How appropriate, the little mouse in the automobile business is celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the Fiat 500 “Topolino.” Events at FCA in Turin from June 16-19 will commemorate it. The tiny car was part of the motorization in Italy – no mention of Vespa here – and, arguably, the Fiat 500 was a benchmark in the years around World War II. It was Fiat’s first inexpensive car to be launched before the war, and represented a major change in how cars were made and perceived by Italians
Celebrations will kick off in the former Fiat 500 Lingotto plant, where on the day after tomorrow over two hundred Topolinos will climb up the famous elliptical ramp and stand on the test track on the roof of the historical building where production of the model started in 1936. With this development program, engineer Dante Giacosa wanted to make motor cars accessible to the people – sounds like Volkswagen in Germany at the same time.
AutoInformed will skip the war production records of European dictators and fascist governments during those years. The Topolino stayed in production until 1955 as part of the reconstruction of Italy after the war.
On Thursday, the cars will be parade from the Lingotto to the Pralormo Castle. The procession will be opened by the car owned by Dante Giacosa, which is now on show at the Fiat Heritage Center. The parade will pass through historical places, including the royal hunting residence of Stupinigi, Racconigi Castle, Moncalieri, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the Juventus Stadium, the Mirafiori Motor Village and the National Automobile Museum.
The Lingotto building is the center of this commemorative event. Opened in 1923, the Fiat factory is still noted for its modernity and vertical development. Simply put, Lingotto become the symbol of the burgeoning Italian industry and soon gained a footing in the nation’s collective imaginary. Lingotto is an example of industrial archaeology.
