The Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500 are a series of front-engine, rear-drive

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

s manufactured and marketed by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

from 1961 to 1967, replacing the

Fiat 1400 The Fiat 1400 and Fiat 1900 are passenger cars produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat from 1950 to 1958 and from 1952 to 1959 respectively. The two models shared body and platform, but while the 1.4-litre 1400 was Fiat's intermediate of ...

and

Fiat 1200 Fiat 1200 was the name of three distinct models produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat, all based on Fiat 1100 mechanicals. The first two were introduced in 1957, and replaced the TV (Turismo Veloce) variants at the top of the Fiat 1100 range: t ...

coupé, spyder and cabriolet. The 1300 and 1500 were essentially identical to each other except for their

engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as a loose indicator of the ...

, as indicated by their model names, and were offered in sedan/saloon,

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

and

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

body styles which shared little mechanically with the other body styles except the 1500 engine. The 1500 offered a 75 hp engine, lightweight construction, front disc brakes and rear alloy drum brakes. The 1300/1500 and their derivatives were also assembled by

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

's Zastava and Fiat's German subsidiary, Neckar Automobil AG, as well as in South Africa. The floorpan of the 1500 C was used as a basis for the 1500s replacement, the

Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommod ...

, while another model, the

Polski Fiat 125p Polski Fiat 125p is a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in Poland under a Fiat license by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO). It was a simplified and altered variation of the original, Italian-made Fiat ...

, made by the Polish FSO, was created by mating the body of 125 and mechanicals (engines, gearbox, transmission, suspension) of 1300/1500. In the Italian range, the 1300 was replaced by the

Fiat 124 The Fiat 124 is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat between 1966 and 1974. The saloon superseded the Fiat 1300 and was the basis for several variants including a station wagon, a four-seater coupé ( 124 Sport Cou ...

in 1966, and the 1500 by the

a year later. - accessed via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

In total, 1,900,000 units were produced worldwide.

Drivetrain

The 1300/1500 were conventional cars, with longitudinally, front-mounted engines powering the rear axle via a four-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

with a column gearchange. The engines employed were two versions of the same design, differing mainly in bore: * Fiat 1300 - 1295 cc (bore 72 x stroke 79.5 mm) OHV 4-cyl inline at 5000 rpm * Fiat 1500 - 1481 cc (bore 77 x stroke 79.5 mm) OHV 4-cyl inline at 5400 rpm Both engines had alloy cylinder heads with twin rocker shafts and inlet valves angled at 45 degrees An innovative feature at the time was the fitting of

disc brakes A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

on the front. Both variants started with a wheelbase of , but from 1964 the wheelbase of Fiat 1500 was increased to . This longer version was called the 1500 C and also received three more horsepower (for a total of 75) and various other detail differences, including power brakes and bigger taillights with built-in reverse lamps. The

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...

-designed Coupé and Cabriolet models of the preceding 1200 continued with largely unchanged bodywork, although they were now equipped with the larger 1.5 litre engine. The

O.S.C.A. O.S.C.A. (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A.) was an Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars established 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, by the Maserati brothers, and closed down in 1967. The ...

engined 1600 S Coupé and Cabriolet also continued to be available. All of the coupés and convertibles were replaced by the new 124 coupés and spiders in 1966. The New Zealand importer, Torino Motors, marketed the 1500 as the "Crusader", with corresponding badging. In South Africa, dealers could also supply the "1500 OTS", a conversion for more power available in two different stages. The OTS was developed by CMI (Cartoria Motor Industries) specifically to suit local production car competition regulations. Rather than the standard car's SAE, the OTS developed SAE in the respective Stage I and Stage II variants. A variety of extras were also offered, including lowered suspension and a conversion to a floor-mounted shifter. File:Fiat1300a.jpg, Fiat 1300 - front fascia File:Fiat 1500.jpg, Fiat 1500 C - front fascia File:Heckansicht.jpg, 1965 Fiat 1300 rear File:1966 Fiat 1500 rear view.jpg, 1966 Fiat 1500 C rear File:Innenraum Fiat 1300.jpg, 1965 Fiat 1300 interior File:1966 Fiat 1500 interior.jpg, 1966 Fiat 1500 C interior File:Fiat 1500 Cabriolet.jpg, Fiat 1500 Cabriolet File:CL - Centro storico con auto storiche 20.jpg, Fiat 1500 Cabriolet front File:Fiat 1600 S Coupé, front right.jpg, Fiat 1500 Coupé File:Fiat 1300 gr vr.jpg, Fiat 1300 Familiare File:Fiat 1500 Wagon.JPG, Fiat 1500 Wagon File:FIAT 1500 Coupe Vignale (01).jpg, Fiat 1500 Coupé Vignale

Fiat 1500 L / 1500 Taxi

These models were essentially

Fiat 1800 The Fiat 1800 and 2100 are six-cylinder automobiles produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1959 and 1968. Both models were introduced in 1959. A four-cylinder 1500 cc version, the 1500L, was added to the range in 1963. The 1800/2100 were d ...

s fitted with the 1500 engine, and therefore referred to as "1500" in Fiat nomenclature. The Taxi version debuted in 1962 and had the engine detuned to . The 1500 L (for "Lunga" - Italian for "long") originally had the same engine as the regular 1500, and in 1964 was upgraded to along with the Fiat 1500 C.

Other manufacturers’ versions

Seat 1500

The

Seat 1500 The SEAT 1500 was a Spanish-built 6-seater model of saloon and estate cars, based on the Italian Fiat 2300 and using a 1481 cc engine from the Fiat 1500. The 1500 was the successor to the SEAT 1400 C; it was manufactured from 1963 to 1973, wit ...

was a car unrelated to the Fiat 1500. It was instead, as the Italian Fiat 1500 L, an underengined version of the

Fiat 1800/2100 The Fiat 1800 and 2100 are six-cylinder automobiles produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1959 and 1968. Both models were introduced in 1959. A four-cylinder 1500 cc version, the 1500L, was added to the range in 1963. The 1800/2100 were d ...

. It was built in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, where 183,652 were produced between 1963 and 1975.

Siata 1500 TS

Siata Siata (''Società Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori'' in English ''Italian Car Transformation Accessories Company'') was an Italian car tuning shop and manufacturer founded in 1926 by amateur race car driver Giorgio Ambrosini. Siata initiall ...

, the Italian

tuning Tuning can refer to: Common uses * Tuning, the process of tuning a tuned amplifier or other electronic component * Musical tuning, musical systems of tuning, and the act of tuning an instrument or voice ** Guitar tunings ** Piano tuning, adjusti ...

accessories and special vehicles manufacturer, devised a model called TS or 1500 TS that differed from the regular Fiat saloon in styling details, including two-tone paint, but mainly in the fact that the engine was tuned to deliver as much as . Moreover, there was a 1500 TS Coupé version with a unique body designed by

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with ...

. Both the saloon and the coupé were also manufactured by Fiat's German subsidiary,

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...

Automobil AG, formerly known as NSU-Fiat, located in

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Mid ...

(unlike regular Fiat 1300/1500). - accessed via the

- accessed via the

Zastava 1300 and 1500

The Yugoslavian automaker Zastava, which was extensively cooperating with Fiat, also assembled the 1300 and 1500, branding them as Zastava 1300 and Zastava 1500, respectively. Zastava went on to produce the 1300 by itself when Fiat in 1967 stopped production. During the seventies better equipment was added and models named DeLuxe and 1300E. The production finished in December 1979. 201,160 copies were made since 1961. The car was nicknamed ''Tristać'' (''trista'' means 300 in Serbian language.). The saloon model in the Zastava's version is the same as in the Fiat's version, but the estate model is different. This model is used as the foundation of the Fiat 1300/1500's successor,

. With all-around disc brakes, rear-wheel drive, up to 72 horsepower (the engine could propel the car to a top speed of 155 km/h), the elegant ''Tristać'' was Yugoslavia's favorite upmarket car. The Zastava 1300 was also assembled by Leonidas Lara (C.C.A.) in Bogotá,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Assembly of Zastavas in Colombia began as early as 1969.

Argentinian Fiat 1500

For South American market Fiat Concord in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

from 1963 produced a 1500 version. This was available as "Berlina", "Familiar," and in a pick-up version with three seats in the front row named "Multicarga". A total of 123,059 examples were produced. A

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommod ...

, the

was actually a combination of bodywork of Fiat 125 and engines and mechanicals of Fiat 1300/1500.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiat 1300 1500 1300 1500 Mid-size cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Station wagons Cars introduced in 1961