Fiat 1100 (1937)

Fiat 1100
Fiat 508 C "Balilla 1100"
Overview
Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1937–1953
Body and chassis
Class	Small family car (C)
Body style	4-door 4-window saloon 4-door 6-window saloon 4-door convertible saloon 4-door torpedo 2-door cabriolet 2-door spider 2-door berlinetta (Mille Miglia)
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related	Simca 8
Powertrain
Engine	1089 cc I4 (petrol)
Transmission	4-speed manual
Chronology
Predecessor	Fiat 508 Balilla
Successor	Fiat 1100/103

The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1937 to 1953 by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat. It was introduced in 1937 as Fiat 508 C or Balilla 1100, as a replacement for the Fiat 508 Balilla. Under the new body the 508 C had more modern and refined mechanicals compared to the 508, including independent front suspension and an enlarged overhead valve engine. In 1939 it was updated and renamed simply Fiat 1100.^[1] The 1100 was produced in three consecutive series—1100 A, 1100 B and 1100 E—until 1953, when it was replaced by the all-new, unibody Fiat 1100/103.

History

The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937. Body styling, done by the emerging designer Dante Giacosa, was similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the typical late-thirties heart-shaped front grille.^[2] It was powered by a 1,089 cc four-cylinder overhead-valve engine rather than the earlier Balilla's 1-litre unit. Power was up by a third, to 32 PS (24 kW) at 4000 rpm.^[3] There was also a more sporting model on offer, the 42 PS (31 kW) "508 CMM". The Fiat 508C was a 4-door saloon with 4 windows (2 windows on each side without the rear quarter window). Some other 4-door saloons had 6 windows (3 windows on each side with the rear quarter window).

Drive was to the rear wheels through a 4-speed gearbox, and for the period, its comfort, handling, and performance were prodigious,^[4] making it "the only people's car that was also a driver's car".^[5] Unusual for a modestly priced car of the time was the independent front suspension, while the rear had a leaf sprung live axle.^[3] Subsequently the car underwent a partial restyling around the front end and gained new streamlined window-shaped louvres and was renamed the 1100B and was popularly known as the "1100 musone" (i. e. "big muzzle"). After World War II, in 1949, the car was re-introduced with a curvy boot and new name, the 1100E. The 1100E also received a bit more power, and now had 35 PS (26 kW).^[3] Both the 508C and the 1100B were also available as the long wheelbase 508L which was mainly used for vans and taxis.

1948 Fiat 1100 BL Tassì

References

1. Odin, L.C. World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
2. Setright, L. J. K. (1974), Northey, Tom, ed., "FIAT: The Godfather of the Italian Motor Industry", World of Automobiles, London: Orbis Publishing Ltd, 6: 660
3. Becker, Clauspeter (1971). Logoz, Arthur, ed. "Fiat 128". Auto-Universum 1971 (in German). Zürich, Switzerland: Verlag Internationale Automobil-Parade AG. XIV: 80.
4. Setright, p. 659.
5. Setright, p. 660.

External links

• Gallery on Italian Balilla registry website