Fiat sold about 1.3 million in Italy, but Poland built 3.3 million more and gave it the name Maluch.
Lead trim: 652 cc (23 hp) · up to 26 hp
Fiat 126126 · 1972–1987
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Fiat 126 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactFiat sold about 1.3 million in Italy, but Poland built 3.3 million more and gave it the name Maluch.
A rear-engined city car that seats four, made by Fiat from 1972 to 2000 over a single generation and introduced at the Turin Auto Show in October 1972 to replace the Fiat 500. It shared the 500's wheelbase and much of its mechanics under a slightly larger body by Sergio Sartorelli, made roomier by moving the starter to the side of the bellhousing, which let the rear bulkhead move back about 10 cm. Italian production of 1,352,912 ended in 1979, but about 3.3 million were built at Tychy and Bielsko-Biała in Poland as the Polski Fiat 126p, known as the Maluch, "the Little One", a name that became official in 1997; total production reached about 4.7 million. Fiat stopped marketing it in 1993 in favour of the front-engined Cinquecento, and Autocar counted its 28-year run in early 2020 as the 26th most long-lived single-generation car in history. The 594 cc engine grew to 652 cc at the end of 1977 with the same claimed 23 hp, and the 1987 BIS version by FSM had a rear hatchback and a horizontally placed, water-cooled 704 cc flat-twin.
Collectors Spotted in the Fiat 126 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Fiat 126 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 594 cc (23 hp) | 1972–1983 | 0.6 L Inline-2 | 23 hp | 29 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 652 cc (23 hp) | 1977–2000 | 0.7 L Inline-2 | 23 hp | 32 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| BIS 704 cc water-cooled flat-twin (26 hp) | 1987–1991 | 0.7 L Flat-2 | 26 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Rivals
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