Fiat 127 — BrandWiki

Fiat 127

Overview

Fiat 127

manufacturer	Fiat
aka	Nasr 127 Polski Fiat 127p SEAT 127
production	1971–1983
assembly	Italy: Turin (Mirafiori Plant) Spain: Barcelona (Zona Franca) Poland: Tychy (Polski Fiat) Egypt: Cairo (Nasr) Zambia: Livingstone (Livingstone Motor Assemblers Ltd) Morocco: Casablanca (Somaca)
designer	Dante Giacosa, Pio Manzù
body style	2-door saloon 3-door hatchback 4-door saloon (SEAT, Spain) 5-door hatchback (SEAT, Spain) 3-door station wagon (Brazil)
class	Supermini (B)
layout	Transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive
related	Fiat 147 Fiat Fiorino Autobianchi A112 SEAT Fura
predecessor	Fiat 850
successor	Fiat Uno
sp	uk

The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, the Fiat Uno, although the nameplate continued to be used on cars imported from Brazil.

The 127, designed by Pio Manzù,[1] is generally regarded as one of the most influential small cars of all time, and as the car which defined the modern supermini – with its body configuration and engineering template being followed in almost all B-segment cars that followed;[2][3][4][5] transverse engine layout, with an end-on mounted transmission, front wheel drive, and a hatchback.

Series 1

Series 2

The Series 2 version of the 127 debuted in May 1977.[10] Although the bodyshell remained fundamentally the same, the Series 2 hinted towards a more angular styling direction which would be seen in the Ritmo/Strada the following year. It featured a restyled front and rear and larger rear side windows, losing the upswept belt line of the Series 1, as well as adding a distinctive "Hofmeister kink" on the C-pillar.[11] The new rear quarter pressings were derived from those used on the Brazilian market Fiat 147, although without the rear quarter extraction vent used in South America. A larger, 1049 cc engine with 50 PS was also added - uniquely for the 127 this was the five-bearing OHC "Brazil" engine from the 147 rather than the Fiat OHC unit from the 128. Beginning in June 1978, the 1049 cc-engined 127 Special was added to the lineup.[12] The tailgate was extended and now reached nearly to the rear bumper, addressing complaints about the high lip over which luggage had to be lifted for loading into the earlier 127 hatchbacks.[9] The interior was revised with a new dashboard which was identical in layout to the original car but was plainer in appearance and lost the wood embellishment of the Series 1. The underside of the dashboard was tidied up with new cover panels to enclose the steering column, brake master cylinder (on right hand drive versions) and the pedal mechanisms.

A new Sport model was available from June 1978 which featured a high output 70 PS version of the standard 1049 cc engine. This was achieved by incorporating Abarth revisions to the head with larger valves and an Abarth exhaust system and the use of a twin choke Weber carburetor. Changes were also made to the gearbox final ratio to improve the performance. The Sport model has bespoke high back sporty cloth seats with either blue or orange piping and bespoke racing wing mirrors as well as a rev counter, sports wheels, sports leather steering wheel and sport three-piece stripe with 127 Sport decals. It was available in three colours, Black with orange stripes, Silver with black stripes and Orange with black stripes.

In March 1980, the 147 Panorama went on sale in several European markets with "127" badging, originally only with the 1050 engine.[13] The Panorama used the 147's recently updated "Europa" front, with reverse-angled rectangular headlights and blocky combined marker-lights/turn signals wrapping around the corners. In April 1980 the 127 C 5-door version was added to the Italian lineup.[14] There was also a "high-cube" panel van version, known as the Fiorino, which was based on the Series 2 bodyshell. This remained in production until the end of 1987, when a new Uno-based Fiorino debuted.

Brazilian-built versions

The 147 itself went on sale in Italy under the name of 127 Rustica in 1979. This was a version meant for light off-road work, and received a spartan appearance and equipment. The 127 Rustica benefitted from the 147's stronger body, 1050 cc engine, reinforced suspension ("tropical" type springs front and rear), and a skid plate. The front and rear lights were protected by mesh grilles mounted on model-specific tubular metal bumpers, while it had the Brazilian dashboard and specific, lightly padded seats with a tubular structure and covered in brown leatherette. The Rustica was only offered with semi-matte military beige paint, black rims without hubcaps and winter tires, with the only option being a metal luggage rack. Noisy and very particular, the Rustica was removed from price lists in 1981 without a proper replacement until the 1983 introduction of the Panda 4x4.[15] The Rusticas were assembled in Lamborghini's Sant'Agata Bolognese plant.

At the 1981 Geneva Motor Show, a diesel-engined version of the 127 was introduced with hatchback or Panorama bodywork.[16][17] The diesel Series 2 was only built in Brazil and is technically a rebadged 147; it uses that model's headlight treatment which it shared with the 127 Panorama. The 147 had a stronger structure to better handle Brazilian roads and was considered more suitable for the additional weight and vibrations of the diesel engine.

Series 3

Despite a completely new replacement being only a year away, the Series 3 was presented in November 1981 and launched in Italy and other European markets in January 1982.[18] It is distinguishable from the Series 2 by its grille. The third series received a completely new dashboard design and interior, following the design language first seen in the Ritmo. Body panels are all as before, except for a longer bonnet required to clear the larger headlights. The 1301 cc Fiat Fiasa engine replaced the earlier 1050 in the Series 3 Sport. New for the Series 3 was also the option of a five-speed manual transmission, a first for the 127 as it had not fit in earlier models. It was available in the 1050 Super (called "Comfort" in some markets) and was also installed in the 127 Sport.[19] The new 127 Sport cost less than its more highly strung predecessor, and had more power from its larger engine. It remained on sale in Italy until December 1983, when the Uno Turbo replaced it.

In nations like Norway, Denmark and Finland this generation was particularly successful. For 1983, Swiss buyers received the Autobianchi A112's 965 cc engine rather than the 903 cc unit in the 127 Special, so that the importer would not have to make two similar engines pass local emissions standards.[20] Fiat also bumped up the compression ratio and installed a somewhat larger carburetor in the 1.05-litre 127 Super, increasing power somewhat so as to maintain its power advantage over the lesser 127 Special.

The 127 was replaced as Fiat's high volume product in this sector by the Fiat Uno in January 1983, though Italian manufacture continued until the end of 1983 and it continued in production in South America until 1995. The 127 disappeared from the right-hand drive British market soon after the Uno went on sale there in June 1983.

127 Unificata

After Italian production ended, Fiat imported the South American 127 Unificata to Europe until 1987, albeit only for left-hand drive markets. It is called "Unificata" (unified) as all models now received the same design; until then, Brazilian-made cars had their own design, meaning that 127 Diesel and Panorama models had been of very different appearance than their Series 2 and Series 3 siblings. The Unificata range was condensed, leaving only the 1050 petrol engine and the diesel. The five-door version was also discontinued, although SEAT kept offering this bodystyle on their Fura until 1986.

International variants

SEAT 127

As happened with other Fiat models of that era, SEAT made a Spanish version of this car called the SEAT 127. Due to SEAT's design policy, a four-door variant of the car was also produced, as well as a later five-door version. The second series' change to the side profile was also applied to these four-door versions, with a flatter and more angular rear side window line. SEAT also produced a unique variant of the 127 OHV engine: this version had 1010 cc instead of 903 cc and produced 50 PS. The four-door SEAT 127 was exported to certain markets with Fiat badging.

When their licence from Fiat expired, SEAT redesigned some parts of the car and created the SEAT Fura Dos. Some design parts of this model were also used in the Ibiza mark 1. SEAT produced 1,238,166 units of the 127 between 1972 and 1984.

Polski Fiat 127p

Fiat 127 was also produced under Fiat license by Polish automobile manufacturers FSO (between 1973 and 1975) and FSM (between 1974 and 1975) under the name Polski Fiat 127p. These were assembled using both Italian and Polish parts. Originally the Polski Fiat 127p was to be produced in large numbers as a people's car, but when it became apparent that it would be about 30% more expensive than the 126p it was decided to concentrate on the latter while the larger 127p was only produced in very small numbers.[21][22]

Fiat 147

In Brazil the car was known as the Fiat 147 (later Spazio), a three-door station wagon version called "Panorama". There was also a conventional two-door three-box saloon available, "Fiat Oggi", a pick-up called "City" and a van called "Fiorino" was also produced there. The Brazilian-built versions utilized a 1050 cc engine and a 1300 cc engine called "Fiasa" and also utilized a 1.3 L Diesel engine (for export markets only). From 1981 this variant (called a 127) was exported to Europe, to be sold alongside the 127 sedans and hatchbacks. A total of 1,169,312 units were built from 9 July 1976 to the end of 1986 in Brazil and 232,807 units were also built in Argentina between 1982 and 1996, as the Fiat 147, Spazio, and Vivace. It was also assembled in the CCA in Colombia.

Although the car achieved reasonable selling figures, the model was titled as "low-level" and "not so reliable" by early buyers, because Fiat was just starting to sell cars in Brazil in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was the first model produced by FIAT in Brazil, in 1976.

VAZ-1101

The Soviet manufacturer VAZ expanded its existing collaboration with Fiat in the early 1970s to develop a 127-derived supermini which would have slotted below the existing Fiat 124-based Zhiguli sedan. The car, designated VAZ-1101 however never made production, but formed the basis of the later Lada Niva (VAZ-2121) off-roader, which as a result, retained key styling features of the Fiat 127 - most notably the distinctive forward-opening 'clamshell' hood; with the stepped beltline and glasshouse also bearing a strong resemblance to the 127.