Fiat 512: a six-cylinder Fiat of the late 1920s

The Fiat 512 is a passenger car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1926 and 1928. The car was developed from the 510 with modified suspension and brakes. Its 3.4-litre straight-six engine produced 46 PS, and 2,600 examples were built.

Fiat 512 at a glance

Based on one source, which records only the basic data for this model.

History of the Fiat 512

A six-cylinder development

The 512 followed the pattern Fiat used through much of the 1920s, developing an existing model rather than starting again. It was derived from the Fiat 510, and the changes were concentrated in the chassis: the suspension and the brakes were modified for the new car.

The engine was a straight-six of 3.4 litres producing 46 PS, or 34 kW. That made the 512 a large and reasonably rapid car for its day, and it placed the model in the upper part of the Fiat range of the late 1920s, above the smaller four-cylinder cars on which the company’s volume sales depended.

Production ran from 1926 to 1928 and amounted to 2,600 cars, a modest figure by Fiat standards of the period and one that reflects the cost of a six-cylinder car in Italy at the time. The available sources record little beyond these basic facts about the model.

Design and features

• Six-cylinder engine: a 3.4-litre straight-six producing 46 PS.
• Developed from the 510: a proven chassis rather than an entirely new design.
• Revised chassis: modified suspension and brakes distinguished it from its predecessor.
• Limited production: 2,600 cars built in two years.

Fiat 512 versions

• Fiat 512: the only version recorded in the available source, produced in 2,600 examples between 1926 and 1928.

The 512 was developed from the Fiat 510 and belongs to the same years as the Fiat 503. The six-cylinder Fiat 522 followed it, and more cars are in the Fiat collection.

Sources

• Fiat 512, English Wikipedia: production dates, relation to the 510, engine and output