FIAT 500 – Original Painting

Historic Car Art: Original Fiat 500 Painting on Wood

This piece of historic car art celebrates the fantastic Fiat 500. Designed by Dante Giacosa in around 1955, the 500 replaced the earlier tiny Fiat “Topolino” (nicknamed in Italian after Mickey Mouse). Fiat produced the 500 from 1957 until 1975 and sold nearly four million all over the world. It was replaced by the Fiat 126; a very similar car but, with its much more squared-off design, the 126 figures far less in the popular imagination. One of may favourite car memories from childhood is sitting in the wickerwork seats of an open-top Fiat 500 “Jolly” while on holiday in Italy.

Here’s a quick excerpt from the FCA Heritage website, describing the beginnings of the legendary Fiat 500 on its launch in 1957:

The launch was not immediately successful, due in part to the craze for the 600, but after a few adjustments to the standard fittings and the price list, sales soon boomed. Initial market reaction to the Nuova 500 – also known as the 500 N – was less than spectacular: the new car was overshadowed by the success of the 600, perhaps due in part to its spartan set up, and also because it was registered as a two-seater car. Fiat, however, quickly made amends and inserted a padded rear seat so that the car could be registered as a four seater. Many new details contributed to the success of this new set-up: from the window-opening mechanism to the device for blocking deflector movement, to the chrome enhancing the bodywork and the aluminium wheel covers. As a result, the Fiat city car found itself on the right path and assumed a more assertive personality, confirmed by the appearance of the Nuova 500 wording on the bonnet.

I hope you like this special Fiat 500 art. You can see more examples of my classic car artwork on my Car Art main page.