The Neckar Jagst was the German licence-built version of the Fiat 600, the small car of the Heilbronn range. It appeared in 1956 under the neutral name Jagst, because the NSU name was in dispute, and it remained in production until 1969 with 171,355 cars built.
Neckar Jagst at a glance
| Maker | NSU Automobil AG, later Neckar Automobilwerke AG, Heilbronn |
|---|---|
| Model | Neckar Jagst, the Heilbronn-built Fiat 600 |
| Production | 1956–1969 |
| Built | 171,355 |
| Names | Jagst from 1956, soon lengthened to Neckar-Jagst; also listed as Jagst 600/770 |
| Basis | Fiat 600 |
| Why a separate name | the NSU name dispute of the 1950s |
| Place in range | the 600, between the Weinsberg 500 and the Europa 1100 |
| Character | typically more luxurious and sporty than the Fiat made in Turin |
Wikipedia has no article on the Neckar Jagst; this page is based on the sections on the model in the English article on the Neckar marque and the German article on NSU-Fiat.
History of the Neckar Jagst
Born from a name dispute
Fiat had bought the Heilbronn car factory from NSU in 1929 and produced Fiat cars there under licence as NSU-Fiat. In 1955 the motorbike manufacturer NSU Werke announced it would build a passenger car of its own, to be badged simply as an NSU, which made the confusion between the two businesses even worse. The Heilbronn-built Fiat 600 was duly launched in 1956, but because of the dispute it was badged not as an NSU-Fiat but as the Jagst, shortly afterwards lengthened to Neckar-Jagst.
A long run
After a judge decided that the informal 1929 letter could not bind the parties over the NSU name, the Fiat licensee rebranded all its Heilbronn-assembled cars as Neckars in 1957. By the late 1950s the range consisted of the Fiat 500 as the Neckar Weinsberg, the 600 as the Neckar Jagst and the 1100 as the Neckar Europa, all slightly modified and typically more luxurious and sporty than the Fiats produced in Turin. The Jagst, listed in German sources as the Jagst 600/770, stayed in production until 1969, and 171,355 were built.
After the Jagst
The 600 and 1100 remained the backbone of the range while new models arrived: the Fiat 1500 in 1961, the Neckar Panorama and the 1500 TS coupé, and finally the Fiat 850 as the Neckar Adria. Fiat refused to sell the licence of the new Fiat 124, 125 and 128 to Neckar, and production slowed down from 1963. Neckar continued to produce Fiats in West Germany until 1971, and car production at Heilbronn ended in 1973.
Design and features
- Licence-built Fiat 600: assembled in Heilbronn from Fiat designs and sold as the Jagst.
- A name to avoid NSU: the neutral Jagst badge was chosen while NSU and Fiat fought over the NSU name.
- Long production run: from 1956 to 1969, with 171,355 cars built.
- German specification: typically more luxurious and sporty than the Fiat built in Turin.
- Riviera derivatives: a coupé and a convertible based on the Fiat 600 were produced as the Neckar Riviera.
Neckar Jagst versions
- Jagst (1956): the first cars, badged with the neutral name during the dispute.
- Neckar-Jagst (from 1957): the model after the rebranding of the Heilbronn cars.
- Jagst 600/770: the designation used in German production lists.
- Neckar Riviera: a coupé and a convertible based on the Fiat 600.
The Jagst was the middle model of the Heilbronn range, below the Europa and joined later by the Neckar 1500. More cars of the marque are in the Neckar collection.
Sources
- Neckar (car), English Wikipedia: brand history, the Jagst and the NSU dispute, the Riviera
- NSU-Fiat, German Wikipedia: production years and total of the Jagst 600/770
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