Already in 1969, the small family sedan Fiat 128 appeared, which replaced the older model 1100 . There was a choice of a two- or four-door body. Its shapes were designed by Fiat chief designer Dante Giacosa . During the designs, the spaciousness of the interior was mainly taken into account, even with regard to the compact dimensions. For example, the luggage compartment had a volume of 370 liters. And since it was not a luxury car, its main attributes were simplicity and practicality. As early as 1970, the car won the prestigious title of European Car of the Year .
But the main revolution took place on the technical side. For the first time ever , a car manufacturer introduced front-wheel drive , which was independently suspended on transverse arms and McPherson struts. There were shock absorbers with coil springs in the front, while transverse leaf springs in the rear. Disc brakes were also introduced, which was certainly not a matter of course at the time. The basic sedan had dimensions of 3895x1590x1420 mm and weighed 1250 kg.
A wide range of engines wasn't the norm back then, so under the hood of most 128 sedans you'll find a 1.1 -liter inline-four with 55 horsepower. A four-speed gearbox cooperates with this. The Fiat was able to accelerate up to 140 km/h. However, Fiat won the award for an average consumption of around 6 liters per 100 km. Of course, this was a little necessary, because the tank only held 38 liters of fuel.
At the end of the first year of production, the Familiare three-door station wagon was launched, which was 32 mm shorter than the sedan, but 5 kg heavier. Only 30 liters were added to the basic volume of the trunk, but here you could fold down the seats and thus more than triple the size of the trunk. An increase in the stiffness of the rear shock absorbers was a matter of course. After two years of production, the 128 Rally sports model appeared with a black radiator grille, sports wheels and additional fog lights. A sports steering wheel and headrests await you in the interior. And it also interfered with technology, it was powered by a 1.3-liter engine with a capacity of 67 horsepower, thanks to which the maximum speed increased to 150 km/h. Even sportier was the type 128 SC (Sport Coupé) with a three-door body with a flowing rear. It was 3808 mm long, 1560 mm wide and 1310 mm high. It had a shortened wheelbase of 2223 mm and under the hood engines with volumes of 1.1 or 1.3 liters. All brakes were disc and there was also a larger 50 liter fuel tank. The aerodynamic coupe 128 Pulsar was also created. The Moretti company modified the classic coupe into an open car 128 Roadster . An interesting concept was the open 128 Teenager intended as a beach buggy.
In 1972, the car was modernized, which you can recognize by the new mask with two horizontal bars. A brake booster became standard equipment. Two years later, the 128 Special appeared with a different grille and rectangular headlights. The bumpers and dashboard have also been redesigned. The following year brought the modernization of the coupe, which had different headlights and increased power for both engines. The year 1976 then unfortunately marked the end for the type 128 Rally . A major modernization took place in 1978, when the car had plastic bumpers and a different instrument panel. In line with the other models, the station wagon was renamed Panorama .
In total, more than 3 million cars of the 128 type were produced, which were produced until 1985. But in the end, only as a sedan with a smaller engine. Fiat also managed to sell the license for the production of this car to many countries – Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Malaysia, Thailand, Argentina, Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, New Zealand. The most famous was, however, the Yugoslav version of the Zastava 101 , which was sold in the rest of Europe as the Zastava 1100 and was also offered by our Mototechna dealership . However, you could also buy the Italian original in Tuzex stores.
Photo: Autowp
