Fiat 127 History

Launched in April 1971 as the replacement for the rear-engined Fiat 850, the 127 was designed by Pio Manzù and is generally regarded as one of the most influential small cars ever built. It combined a transverse front engine with front-wheel drive and — in the three-door hatchback variant added in 1972 — a full-depth tailgate and folding rear seat that defined the supermini body style subsequently adopted by the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo, Renault 5, and virtually every other European B-segment car.

The 127 won the European Car of the Year award for 1972 in its first full year on sale. Front-wheel drive, light weight, and a practical three-door layout in a genuinely compact package were a revelation: the car sold over three million units and remained in production in some markets into the 1980s.

The 127 was the car that pushed Fiat firmly into the era of front-wheel-drive small cars, completing a transition begun with the 128 and echoed in everything that followed.