Fiat 127 Diesel (1981)

Fiat 127 Diesel

The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850.

Initially only available as a two-door saloon, a three-door hatchback was launched the following year - Fiat's first in the class. The 127 used the tried and trusted 903cc overhead valve engine that had powered many earlier generations of Fiat cars, in conjunction with the state-of-the-art transverse engine and front wheel drive layout which had been pioneered in the Fiat 128, and also featured a unique transverse leaf spring suspension at the rear. The car was one of the first of the modern superminis, and won praise for its utilisation of space (80 percent of the floor space was available for passengers and luggage) as well as its road holding. The 127 was an instant success, winning the European Car of the Year award in 1972, and quickly became one of the best-selling cars in Europe for several years.

The Series 2 version of the 127 debuted in 1977. It featured a restyled front and rear, a revised dashboard, larger rear glass area and a new 1049cc engine option. This aluminium headed, overhead cam engine was unique to the 127 range. At the same time a 5-door derivative became available in certain countries. The final revision of the 127 came in 1982 with the Mark 3. Once again the front and end styling was freshened up, and a new 1301cc engine option was introduced. The interior was redesigned and made more modern looking.

There was also a "high-cube" panel van version, known as the Fiorino which was based on the Series 2 bodyshell, and this remained in production until 1984, when a new Uno-based Fiorino debuted.

However, like most 1970s Italian cars, the 127 was prone to severe body corrosion, something which was exacerbated by Fiat's use of recycled steel and inadequate undersealing. In warm, dry Mediterranean countries, 127 build quality was acceptable and many examples survive in the present day, but in Northern Europe the combination of damp weather and salty roads had devastating effects on the car's fragile bodywork. The 127's problems along with similar problems with other Italian cars of the 1970s severely damaged the reputation of Italian car-makers in the region, a reputation which they would not fully eliminate until the early 1990s.

Production of the 127 ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, the Fiat Uno.

International variants

As it happened with other Fiat models of that era, SEAT made a Spanish version of this car called the SEAT 127. When their licence from Fiat expired, SEAT redesigned some parts of the car and created the SEAT Fura Dos. Some design parts of this model were also used in the Ibiza mark 1. SEAT produced more than 1.5 million units of the 127 between 1972 and 1984.

The 127's underpinnings were also used in certain Fiat-sponsored products such as the Yugo 45 (Zastava Koral) from Yugoslavian Zastava company and the Fiat 147 of Brazil.

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