the Sport Coupé. If one considers the standard model the coolest commuter of the day and the Sport Coupé its more adventuresome younger sister, the Sport Spider must be thought of as the sexy 'wild child' of the 850 family.
Marcello Gandini, the Gruppo Bertone designer known for a long list of lust-inducing cars that includes the FIAT X1/9 and the Lancia Stratos, is credited as holding the pen that gave us the 850 Sport Spider. Although FIAT has produced a large number of partial and full convertibles over the decades, there is something decidedly special about the lines in the Sport Spider.
Once again, the all-too-important Giacosa design cues are preserved in this variation. But the alluring animalistic energy felt in other Gandini-penned sports cars permeates every slinky inch in this arachnid. This is most definitely the model for getting into memorable midnight hour trouble. I have no doubt most 850 Sport Spider drivers did/do just that (and then some).
Always an automaker about the business of proposing appropriate choices to suit the lives of people in urban (and suburban) areas, FIAT tends to offer the widest range of possibilities in one model family. With the 850, iconic company went so far as to put 'family' into the name & design of one variant.
The automaker introduced the 850 Familiare, the boxier successor to the 600 Multipla, in 1966. It borrowed the first time double headlight detail from the 1968 Sport Coupé and was able to carry seven adults. Yes, my beautiful FIAT Famiglia, you read that correctly... S-E-V-E-N. The 850 Familiare is further testament to just how flexible and viable the Dante-standard city car can be.
The variety of connected lifestyles represented by the equally varied, but related, models is remarkable. This attention to the needs & desires connected to the personality of any given driver is a hallmark that has drawn enthusiasts to the brand for decades. It is a big part of what makes us believers… believers with absolute, indomitable passion...
Ciao!
@
The FIAT 850 was first offered in three different models/lifestyle choices; the 850/850 Speciale, the 850 Sport Coupé, and the Sport Spider.
FIAT 850: La Dolce Vita
If you are unfamiliar with his name or you simply think of his work as too corporate and/or 'safe', because you follow the flashier Italian design houses as opposed to the in-house FIAT S.p.A. dream team/s, I trust this spotlight on the 850 will help you come to some deeper appreciation for his undeniable place in global industrial/automobile antiquity.
Reimagining the 600 a/k/a Mission Impossible
Sr. Giacosa was not a fan of repeating himself and he did consider his original 850 to be little more than an updated 600, as opposed to a brand new model. Even the internal name of the 850, 100G, followed the generational letter designators of the Seicento. The former (600) held letter designators A through F. However, don Dante did find a way to smooth out the rear quarter humps, add a sedan-like tail end w/circular tail lights as well a more a aggressive, sleeker bonnet & nose (this was accomplished by 'flattening' the former bubble design).
FIAT 850: L'avventura Giacosa
With these slight but confident design changes, Dante Giacosa gave us a glimpse of his new vision for the modern city car. Still, the shape/model most people would identify as being quintessentially 850... the sleeker 850 1965 Sport Coupé... was penned by the Centro Stile FIAT in-house father-and-son team of Felice & Gian Boano. The Boano version, cruising in a fresher and bolder design direction -- without leaving the important Giacosa style cues in the dust, pleased the 'King of Runabouts' and FIATisti alike.
FIAT 850 Sport Coupé: From Boano with Love
FIAT ABARTH OT 1000: The Nights of Merano
But that is not all. Because the Boanos all but started from stratch, with their Sport Coupé, the father-and-son team was able to bestow a better balanced design to the 850. At nearly any angle, there is an almost Yin & Yang energy in relation to the space around the runabout. Later, with the 1968 update, quad head & tail lights were added to the model. This further distinguished the offering from its predecessors.
In his memoirs, don Dante wrote of this variant, "The coupé with coachwork for which the Boanos, father and son, should be given all credit, was one of the most beautiful of all FIAT models." As any leader worth his weight would do, Sr. Giacosa gave audience to the voice/s of his team and credited their effort/s. Thanks to this benevolent act, his employer now had new future-forward curb (sex) appeal.
What FIAT car family/model range would be complete without a Cabrio or a Spider? Apparently, the Agnellis & Giacosa would answer an incomplete one. The automaker introduced the 1965 Sport Spider alongside the Sport Coupé. If one considers the standard model the coolest commuter of the day and the Sport Coupé its more adventuresome younger sister, the Sport Spider must be thought of as the sexy 'wild child' of the 850 family.
FIAT 850 Sport Spider: The Gandini Job
Marcello Gandini, the Gruppo Bertone designer known for a long list of lust-inducing cars that includes the FIAT X1/9 and the Lancia Stratos, is credited as holding the pen that gave us the 850 Sport Spider. Although FIAT has produced a large number of partial and full convertibles over the decades, there is something decidedly special about the lines in the Sport Spider.
Once again, the all-too-important Giacosa design cues are preserved in this variation. But the alluring animalistic energy felt in other Gandini-penned sports cars permeates every slinky inch in this arachnid. This is most definitely the model for getting into memorable midnight hour trouble. I have no doubt most 850 Sport Spider drivers did/do just that (and then some).
Always an automaker about the business of proposing appropriate choices to suit the lives of people in urban (and suburban) areas, FIAT tends to offer the widest range of possibilities in one model family. With the 850, iconic company went so far as to put 'family' into the name & design of one variant.
FIAT 850 Familiare: 8 1/2… for 7
The variety of connected lifestyles represented by the equally varied, but related, models is remarkable. This attention to the needs & desires connected to the personality of any given driver is a hallmark that has drawn enthusiasts to the brand for decades. It is a big part of what makes us believers… believers with absolute, indomitable passion...
FIAT 850 Famiglia: The Italian Connection
Vivere.Amare.Guidare.
For Brown, Olthoff & the Mighty Mouse Militia
For Brown, Olthoff & the Mighty Mouse Militia
Ciao!
@
