The Fiat 127 is a 2-door Sedan (automobile) / saloon / 3-door hatchback / 4-door saloon (SEAT, Spain) / 5-door hatchback (SEAT, Spain) / 3-door station wagon (Brazil) from Fiat, built from 1971 to 1983, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Under the bonnet: 903 cc 100 GL.000 OHV I4. Dante Giacosa, Pio Manzù drew it. The total made was 5,124,289.
How it came about
The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850.
Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, the Fiat Uno, although the nameplate continued to be used on cars imported from Brazil. The 127, designed by Pio Manzù, is generally regarded as one of the most influential small cars of all time, and as the car which defined the modern supermini – with its body configuration and engineering template being followed in almost all B-segment cars that followed; transverse engine layout, with an end-on mounted transmission, front wheel drive, and a hatchback.
The hardware
Power comes from 903 cc 100 GL.000 OHV I4. It weighs 705-710 kg. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2225 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Fiat 850; its successor was the Fiat Uno; assembly was at Turin. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Chevrolet Impala, the American Motors Corporation AMC Gremlin, the Renault 5 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Fiat stablemates include the FIAT 702 and the Fiat 1.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the Fiat 127 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.