As released, the 600 was a two (suicide)
door four seat car with a 633cc (21.5bhp) water cooled four cylinder engine
located behind the rear seats and driving the rear wheels. It was the first rear-engined Fiat production car. Other notable
features were the monocoque construction and the independent suspension on all four wheels.
One year after the introduction of the
saloon, two more versions were introduced. Following with tradition, a
version was released with a full length opening canvas roof. And then there
was possibly the first true MPV, the Multipla. This had three rows of seats for a
In 1960 the 600 range got its mid-life
update when the 600D was released. Mechanically this got an increased capacity engine
of 767cc (29bhp) whilst various changes were made to the bodywork (most noticeably, the
front windows got openable quarterlights and the bootlid got modified cooling
grilles). The Multipla adopted the same changes.
In 1964 further improvements saw the introduction of front hinged doors. In 1965, after over 2,000,000 cars had been built, another revision of the 600D, saw
new headlights, a larger fuel tank, a new badge on the frille and replacement of the oil filter element with a centrifugal unit. Visually these cars had the chrome
strip on the side deleted.
A total of 2,695,197 Fiat 600s were built in all versions.
Introduced
at the Geneva Motorshow of 1955, the new Fiat 600 was part of the postwar
Italian 'Economic Miracle' and helped mobilise the country, being produced in large numbers (for its time).
total of six people, the two rear rows of seats which could be folded into the
floor, leaving a large flat loading area. The front suspension was derived from the 1100 whilst due to the increased weight the
brakes, rear suspension and steering were all uprated. It was produced in three versions, a 4/5 seater, a full 6 seater and a taxi.
For various 600 based cars made by other Italian manufacturers see the 'Other Marques' page (including the 'Lucciola' four door saloon by Francis Lombardi, cars by Moretti, Ghia and many more).
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Technical Details
| Driveline | longitudinal engine at rear with rear wheel drive |
| Engine | 633cc (60x56mm) four cylinder in-line ohv with 22bhp @ 4,600rpm
767cc (62x63.5mm) four cylinder in-line ohv with 29bhp @ 4,800rpm |
| Suspension | front : Independent, single upper wishbone with telescopic damper and single transverse leaf spring
front : (Multipla) double wishbone with coil spring and telescopic damper plus anti-roll bar. rear : independent with telescopic dampers and coil springs wheelbase : 2000mm front track : 1144mm (saloon), 1225mm (Multipla) rear track : 1154mm (saloon), 1151mm (Multipla) |
| Brakes | front : drums, diameter : 185mm (saloon) & 220mm (Multipla)
rear : drums, diameters as front handbrake operating on the rear via a cable On early cars the handbrake operated on a drum on the end of the gearbox layshaft |
| Gearbox | 4 speed manual
cable operated clutch clutch plate diameter 155mm |
| Steering | Helical worm and sector (early saloons), worm and roller (600D and Multipla) |
| Dimensions | saloon, Multipla. |
| Kerb weight | 600 : 585kg
600D : 605kg |
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Maintenance
Scheduled maintenance :
Replace air filter : every 10 000km
recommended engine oil : for climates below -15°C SAE 10W, for those below 0°C SAE 20, for those above 0°C SAE 30 and for those above 30°C SAE40.
engine oil capacity (sump & filter) : 3.0 litres
Spark plugs : Champion L7, gap 0.6mm to 0.7mm
For books on the Fiat 600 see our Online Bookstore
There is also a list of all our picture galleries (including museums,
motorshows and various events).
Wallpapers/Desktop Backgrounds of numerous Fiats also available to download.
Links
A Fiat 600 website
A page dedicated to a 1963
Allemano 600
600 comment form
Your Comments
I fell for this car when I was like around 7 years old and it has always been my
dream to own one.I paid 900 bucks and my dream came true,quite a bad one
but hey,I'm a mechanic so no problem with the mechanical bits. Currently it is
undergoing some body repairs but I'll be driving it around soon although it needs a
facelift but who cares!BY 2943 is its reg. no.,so if you see it around give me a peace sign, alright? (Benjamin T, Malaysia)
I've owned several of these little beauties. My favourite one was a 1958 model with Fiat 850 engine modification (bored out to nearly 1000cc!). It was a wolf in sheeps clothing.
It looked innocent enough, but when the traffic light turned green... (Nick, Australia)
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Copyright © 2000 to 2008 CarsfromItaly
The following data refers to the 1973 600 & 600D models :
Check tappet clearances : every 10 000km
Oil & filter change : every 10 000km or 12 months
recommended transmission oil : SAE 90EP
transmission oil capacity : 1.55 litres
Oh my goodness, it's the
cutest car I've ever seen and I must say it is love at first sight...!
I've never even felt this way about the opposite sex and everyone thinks
I'm nuts to buy and restore the car. Give me 2 years and I'll make them
swallow their words..... (Pamela, Malaysia)
