“For driving in town, it’s the best car in the country.”
Successors of popular cars don’t have it easy, especially when they replace an automotive icon. In the late 1960s, Fiat began working on a successor for the famous Fiat 500 Nuova Cinquecento, the car that had mobilized Italy and made Fiat great again in postwar times.
The newcomer should carry over the rear-mounted engine and wheelbase of the Fiat 500, and become just a little longer to better accommodate four people. Fiat designer Sergio Sartorelli came up with the winning proposal that looked very modern to the contemporary beholder. It certainly lacked the cute appeal of the outgoing Cinquecento but hey, angular and boxy styling meant “newness” in these days.
Yet, the Fiat 126 should never even come close to the popularity of its predecessor in Italy and Western Europe. Meanwhile, the burgeoning wealth and aspirations of European car buyers had superseded the concept of tiny cars and spartan mobility. But behind the Iron Curtain a thankful clientele was eagerly waiting to enjoy the delights of affordable mass motorization. In October 1971, Poland signed a contract to license-build the Fiat 126 in a brand-new factory in Bielsko-Biała. The name of the factory, “Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych” (FSM) was appropriately chosen: it translates to “factory of small-engined cars”. Mass production was conveniently scheduled to begin on July 22nd, 1973, at the National Day of the Rebirth of Poland, which the communists celebrated between 1952 and 1989.
Soon, the “Maluch” (“toddler”) became a mainstay of private motorization in Poland and other socialist countries. Cuba imported the Polski Fiat in large numbers, and today an estimated 10,000 Polski Fiat 126p still roam Cuban roads. Here, it is affectionately called “Polaquito,” little Polish guy. And little it is: with an overall length of 120 inches (3,05m) the Polski Fiat fits comfortably between the wheels of the average almendrones in Cuba. Yet, it seats four and it is frugal.
A ride in the tiny box is an experience, to say the least. It feels like a go-cart on ballons. The car bounces over the uneven road, and the short wheelbase in combination with a single leaf spring up front make the nose constantly swing up and down. The air-cooled engine bellows asthmatically, suffering in the tropical climate, especially as only full throttle mobilizes all the 24 horses that locomote the Fiat. Hence, most Cuban choferes drive their Fiat with open engine bays, attempting to keep the temperatures in check.
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