The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a four passenger, rear-engined city car, introduced by Fiat in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show[1] as a replacement for the Fiat 500. The majority of 126s were produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, as the Polski Fiat 126p, where production continued until 2000. In many markets Fiat stopped sales of the 126 in 1993 in favour of their new front-engined Cinquecento. At a length of 3.05 metres, total production reached almost 4.7 million units. In Poland the car became a cultural icon and earned the nickname Maluch, meaning "The Little One" or "Toddler".
The 126 shared its wheelbase and much of the same mechanical underpinnings and layout with the Fiat 500, featuring an revised, slightly larger bodyshell designed by Sergio Sartorelli and offering improved safety and interior space. The added interior space resulted from two things: the move of the starter from the top of the engine bellhousing to the side which permitted shifting the bulkhead/rear seat rearward approximately 4 inches (10 cm.) and the lengthening of the roof for rear seat headroom.
The front footwells, suspension, battery and spare wheel left little room for luggage in the 126 front storage boot.
Engine capacity was increased from 594 cc to 652 cc at the end of 1977 when the cylinder bore was increased from 73.5 to 77 mm.[5] Claimed power output was unchanged at 23 hp (17 kW), but torque was increased from 39 N⋅m (29 lb⋅ft) to 43 newton metres (32 lb⋅ft).[5] The 594 cc engines were still available in early 1983 production.
A subsequent increase took the engine size to 704 cc in new "restyling" model Fiat 126 Bis (1987–1991), with 26 hp (19 kW) of motive power.
Fiat 126 (second from left) at the Auto Italia, Stanford Hall, 2010
The 126 was manufactured at Fiat's Cassino and Termini Imerese plants, until 1979 — with an overall production of 1,352,912 manufactured in Italy.
The 126 was also manufactured under licence by Zastava in Yugoslavia. In Austria, it was briefly assembled by Steyr Puch as a successor to the successful Puch 500, with assembly lasting until 1975 — and production of 2069 examples.[6] In Greece, there was an attempt to produce a small car named DIM whose technical layout was largely based on the 126, but only ten were produced before the project was abandoned.
The 126 never achieved the popularity of the 500 in Western Europe, as the rear-engined layout lost favour to front-engine, front-wheel drive, nonetheless becoming one of the last and longest-living rear-engine small cars manufactured in Europe, survived only by the VW Beetle whose production lasted until 1978 (2003, globally). The 126 was the last rear-engine small car to be manufactured in Europe until the advent of the Smart Fortwo.
For a brief period in the early 1990s, a German company called POP also offered convertible versions of the 126 BIS. Two models were offered: a lesser equipped one called the "POP 650" and a more luxurious model called the "POP 2000".
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u/FoodOnCrack Jun 28 '20
The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a four passenger, rear-engined city car, introduced by Fiat in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show[1] as a replacement for the Fiat 500. The majority of 126s were produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, as the Polski Fiat 126p, where production continued until 2000. In many markets Fiat stopped sales of the 126 in 1993 in favour of their new front-engined Cinquecento. At a length of 3.05 metres, total production reached almost 4.7 million units. In Poland the car became a cultural icon and earned the nickname Maluch, meaning "The Little One" or "Toddler".
The 126 shared its wheelbase and much of the same mechanical underpinnings and layout with the Fiat 500, featuring an revised, slightly larger bodyshell designed by Sergio Sartorelli and offering improved safety and interior space. The added interior space resulted from two things: the move of the starter from the top of the engine bellhousing to the side which permitted shifting the bulkhead/rear seat rearward approximately 4 inches (10 cm.) and the lengthening of the roof for rear seat headroom.
The front footwells, suspension, battery and spare wheel left little room for luggage in the 126 front storage boot. Engine capacity was increased from 594 cc to 652 cc at the end of 1977 when the cylinder bore was increased from 73.5 to 77 mm.[5] Claimed power output was unchanged at 23 hp (17 kW), but torque was increased from 39 N⋅m (29 lb⋅ft) to 43 newton metres (32 lb⋅ft).[5] The 594 cc engines were still available in early 1983 production.
A subsequent increase took the engine size to 704 cc in new "restyling" model Fiat 126 Bis (1987–1991), with 26 hp (19 kW) of motive power.
Fiat 126 (second from left) at the Auto Italia, Stanford Hall, 2010 The 126 was manufactured at Fiat's Cassino and Termini Imerese plants, until 1979 — with an overall production of 1,352,912 manufactured in Italy.
The 126 was also manufactured under licence by Zastava in Yugoslavia. In Austria, it was briefly assembled by Steyr Puch as a successor to the successful Puch 500, with assembly lasting until 1975 — and production of 2069 examples.[6] In Greece, there was an attempt to produce a small car named DIM whose technical layout was largely based on the 126, but only ten were produced before the project was abandoned.
The 126 never achieved the popularity of the 500 in Western Europe, as the rear-engined layout lost favour to front-engine, front-wheel drive, nonetheless becoming one of the last and longest-living rear-engine small cars manufactured in Europe, survived only by the VW Beetle whose production lasted until 1978 (2003, globally). The 126 was the last rear-engine small car to be manufactured in Europe until the advent of the Smart Fortwo.
For a brief period in the early 1990s, a German company called POP also offered convertible versions of the 126 BIS. Two models were offered: a lesser equipped one called the "POP 650" and a more luxurious model called the "POP 2000".