The Fiat 520 is the name of two different Fiat models produced during the 1920s. The first was the 520 Superfiat of 1921–1923, Fiat’s first entry into the luxury car market and for a time the only V12 car on sale anywhere. The second, from 1927, was a smaller and more modestly powered car for the upper middle class.
Fiat 520 at a glance
| 520 Superfiat | 1921–1923 |
|---|---|
| Superfiat engine | 6,805 cc V12 |
| Superfiat power | about 90 bhp |
| Second 520 | 1927–1930 |
| Second 520 type | upper middle-class six-cylinder car |
| Steering | left-hand drive, then unusual |
| Replaced by | Fiat 521 in 1928 |
| Production | more than 20,000 six-cylinder 520s |
based on one source; the material gives no engine data for the 1927 car
History of the Fiat 520
520 Superfiat, 1921–1923
Fiat’s first entrant in the luxury car market, the 520 Superfiat was equipped with a V12 engine of 6,805 cc that produced an estimated 90 bhp. For several years in the early 1920s the Superfiat was the only car in the world offered with a V12 engine.
The 1927 car
Fiat’s upper middle-class model of the later 1920s was also designated the 520, but it was smaller and more modestly powered than its earlier namesake. It appeared at a time when European makers were still working out which side of the car the driver should sit on.
During the early decades of the 20th century, once steering wheels had replaced centrally positioned steering tillers, European car makers tended to put the driver and the wheel on the right-hand side regardless of local regulations or the side of the road on which cars were driven. By the 1920s, as the number of motor vehicles on the roads increased, a clearer consensus had become necessary in the more populous parts of Italy about the need for everyone to drive on the right. The 1927 Fiat 520 was one of the first cars to place the steering wheel on the left, presumably in recognition of that trend.
The 520 was replaced by the Fiat 521 in 1928, although it appears to have continued in production until 1929, by which time more than 20,000 six-cylinder Fiat 520s had been produced.
Design and features
- Two cars, one name: a luxury V12 and a smaller six-cylinder model eight years apart.
- V12 pioneer: the Superfiat was briefly the only V12 car offered anywhere in the world.
- Left-hand steering: the 1927 car was among the first to move the wheel to the left.
- Volume model: more than 20,000 of the later six-cylinder cars were built.
Fiat 520 versions
- 520 Superfiat: the 6,805 cc V12 luxury car of 1921–1923.
- 520 (1927): the smaller upper middle-class six-cylinder car.
- 521: the model that replaced the 520 from 1928.
The later 520 was followed by the Fiat 521, and the military Fiat 15 is the other Fiat of the period covered here. More cars are in the Fiat collection.
Sources
- Fiat 520, English Wikipedia: the two models, V12 engine, steering position, production
