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Paper 6: The Engines of the Smaller Fiat Cars

1963; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 178; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1243/pime_conf_1963_178_138_02

2058-3362

D. Giacosa,

Engine and Fuel Emissions

The paper deals with the story of the engines intended for the smaller Fiat cars, starting with the ‘500’ model produced in 1936: all engines with displacements in the neighbourhood of 500 cm 3 . With small cars, especially of the utility class, the adaptability of the piston engine to a variety of design and space requirements is used to best advantage. The size, weight and displacement must blend with the design of the car as a whole; in turn, the design must feature the highest degree of simplicity compatible with the qualities required. It is, therefore, important for the engine of utility cars to be designed as a function of the general architecture of the vehicle. At Fiat, after a period in which economical cars of conventional design were produced, work was started along this line with the ‘500’ (Topolino) model in 1933–1934. The paper illustrates the design of this model and describes the reasons behind some of its engineering details, as well as the subsequent developments which led to the final solution. Also outlined are the more important designs of experimental engines studied as substitutes for the ‘500’ model: a transversal four-cylinder engine, with overhead camshaft, built in 1945, for a front-wheel drive prototype; an air-cooled, two-cylinder in-line engine, mounted transversally, for a rear-wheel drive prototype; an opposed two-cylinder engine, with longitudinal axis, in replacement of the previous unit; a two-cylinder in-line engine with longitudinal axis, finally chosen for the ‘New 500’ model introduced in May 1957. Also described are the further developments of the latter engine for the version with horizontally arranged cylinders suitable for underfloor application. The paper highlights the more interesting aspects regarding both the design and the experiments made and explains the principal reasons leading to the choice of given solutions and to the modifications which followed.