Fiat 501

Fiat 501 from 1919 to 1926
Manufacturer	Fiat SA, Turin, Italy
Class	Small car
Body style	4-door sedan 2/4-door cabriolet
Layout	FR layout
Engine	straight-4 1460 cc
Transmission	4-speed manual
Wheelbase	265 cm (104.3 in)
Curb weight	900 kg (1,984 lb)-1,000 kg (2,205 lb)

In 1919, after the end of the First World War, while the majority of European car manufacturers resumed production with tried and trusted pre-war models, Fiat amazed the world with its revolutionary 501 model. It was a vehicle of a simple design but good performance,reliable, and economical. Its bodywork started a new trend, and served as a model for European 'compact' cars. The 501, powered by a 1460 cc in-line four-cylinder engine, was designed by lawyer, Carlo Cavalli, Fiat's technical director. With it this talented and hardworking man proved his genius in mechanical designing to people who had always regarded him as only a man of the law.

During the War Carlo Cavalli went to work on a new family of FIATs with side-valve engines, detachable heads,full electrics, and all brakes on the rear wheels. smoothness,
silence, and durability:The 1.5-litre 501 presented the smallest family car for international markets. Variations on the theme were a sports version, the 501S, in 1921 ; this had a 26 b.h.p.engine and would exceed 60 m.p.h. with the aid of a 4.6 to 1 back axle,though Italian sports tuners made it go even faster from the time. The twin o.h.c. 501SS (a racing voiturette engine in a 501S chassis) was never on general sale, but for export there was a 'colonial' version with wider track and lightened chassis.

Output of the simple three-bearing engine was 21—22 b.h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m.,ignition was by magneto, and the unit was well cooled by pump and fan.
Both the four-speed unit gearbox and the multi-plate clutch were precise action,though ratios with a 25 to 1 bottom gear. The Touring cars weighed close to a ton, and 50 m.p.h. was about the top limit.Little was done to the design during its long run though original military type fenders of early models gave way to the crown type during the later cars from 1922 and in 1924 balloontyres and four-wheel brakes became optional extras.

The car had a four-speed gearbox, and the chassis was fitted with rigid axles supported on semi-elliptic springs. The standard model had a top speed of 70km/h (44mph). Some 2614 of the more powerful 501 S were also built, with a cruising speed as high as 100km/h (62mph).
Fiat also made the model 505, with a 2.3 litre four-cylinder engine, and the model 510 with a 3.5 litre six-cylinder engine. In 1921 came the Super Fiat 520, of which only five were built. It had a V-12-cylinder 6805 cc engine and a maximum speed of 120km/h (130mph).

From 1923 onwards hire- car operators were given a long-chassis edition, the 502, which could carry six-seater bodywork. In 1925 front-wheel brakes became available, and were standard when in 1926 the car was renamed the Tipo 501B. Many people wanted a faster 501, which could be achieved by fitting such home conversions as the
Silvani overhead-valve head (available from 1924), providing 35 b.h.p. and up to 78 m.p.h., or by buying the Tipo 501S instead. The latter's engine produced 26 b.h.p. at 3000 r.p.m., From 1919 to 1926 Total production amounted to close on 80,000 cars.