Yahoo News UK’s rarest cars: the innovative Fiat 127 is almost extinct after 50 years
Fifty years ago this month, Fiat startled many of its more traditionally-minded customers. For the past 16 years, the motoring public associated the company’s small cars with rear-mounted engines, but here was a front-wheel-drive saloon with a transversely mounted engine driving the front wheels. The 127 set the modern supermini template, with the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta and Austin Metro following in its wake.
Project X1/4 commenced in 1968 as the eventual replacement for the Fiat 850. The future 127 employed the brakes, suspension and steering from the 128, with power from the long-established 903cc engine. The launch took place in April 1971, with a memorable advertising campaign starring the great stunt driver Rémy Julienne. One major sales asset was Pio Manzù’s neat styling.
The 127 made its British debut at the 1971 London Motor Show, and at £799, it was only £62 more expensive than a Mini 1000. Autocar proclaimed “another winner from Turin”, and one brochure boasted “it holds all the right cards (including the joker)”. The 127 was declared Car of the Year for 1972, and by 1974 sales passed the million mark.
Fiat initially built the 127 as a two-door, but a hatchback version became available in March 1972. Five years later, it introduced the Series 2: “It’s good to be back in front”, stated the British-market brochure. There was a revised grille, a new facia and the welcome option of a 1,049cc single overhead camshaft engine – and some witty marketing.
Gavin Bushby, the chairman of the Fiat Motor Club, is the custodian of an immaculate 1978-registered 1050 CL that goes by the nom-de-127 of “Freddie”.
Car magazine described the second-generation model as “a wonderful little tool for dashing about the country in”. Many a Mini Clubman owner defected to their local Fiat dealer, as just £2,308 gained you a hatchback of verve and charm.
Perhaps the best-remembered feature of the more expensive Series 2s was the detachable bag fitted to the driver’s door – an equipment item lacking in your average Ford Fiesta. Naturally, the Bushby 127 was a major star of the 2015 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional.
In 1978 came the debut of the vivacious Sport, with a specification including a twin-choke Weber carburettor, a higher compression ratio and a “newly-designed camshaft”, all for only £2,943.
Nigel Ford’s 1979 model, as previously featured in The Telegraph, is resplendent in Racing Orange paint with black stripes, and he describes the road manners as “exciting, a bit frantic – go-kart handling”. In the late 1970s, the Fiat appealed to drivers who still mourned the demise of the Mini Cooper. Autocar regarded the Sport as “a sprightly lamb in the guise of a healthy wolfcub”.
The Series 3 of early 1982 marked the 127’s final incarnation. The GT replaced the Sport as the flagship model with a specification including a 1,301cc engine and a five-speed gearbox. There was a digital clock incorporating a stopwatch facility; Fiat claimed this allowed the “truly sports minded” to record their acceleration. At £4,250, the GT was cheaper than the MG Metro, and Car thought it ideal “if you want a lot of fun from a practical and civilised hot hatch at minimal cost”.
British imports ceased in June 1983, five months after the introduction of the replacement Uno. The GT owned by Micky Cimitan was registered in February 1984 and is one of the last sold in this country. He acquired his black example in 2020 after a decade of searching, and it more than lives up to fond memories of his previous Fiats. Cimitan’s son Chris remarks that “Dad can remember beating Golf GTIs at the lights in his GT during the late 80s”.
Italian production ended in 1983, but the Argentina-built Vivace remained available until 1996.
The 127 was once one of the UK’s best-selling imported cars, but today there are only 103 still on the road. Sales claims of “astonishing” durability proved somewhat wide of the mark, as some owners found their Fiat virtually biodegrading.
The surviving examples have a very loyal following, and Bushby observes: “I don’t think I would ever be without one now, and have said for some time that would be my choice if I had to have only one car for the rest of my life.”
The 127 is not just one of Fiat’s most important models but a vehicle that redefined mass-motoring.
Thanks to: Gavin Bushby, Nigel Ford, Nigel Ford, Chris and Micky Cimitan and The Fiat Motor Club (GB).
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