Description
CLASSIC CAR PRESERVED CERTIFIED BY A. S. I. WITH C. R. S. AND C. I. (GOLD PLATE) AND FIAT CLASSICHE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN Approximately 31, 000 km covered (original-equipment tyres replaced and kept one year ago) CONDITION: preserved with original first paint, matching numbers (chassis and engine numbers matching those from the factory at the time of registration) PERIOD ACCESSORIES AND GADGETS: - ‘FIAT’ badge on the bonnet, ‘lusso’ model - steel bumpers (an optional extra at the time) - rare interior panel trim signed by the Turin firm Ebel (interior trim was not standard) - original rubber and coir rear floor mats (rather than rubber) - tools, never used, stored in the rear wrapped in the original Fiat cloth (believed to be made from military fabric left over from the occupation) - new spare wheel All accessories are period-correct; the only additions were the rear lights and direction indicators added in the 1960s following the 1959 reform of the Highway Code.
The car, originally registered VA, was re-registered AN in 1961 when the first owner moved to the Marche region (until the 1980s, a change of residence required a change of registration plate), and passed its regular MOT inspections until 1963. In 1967 it was administratively de-registered for non-payment of annual road tax.
It was abandoned in a warehouse (fortunately free of damp) until 2004, when it was purchased by the previous owner, with whom it covered very few kilometres (my mechanic tells me that he drove it for a few kilometres during periodic inspections).
In 2021, following his death, I bought it from his two heirs. In practice I would be the third owner in 76 years, and I had it thoroughly re-checked by a specialist in vintage Fiats.
Registered with ASI as a classic car with C. R. S., in November 2022 it obtained the ASI Gold Plate Certificate of Identity.
Since then it has taken part in various rallies and shows, always attracting curiosity and success. Periodically, roughly every three weeks, I take it on a 10 to 15 kilometre drive to keep it in good working order.
Unlike the Topolino A and B, this car does not need to be trailered to take part in rallies, as it normally runs on motorways and comfortably reaches (and maintains) speeds of over 105 km/ h. At the time it was a ‘station wagon’ and was also used by traders and commercial travellers (I am also attaching an image from a book in which two American tourists recount their journey through Italy in a Topolino in the 1950s).
All of this is to explain that this car is something special, not the usual Giardiniera that has been fully restored and repainted several times, sometimes arbitrarily, but a genuine ‘time capsule’ which I would like to see preserved as it is by an enthusiast who recognises its historical value.
