Fiat 500

The Fiat 500 is the classic Italian car for the people and was the direct ancestor of the whole City Car class. When it came out in 1957, no-one had seen anything like it.

 5 Top Fiat 500 facts.

1. The 500 - properly the 500 Nuova, was the second car to carry that name, the first the 500 Topolino, or little mouse (more particularly this refers to Mickey Mouse) was produced from 1937 until the mid 50's and was the smallest car in the world at that time. The 500 is nicknamed Bambino, or baby - though some people refer to both cars as Topolino. Even more confusingly the new version of the 500 currently being produced will be known as the Nuova 500!
   
2. Top Gear magazine named the Fiat 500 as the sexiest car in the world, ever.
3. 90's indie band Lush released a single in 1996 called 500 which was a love song to the car.
4. The 500 refers to the engine size - 479cc in the earliest models, which produced 13hp. The sports version manages 21hp from a bored out version of the same engine.
5. The Fiat 500 was the car originally chosen to feature in The Italian Job, but some new car called a Mini got the part at the last minute.