When it comes to baby Fiats, the Nouva 500 of 1957-1975 is the car which always springs to mind, but its replacement, the 126, aimed to offer much the same experience in a more modern wrapping.
Launched in 1972 and arriving in Britain the following year, the 126 retained the 500’s basic structural and mechanical layout, with an air-cooled two-cylinder engine at the back driving the rear wheels. However, its boxy body styled by ex-Ghia man Sergio Sartorelli looked more contemporary and echoed the larger 127 model. It could also boast greater interior space than the 500 and was safer thanks to a more enclosed fuel tank, dual-circuit brakes and a collapsible steering column, while the gearbox now featured synchromesh on all but first gear.
Western Europe may not have taken to the 126 in the same way as the 500, but it would sell in greater numbers thanks to its unexpected role as the people’s car of Poland. Indeed, nearly three quarters of all the 126s built would be produced there, and it was also built in Yugosalvia by Zastava, and sold in far flung destinations
