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The best-loved car in Fiat’s history is the iconic Fiat 500. Popularly described as Fiat’s “great little car”, it is the icon that enabled Italians to become car-owners, and later became a global ambassador for the country. The Fiat 500 celebrated its 60th birthday Tuesday with a special event that honours its history and the style and design that made it famous across the globe.
The events included the commissioning of a new postage stamp with the iconic vehicle featuring prominently to mark the day by the Italian Government. The commemoration event took place at Fiat’s Mirafiori building in Turin in the presence of Ivan Scalfarotto, Italian Deputy Minister for Economic Development; Giovanni Accusani, Head of Philatelic Department of Poste Italiane; Ivo Planeta, Operations Manager of Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato; Alfredo Altavilla, Chief Operating Officer FCA EMEA and Olivier François, Head of Fiat Brand and FCA Chief Marketing Officer.
This collector’s item, produced in a series of 1,000,000 units and on sale in Italy from Tuesday, celebrates the model that made motoring history. With a value of 0.95 Euro, it is printed by Officina Carte Valori of the State Printing Office and Mint, and features the unmistakable outline of the classic Fiat 500 superimposed on that of the now equally famous current Fiat 500. The dark blue background with a band in the colours of the Italian flag near the top edge frames the dates 1957-2017 and the words “Fiat Nuova 500” in the same font as the 1957 advertising posters. It is a real miniature work of art, which celebrates the realisation of a great dream of mobility and also of freedom.
The 500 is a miracle of Italian design and a car that has improved the lives of millions of people. It has accompanied the economic recovery, put Italy on four wheels and then it was exported all over the world, so much so that today, 80 percent of Fiat 500 models are sold outside of Italy.
The iconic Fiat 500 also joined the permanent collection of the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art, in New York on its 60th birthday as it had become the symbol of Italian creativity which has always inspired artists and designers worldwide thus becoming an icon of beauty and art. It has made another giant leap to become a work of art in its own right by the side of the other great icons of Italian design and yet again remaining “Forever Young”.
“While the Fiat 500 has unquestionably left its mark on automotive history, it is equally true that it has never been just a car”, said Olivier François, Head of Fiat Brand and Chief Marketing Officer FCA. “In its 60 years of history, the 500 has transcended its material manifestation to enter the collective imagination and become an icon, which has now the honour of being certified by being acquired by MoMA in a tribute to its artistic and cultural value.”
“The Fiat 500 is an automotive history icon which has changed the way cars were designed and manufactured in Italy”, declared Martino Stierli, the “Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design” of MoMA. “Adding this everyday masterpiece to our collection expands the horizons of MoMA to the history of automotive design”.
The model selected by the MoMA will be a 500 F series, the most popular 500 ever, made from 1965 to 1972. Fiat’s “great little car” was an instant success worldwide, and the 18 HP of its 499.5 cm3 engine gave it a top speed of 95 km/h. Over 4,000,000 units were made from 1957 to 1975. From the New 500 in the late 50s, on to the Sport and then the D, both more powerful, followed by the F, which holds the record for the number produced, through to the more comfortable L, and finally the R.
The Fiat 500 is not only a symbol of mass car ownership, over time it has become a style and design icon. The unmistakable design has inspired the imagination of artists, who have responded with elegant, exclusive and sporty interpretations. It has achieved the feat of maintaining its identity while remaining youthful over 60 years of history, lifestyles, fashion and society. A successful car, but also a cultural phenomenon in centre stage for 60 years, never going out of fashion. With the launch of the new generation in 2007, the 500 appeared in a variety of original and cool interpretations, both hatchback and convertible, with an array of extraordinarily successful special editions (such as the 500 by Diesel, the 500 Gucci and the 500 Riva).
Success is reasserted by numbers: the Fiat 500 is the best-seller in Europe, ranking first in eight countries and among the first three in six others. The 2007 version won over 2,000,000 motorists in just 10 years and has reaped accolade after accolade since its debut, including Car of the Year and the Compasso d’oro design award.
