These little beauties are very capable of doing long distances. I own 3 of these old cars and I drove my first one from Rome to Salerno and then from London to Cavan in Ireland and back again. It never missed a single beat though it did take me ages.
Rebeccah Mania I think people enjoyed their road trips more back in the day, stop and have a pic-nic on the way. We want everything quick today. Cheers on your three cinquecento’s. If I may ask, what are they going for today?
@@gabrielsandoval4994 If anybody is guilty of being slightly impatient in traffic like me (I'm from Boston), taking a road trip like this is a great way to help with that. Wandering around Maine with no real destination is something I like to do to remind me that I don't always need to drive like I'm in a hurry.
In about 1971 my Dad's car ( Austin 1300 or Triumph 1500 ) was being fixed and his work colleague loaned our family of six a Fiat 500. We were aged 9 to 4 and probably a litter of wee runts to boot so we fitted quite comfortably in the back. We took a modest road trip in it and it was memorable fun. The sun roof makes it a lot more palatable but I believe it started to rain late in the day. Incredible what we think we need in a car these days compared to what will actually do the job.
A joyful little car, indeed. My mum had one in the mid-'60s - same colour as this one, but with painted dash and circular instrument panel. I was an irresponsible new driver at the time and took all kinds of liberties with it. Being 6' tall, I found that, by sitting on the seat-back, I could still reach the controls while my head stuck out of the sun-roof. It felt like driving a large egg and greatly increased the sense of speed. I thought that, as the Italians drove them everywhere flat-out, I could do the same with impunity. On one long down-hill stretch, I saw the speedo needle nudge the maximum indicated 80 mph. However, that thrilling moment was simultaneously marked by a loud bang from the rear. The head gasket had blown. Thereafter, I treated it with a bit more care. What Harry doesn't mention is the light and responsive steering, which encouraged one to take corners with gusto. Grip was pretty good (and my mum's car didn't have the benefit of the Pirelli Cinturato radial tyres on Harry's car). There wasn't much body roll, but woe betide if you lifted off mid-corner; the rear swing-axles jacked up immediately and flung you off the road!
This video was such as inspiration I went and bought a lovely cream 1969 500L. My S2000 now feels like a luxurious rocket after pottering around in it!
Haha, brilliant Harry, great to see you fully exploiting 18bhp. A good friend of mine had one of these in the early 90's when we were 17, it was a weird pale faded yellow colour and it used to be flat out everywhere. We called it 'The Atomic Peanut' at the time, great memories :)
I am italian, my first car was a white Fiat 500 L from the early 70s, exactly identical to that one (it was originally owned by my mother). Yours is beautiful. But the black/white tyres are completely wrong on it: they were already all black at that time, instead. Black and white tyres were used only until the early 60s. I remember that in the 70s no car around had black and white tyres on
Thank you so much for this cool review. I own a series of vintage Italian cars, some rather fast ones. But I have recently commissioned a rebuild of a 595 Abarth; 32 HP, and what a cool ride! And all the people at roadside smile and wave.
Oh dear...what memories!!!! My very first car was a baby blue Fiat 500....I paid the princely sum of ZAR 125...In UK about 78 pounds. I bought it secondhand in Pretoria...zoomed around the city to work and carted my mom and groceries on a Saturday...I love, love this little car...mm...maybe one day....
I loved these little cars, I worked in a British Leyland dealer in Mossley Hill, but we did MOTs too so got to have a go in all kinds of stuff. I loved driving them and working on them too. My uncle had, what would have been a really rare the van version, thinking about it it could of been made or perhaps marketed by Autobianchi. It was like a pear, one minute it was perfect, and the next it literally fell into dust. This review brought back lots of good memories for me. Thanks Harry.
Gah, it's torture. Harry has us all in the palm of his hand. Some of the best vehicle vids on the tube and months between an upload. Always sweet relief to finally get that Metcalfe fix!
Good to have you back and a fabulous enthusiastic review as always. Interesting to have a good nosey round cars that have pretty much disappeared from our streets these days. It's also great to see someone who clearly has such a love of cars and their engineering.
Brilliant original Fiat 500. Just shows how the city environment in Italy has created such realistic cars to drive in historical centres . Great video.
That’s where Fiat is better than any other brand when it comes to very small cars! I owned a Fiat Seicento 900cc for 17 years as a daily driver - many other cars came into my garage and left again, but this little Fiat was something that had the aura that it is worth to keep. Sadly my girlfriend sold it for scrap while I was on long distance truckdriving why we had to move and lost our garage... So I now have only my memories and my Vespa PX to give me the Italian moments in life...
Thanks for another great video. Its always food to see the grin in your face as you enjoy driving your cars whether a Ferrari or a baby Fiat 500. Always entertaining and informative.
the WOT, the rocking back and forth to get it to go faster, the shaky camera inside and also in the chase car...this was *exactly* like Steve McQueen in Bullitt. well, minus the San Francisco part, and minus the huge American V8 Mustang/Charger part. Fun stuff! Great vid.My dad had a '59 500, but the entire roof folded back...soft rear window. this was during the late 60's early 70's, when US cars were ginormous. He took it on the freeway. I was too young to realize the danger, but I don't know how he had the nerve. I do remember as an 8 year old sitting in it, in the garage, shifting through all the gears and pretending I was on the freeway. I was born able to shift a manual, BTW.thx for a truly well-spent 16:20.
Your videos are such a joy to watch! No one speaks about cars with as much passion as you do, except maybe Jay Leno, who has acknowledged your work in his own Espada video :) Cheers from Québec, Canada!
Joyous, indeed. They never fail to bring a smile when I see one. We rented a Fiat 850 when we visited England in ‘78 and our “little Italian roller skate” took us all the way to the Highlands of Scotland. Good times.
I love the 500, my current car which was my first car is the new 500 and I love it. One day I hope to have mine with a matching original 500D. Great to see another video from Harry
14:53 THAT! A lot of people do not understand or realize that. And lately, also the manufacturers. You do not need 400 hp or 10 speed double clutch gearboxes. You need something that needs to be wrung and to be able to rev 1-2-3 gears and not get arrested. Sure a Boxster S has more power, but try a "normal" one, with the 2.7 or 2.9 engine and manual gearbox. I always said: if you are lazy and want instant gratification...go get a diesel. If you really like cars, get a small revvy NA Otto engine with a slick manual gearbox. And light, if possible. You will not get enough of driving it. What's that fuzz on your face, Mr Metcalfe? Finally giving up and joining the trend? Also, you need a new camera minion or a wider lens. Found myself more than once trying to lean "into" the video, like it was a window...ie when you showed the boot, did anyone see the battery? ;) 9:54 Smart move. Pushing back the choke. Otherwise it burn fuel like the Espada. And fouls up the spark plugs.
Agreed. I had a lot of fun in my Fiat Uno 60s round the lanes of Kent in the 80's. 58bhp 1100 used to rev beautifully. Just left it in 3rd good for 70mph and a bit and tore down the lanes from Sevenoaks to Tonbridge, nice controlable understeer from the 155/55 Michelins. Lovely!!
thefridgeman Lada driver here, can confirm! It's a strange blast driving an old flimsy thing with barely any power. Staying up to traffic becomes an exciting sensation!
Favourite car I've owned was an Citroen AX GT - 1360cc, light, and 0.29cd drag factor I seem to remember. I loved the NA 1.6 MX5 for same reason, because all the people who say they are slow are missing the point, the fun is in wringing their necks which they absolutely enjoy.
Your videos always make me want the car! I had a 425cc 2CV when it was all I could afford, yet it remains one of the most enjoyable cars I have owned. Like the 500, you max it all the time and try your utmost to avoid braking. You learn to keep an eye open for hills and they add a dimension to driving that doesn't exist for modern cars.
Great review Harry! Watched this before buying my own 500L earlier this year. Heat leaking into the cockpit is not a big issue - I've not been too warm yet and having the sunroof open more than compensates. :)
My parents had a Fiat 500. When we sometimes picked up my uncle we had to open the canvas top because he was to tall for the car 😄 He didn’t like to be picked up in the winther 😂
I bought one of these when a student at university. Cost me £150.00. Used it to travel from London to Coventry in the early 1980s. The previous owner called it Sally Anne. Perfect name.
Great review. I had two of these, the first built in 1961. I bought it in 1973. It came with a spare engine, which proved to be very useful. A postscript to your comments on the heater: it was fairly bearable in the winter as long as the engine was clean. Any spilt oil - or more typically a leak - and you had to open the window, which rather defeated the object somehow.
Good to see you back Harry. This video reminds me a bit of Chris Harris's in his 2CV. As you say, there is great pleasure in a car where you can mash the throttle all day long!
Reminds me of childhood visits to my uncle who had a blue 500 with suicide doors. I remember a day trip with 4 adults and 2 children in the car. Had to get out and walk up the hills. The sound brings it all back.
My grandad had an L reg one in maroon (< At least the rust didn't show up too bad). I remember going to Chester zoo in it with him, my nan, mother and brother all fitting in.
Harry's back! I used to drive a Fiat 500, well it was my dad's but I rebuilt the engine and did all sorts of maintenance tasks so it became mine. A very early one, 64 I think, with suicide doors. Got married in it. Super little car.
In the early 70s I was in Italy for the first time and the Cinquecento cars were absolutely everywhere. I learnt to drive in a Citroën 2CV (the one with the bigger 602cc engine) and watching Harry drive that Cinquecento reminds me of driving that 2CV. It would go at about 65 mph, and I would just sit with my foot flat on the throttle, the car would happily drive like that all day if need be.
Awesome Harry! I'm hunting for an Autobianchi/Fiat 500 Giardiniera, so I really loved your review. Planning on a long term trip around Italy in it so probably going to go the 126 engine though in a makeover... Thanks!!
This was such fun. The only car I ever owned was a cream and green autobianchi bianchina back in the late '60s. Basically a Fiat 500 with a little nicer body. What I remember about it was the first gear was perfect for driving in the mountains on trails and dirt roads. Also, mine had mirrors on both sides up near the head lights that I see (looking at Google Image) was unusual. But such a great idea.
One of life's Joys these films. The nuova, with a sunroof,under the headlineing where bolts which enabled the roof section to come out,as well as the panel that held the rear screen effectively makeing it a full length rag top,I guess on the production run,it facilitated several variations of the one body type, genius desighn. Lovely steering too.
Georgeous. Nearly bought one. Even got a loan lined up. But then in '74 (?) Citroen reintroduced the 2CV6 into the UK and I just had to buy one. Then I worked in the City and home was about 130 miles away cross country using B-roads wherever possible. I doubt if the Fiat would be as comfortable. Besides, Grandma a 'large' lady in her 60s , would not be able to get in. She thought the 2CV was ''such a sensible car, my dear''.
Please do another video with this car, maybe a parking challenge or an explanation how the gear shifting works? Love your videos, keep up the good work!
e used the Fiat 500 to go to the beach: Parents, 2 kids plus 1 grandmother plus umbrella, a cooling box with food and water and a bag with towels, toys etc. I don't know how we fit all that in that small car. :-) The distance was 40 km but the elevation/ climb was 1000 meters. The Fiat 500 is a little work horse. My father still has a Fiat 128 from 1971 which he drives every now and them.
