Fiat 1500.
Leo kindly sent over a superb collection of photographs, taken during a cycling holiday around Utrecht in 1958. Having an interest in cars, he snapped all
manner of roadside discoveries, including this distinctive 1935-1939 Fiat 1500. Dirty, with faded paint and misbehaving bumpers, it's a well-used and not
perhaps the best-maintained example, with windscreen wipers that are conspicuous by their absence.
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Fiat picked up on the growing interest in streamlined car designs, when penning the new-for-1935 1500 model. Wind-tunnel testing
lead to the car's distinctive, if not entirely elegant, design. Evidence of this can be seen in the 1500's headlamps, incorporated
within wind-cheating pods built into the front wings, and the well-raked radiator grille flowing back to the sloping bonnet. The
500 Topolino, sold from 1937 onwards, would share many of the 1500's design cues.
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Enclosed door hinges and flush handles also feature. The boxy upright bodywork evident on cars of just a few years earlier had suddenly become
very outdated.
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The six-cylinder 1500 continued in production until 1950, although it underwent a number of revisions during its 15-year life. The 1500B was introduced in
1939, incorporating a number of detail improvements to the original car, shortly before the 1500C - with its revised coachwork - made its debut in 1940. Nine years late the 1500E took over, surviving just a short time before being replaced by the new 1400 model.
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Return to Page 18 in the photographic archive.
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Alternatively, visit the main index of images where many other photos of pre- and post-war Fiats, amongst others, can be found.
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