There are many interesting things in the biography of the largest and oldest Italian car brand, FIAT. Some legendary autos you can find at the IAM Indianapolis car lot, IN. But today, we offer a look into the most secret corners of the company’s history.
The company name is an abbreviation
The beautiful and easy-to-remember name FIAT is not a surname or the name of a locality. FIAT is an abbreviation: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Therefore, the company name should be written in capital letters.
The factory was founded back in 1899 by the Agnelli family of industrialists. Only at the end of the 20th century, did FIAT receive recognition in North America to compete with Volkswagen and other European brands. The descendants of a very famous and influential dynasty in Italy still have a direct relationship with the brand, even though FIAT itself has become part of the large industrial alliance Stellantis since January 2021. In addition to the Italians, it includes Opel, Citroen, Jeep, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, and a dozen other brands.
FIAT had an American branch that was selling luxury cars
Cars from Turin, belong to the budget segment as a rule. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the FIAT range was full of expensive, powerful, and prestigious models. And the American branch of the company specializes only in luxury cars.
American FIAT products had no direct analogs in the Italian line. Models like the Type 54 and Type 56 were originally developed in America for the internal market. Components also came from local suppliers. At the same time, American FIAT regularly paid royalties to Turin for each item sold.
As for prices, the 1912 American FIAT Type 56 with an 8.6-liter engine and a landau body cost $ 6,100. Ten times more expensive than a Ford T!
The company was engaged in the production of aircraft
Aviation roots are common for many car brands, such as BMW and Ford. And FIAT, which seems weakly associated with the sky, also produced aircraft.
For example, one of the best Italian fighters of the Second World War was considered to be a machine manufactured by FIAT. We are talking about the G55 Centauro monoplane, which even according to the testimony of German pilots surpassed the Me109 and FW190 in flight and combat characteristics.
It was the aircraft, or rather the Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 flying boat with a FIAT AS6 engine, that holds the speed record for amphibians with piston engines. In 1934, this vehicle accelerated to 440 mph! Naturally, it was in the air.
There was a racing track on the roof of the FIAT plant in Turin
If the Ford Highland Park plant, where the conveyor assembly line was first launched, can be considered the most important for the development of the global auto industry, the title of the most unusual and elegant car plant can be given to the FIAT Lingotto, which was opened in the eponymous district of Turin in 1923.
Its peculiarity is that the building housed not only the assembly line but also a point for issuing finished cars and a full-fledged test site. A real racing track with profiled turns was built on the roof of the Lingotto plant. Here, mechanics tested the performance of Fiats, which had just come off the assembly line.
Today, the building of the former FIAT plant houses an office center and a hotel.
FIAT has an excellent racing reputation
FIAT is not particularly associated with auto racing. It seems that in Turin they deliberately did not get involved in expensive motorsport programs so as not to disgrace themselves against the background of Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Ferrari. But here the situation is the same as with airplanes.
The company has resounding victories in famous road races. Cars from Turin won at Targa Florio back in the first half of the 20th century. However, you don’t need to go that far back in history to find the titles of the Italians. The seemingly not-very-racing FIAT has as many titles in the World Rally Championship as the iconic Mitsubishi Ralliart — five for each. The Italian rear-wheel drive 131 Rally sedans lit up the late 1970s and early 1980s. The famous Italian Sandro Munari and the equally famous German Walter Röhrl became world champions behind the wheel of a FIAT. Add three more factory titles to their achievements, and you’ll have a great collection.
