Lord K's Garage #128: Popular Streamline

Want an affordable streamliner? You've got it - from Italy, where aerodynamics and serial production cars lived happily together as early as in 1935.

In the United States, Italian cars have long been associated with devastating performance, stunning bodies, and monumental price tags. Decades have passed since affordable Italian cars were being sold in the U.S. in significant numbers. Alfa Romeo, the last manufacturer to export reasonably priced cars to the U.S., withdrew from the American market in 1995 after years of painfully slow sales. Fiat withdrew long before that. In the absence of inexpensive models from Fiat and Alfa, it fell on Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Maserati to shape the American perspective of Italian cars.

It's easy, then, to forget that Italy has consistently built more somber machinery for the masses for over a century.

Photo via Mario Amati @ Flickr

Fiat, whose name is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino(Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was founded in 1899 and is Italy's oldest surviving car manufacturer. The company's reputation for producing the people's cars of Italy was cemented fairly quickly, though characteristic Italian excitement has punctuated Fiat's story in the form of early racing successes and a close association with Carlo Abarth's knack for wringing giant-slaying performance out of little cars.

Genius engineers like Abarth proved the great potential lurking within many of Fiat's affordable and unsuspecting autos. Dante Giacosa was another one of these bright engineers, whose work preceded the great victories of Abarth-tuned Fiats. One of Giacosa's earliest endeavors pertained to the Fiat 508, also called the Balilla.

The 508/Balilla, introduced at the Milan Motorshow of 1932, was a rather conventional small car available in severalbody styles including a two-door sedan, spider, and light van. Powered by a Zenith-carbureted 995cc side-valve four producing 22bhp, the 508 could comfortably reach 55mph and deliver 35mpg. Fiat fitted the 508 with standard hydraulic brakes. In 1933, Fiat introduced a more powerful 508S (Sport) with 30bhp and revised the list of available body styles to include a spider by Ghia and an aerodynamic coupe.

More updates followed in 1934, with the introduction of a 4-speed gearbox to replace the original 3-speed and an even more powerful engine for the 508S with overhead valves and 36bhp. A modest 2bhp power increase was given to the standard engine.

In 1937, several important changes were made to the Balilla lineup. The styling was revised in order to make the 508 fit in with other Fiat-branded contemporaries. One of those contemporaries, the 500 'Topolino' introduced in 1936, enjoys a "cult car" status. The other one is sadly overlooked and rarely mentioned.

Fiat 1500 by Maurizio Boi@ Flickr

To serve a pleasant reminder: Signor Giacosa started his streamline revolution with a medium-sized family car, the Fiat 1500 A. Pressed into production in 1935, the car had a very aerodynamic profile. being one of the first cars to be tested in a wind tunnel. A few years later, the 1500 B was launched which was basically the same design but had better brakes. Both variants were license-produced by NSU in Germany. It was with the 1500 C that the car's design would change, adopting more 'calm' lines:

For revamped 508, more body styles were offered, but perhaps the most important news was that the Balilla received a new engine. This updated power plant displaced 1,089cc and used an aluminum head with overhead valves to produce 32bhp in standard trim. To distinguish the revised-engine models from their predecessors, the 508 became the 508 C or Balilla 1100. Fiat produced military and civilian versions of the 508 C during World War II.

1938 Fiat 508 C Berlina by Maurizio Boi @ Flickr

1938 Fiat 508 C Transformabile by Maurizio Boi @ Flickr

1938 Fiat 1100 L. Photo by marvin 345 @ Flickr

1936 Fiat 508 C Torpedo Militare prototype

1940 Fiat 508 CM

1937 Fiat 1100 Militare

It was for the 1938 Mille Miglia that Dante Giacosa turned the 508 into a successful racer. Giacosa, born in 1905 and working for Fiat since 1928 after earning his engineering degree in 1927, was still a young man at the time of the 508's introduction. His enthusiastic spirit served him well at Fiat, though, enabling him to foster the creation of the 508 C MM (Mille Miglia) while in his early thirties.

1938 Fiat 508 CS MM (Photos by Maurizio Boi @ Flickr)

Giacosa daringly experimented with aerodynamics while at Fiat, so it is fitting that the 508 C MM was created with a body as slippery as it was pretty. The sleek Fiat featured a 42bhp version of the 1,089cc overhead-valve engine. With its improved power output and aerodynamic shape, the 508 C MM was a superb car. Fiat and Giacosa were rewarded for their efforts when a 508 C MM placed first in its class at the 1938 Mille Miglia.

1939 Fiat 508 C Sport (conceptcarz.com)

The Balilla was a popular car, with about 170,000 examples produced, excluding production of the later but similar 1100. Additional versions were made under license by Simca in France and NSU in Germany.

1939 NSU-Fiat 508 Cabrio by Maurizio Boi @ Flickr

In 1939, the restyled 1100 was introduced, designated simply "1100". The 1100 continued in production after the end of the war, proving the longevity of the initial 508 design. The original 508 C was produced in France through 1947 as the Simca 8.

1938 Simca 8 brochure by Mosaic Images @ Flickr

Like other common cars of the era, though, what was once an abundant device has become exceedingly rare since so few 508s were deemed worth preserving through the years. The sportier 508 models have become prized collectors' items, and remain important reminders of the great magic Fiat could bestow on modest chassis.

Photo by Francois Bizet @ Flickr

Sources: conceptcarz.com, autoevolution.com, zuckerfabrik24.de

Headline photo: by Mario Amati @ Flickr