The original Nuova Fiat 500 went into production in July 1957 and in its various iterations has become one of the most successful city cars of all time. To celebrate its 62nd birthday Fiat organized a party on the roof of the iconic Lingotto factory in Turin where owners and Mirafiori employees gathered to spell out a birthday message with a colorful array of 100 vehicles, though sadly they were modern 500s, not classics. Some rare models included a 2007 500 Cappellini, a 500 Blackjack from 2010, a 500C GQ and a 500C by Diesel.,
Luca Napolitano, head of EMEA Fiat and Abarth brand said, “Happy birthday to Italy’s best-loved car, much loved also all over Europe. With 6 million all-time units sold and over 2 million of the model renewed in 2007, the Fiat 500 is the European leader in the city car segment and has been the best-selling FCA car for the last 2 years.” The 500 has been a huge success story in both its original form—when they would be tested on the Lingotto rooftop track in the ’50s before being delivered to customers—as well as in its modern iteration, which was launched 50 years later.
Luca continued, “July 4th always offers a special opportunity to create amazement in celebrating the birthday of the 500. This year, the 500 did it again: having entered the MoMA in New York and become a work of art and having entered the world of cinema together with Adrien Brody in 2017, not to mention having entered the Guinness World Record in the category “Largest human car image” in 2015. This year the birthday of “Cinquino” aims to strengthen the deep bond between the historic Fiat factory, the 500 and the city of Turin, which 120 years ago saw the birth of the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino”.
The Lingotto factory itself was finished in 1923 and has become famous for its unique rooftop track, featuring in films like the original Italian Job. Though the building is now a hotel, the track remains and on 4 July it played host to the swarm of little Fiats as they celebrated over six decades of production.
Images courtesy of Fiat
