A passenger car designed at FIAT plants and produced in Italy in 1972-1980. Two additional countries also started license production. In Austria, at the Styer factory in Graz, over 2,000 units with a small boxer engine were produced in 1973-75. However, the main producer of this small car became Poland, where over 3.3 million “small Fiats” were manufactured in two plants of the Small Car Factory in Bielsko-Biała (since 1973) and Tychy (since 1975), of which almost 900,000 units were exported to many countries around the world, including such “exotic” ones as China, Chile, New Zealand and Cuba. Production began with a model with a 0.6 l engine and 23 HP. The year 1977 brought the first modernization, the “Maluch” appeared on sale with a more powerful drive – an engine with a capacity of 652 cm3 and power increased to 24 HP. Another “big” change occurred 10 years later – the PF 126 Bis model was created. The car became a hatchback, and the power of the engine with once again increased capacity (up to 703 cm3) increased by “as much as” 1 HP! Maluch (a term of endearment that perfectly fits a small car; it became the official name of the PF 126p in 1997) was originally intended to be a car for everyone, small, cheap and economical, just right for the budget of the “average” Pole. The reality of life in the Polish People’s Republic soon put these plans to the test. In the mid-1970s, its price was PLN 69,000, and the average salary was only about PLN 3.5 thousand. Additionally, there was a car allocation system. Only the holder of an allocation voucher (“talon”) could buy the car. Production finally ended in 2000.
Technical data Polish Fiat 126p 650:
Length: 3054 mm
Width: 1377 mm
Height: 1335 mm
Empty weight: 600 kg
Load capacity: 4 people + 40 kg (total 320 kg)
Maximum speed: 105 km/h
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h: 51.0 sec.
Drive: two-cylinder OHV petrol engine, air-cooled.
Displacement: 652 cm³
Power: 24 HP
