Polski Fiat

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This is an article on automobile brand. For the American rock band of that name, see Polski Fiat (band).

Polski Fiat (literally in English: the Polish Fiat) was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland.

Before World War II

The brand was created in 1932, when the Polish government made an agreement with FIAT to produce licence cars in a state factory PZInż. (Państwowe Zakłady Inżynieryjne) in Warsaw. The cars were sold and serviced by a newly created Polish-Italian company Polski Fiat SA. First cars were assembled from Italian parts (a compact car PF 508/I), later also some other models were assembled from parts, like a small car Fiat Topolino. From the mid-1930s, the factory started to produce whole cars.

Main produced models were (PF stands for Polski Fiat):

  • PF 508/III Junak - a compact car
  • PF 518 Mazur - a mid-size car
  • PF 618 Grom - 1.5 t truck
  • PF 621L - 2.5 t truck, also in a bus variant PF 621R

Special military models, developed in Poland:

  • PF 508/IIIW Łazik - passenger off-road car
  • PF 518 Łazik - passenger off-road car
  • PF 508/518 - utility off-road car and a light artillery tractor (based on parts of PF 508 and PF 518)

The brand ceased to exist with an outbreak of the World War II, when the factory was seized by the Germans in 1939.

After World War II

The brand Polski Fiat re-appeared in the 1960s, when the Polish government renewed connections of the Polish automobile industry with Fiat and bought a licence for a mid-size car Polski Fiat 125p.

The deal was signed in 1965, and the first cars were assembled from parts by the factory, FSO, in 1967, their production started from 1968 and ended in 1991, however the brand Polski Fiat was replaced with FSO (which had already been seen on other models such as the 125p-based FSO Polonez) in 1983.[1]

Between 1973 and 2000 a second licensed model was produced by the FSM:[2] the small Polski Fiat 126p, based on the Fiat 126. The separate brand Polski Fiat disappeared in 1992, when Fiat bought the Polish factory, and Fiat models have since been produced in Poland under the Fiat brand, which was used before 1992 in export markets only.

Notes

  1. ↑ FSO pages - Polish Fiats
  2. ↑ FSM stand for the Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych: a Polish automobile manufacturer which manufactured the Syrena (FSO Syrena) from 1972 to 1983, located in Bielsko-Biała. FSM was purchased by FIAT in 1992, and it is a part of the Fiat Auto Poland (FAP. Pl:wiki.) from 1993.

External links

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