Frank Herzog One car, two stories
13.03.2015
In the sixties, inexpensive small cars were still very subject to compromises. Test editor Gert Hack certified the renovated F iat 1100 many weaknesses. Nevertheless, he was able to make friends with the sympathetic millecento. The antiquated car didn’t get bad.
His test report from auto motor und sport 6/1966: “There is probably no car factory in the world that has a more extensive and differentiated range of models than Fiat. Based on this fact, one should assume that the company should find it easy to discontinue technically somewhat outdated models that are no longer in great demand by the public.
In Germany, the Fiat 1100 was on offer as a 'Millecento'
The opposite is the case with Fiat. The Fiat 850, which came out about two years ago, did not replace the 770, but supplemented it. And the completely new Fiat Type 124 expected shortly after the Geneva Motor Show, which presumably draws its power from 1.2 liters of displacement, will not replace the Fiat 1100, but will fit in between 1100 and 1500.
In order to make the Fiat 1100, which has been sold under the popular name 'Europe' in the past three years, attractive, it was thoroughly renovated. Fiat also admits this with disarming openness - in Italy it is called Fiat 1100 R, where R stands for renovated. In Germany the car is sold under the simple name 'Millecento', which means 1100.
Because the body is the most important criterion for buying a car, Fiat has taken this into account. The retouching on the body of the Fiat 1100 was so thorough that only the high, square side windows in the middle reminds of the Europa.
Significant changes to the body
The modern design of the front and rear gives the impression of a low waistline. The use of small 13-inch wheels with thick tires (6.15-13) eliminated the long-legged appearance of the Fiat 1100.
These bodywork changes prove that Fiat is serious about the 1100 and will sell it for a few years to come want. But the body is not only very good in its proportions, it also offersotherwise some advantages. The visibility is excellent from the driver's seat, and the window areas are sufficiently large even compared to modern cars.
The trunk is quite spacious with a capacity of 62 soccer balls and, thanks to its level floor area and height, can be used very well. The interior also offers a little more space than before, which is mainly due to the cheaper design and arrangement of the seats. A comparison of the interior dimensions with modern German cars of this class shows that the Fiat 1100 R can definitely keep up in this respect. You are still sitting pretty steeply, but the front seats can be adjusted very far back. And the steering wheel, which is now better at hand thanks to a split steering column, provides a very good driving position.
Good sense of space despite compact dimensions
There is enough space in the front and rear footwells; The rear passengers also sit comfortably, provided that their number is limited to two. According to an old tradition, the car is only available with four doors. The entry is relatively comfortable, not least because of the somewhat old-fashioned high middle section at the front and rear. You can't complain about the equipment. We only really missed adjustable backrests, which are available for an extra charge.
The heater now has two rotatable defroster nozzles on the dashboard and worked very well in the mild February temperatures. On the seats, which, like the side panels, are covered with synthetic leather, you can drive long distances without getting tired, but we would prefer the optionally available fabric upholstery Rigid rear axles, together with the large-volume tires, offer quite good suspension comfort, which clearly sets the car apart from the small car category. Although the suspension is by no means too soft, bumps of all kinds are processed well without disturbing the occupants.
Fiat 1100 R with good-natured driving behavior
The Fiat 1100 R is good-natured in its driving characteristics. In fast corners it behaves slightly understeer, whereby in tight corners the inner rear wheel tends to spin very early. Of course, the cornering speeds are not breathtaking, and the rigid axle occasionally moves on a bumpy track, but as a driver in the Fiat 1100 you will never face problems, especially since low wind sensitivity and good directional stability are among its virtues. The disc brakes at the front are new on the Fiat 1100 R.
However, the effectiveness of the brake system in the test car was not entirely convincing, as theDrum-braked rear wheels tended to lock and reduced the achievable deceleration, while fading occurred in a warm state after heavy use.
Another new feature is the stick shift, with which the transmission can be shifted precisely and quickly. The transmission itself is an impertinence for today's conditions. Not only is the first gear unsynchronized, the gradation, like the transmission, obviously belongs to a bygone era. In the lower three gears it makes little sense to rev up beyond 30, 55 and 80 km /h, because the engine only reluctantly and noisily produces higher speeds.
Proven technology with pre-war genes
Although third gear goes up to around 95 km /h at 6200 rpm, disregarding this fact, the gain in acceleration is in no relation to the effort . The connection to the relatively long fourth gear is correspondingly poor, which makes the Fiat 1100 R extremely poorly suited for acceleration and overtaking maneuvers. The convenience of these short gears can only be enjoyed in the city, where you can drive practically everything in third gear, which reaches down to around 15 km /h.
You only need first gear to start off, although this is possible can be done without great effort in second gear. If you open the bonnet, you will find an old friend, namely the engine of the former NSU /Fiat Neckar Spezial, which had to undergo a makeover for the 1100 R, but which apparently did not impress him very much.
A new horizontal double carburetor, modified air filter and an improved exhaust system ensure that the Langhuber, which has again been emaciated to 1089 cm3, delivers 48 hp at 5000 rpm - as much as the old Neckar special engine (48 hp at 5300 rpm; 1089 cm3) or the larger displacement engine of the Europa (48 HP at 5100 /min; 1221 cm3). The machine is still not one of the most cultivated in its class because it runs relatively loud and rough and can only wrestle high speeds with difficulty.
Performance advantage expected
Like all long-stroke engines, however, it is very elastic and pleasant to drive in the lower speed range. But this does not change the fact that the engine next to the gearbox in this otherwise modern car looks out of place.
It was foreseeable that under these conditions no excessive driving performance was to be expected. So it didn't surprise us that the 1100 R accelerates a little worse than the old Europe, which was not one of the liveliest cars.
Although the top speed of 131 km /h is not exactly low, it is one expects a Fiat to have a certain performance advantage over other vehicles in its class, but this is the case with the 1100 R.undoubtedly no longer exists. Because you have trouble keeping a well-functioning VW 1300 at bay, while you have no chance against modern eleven hundred from NSU or Opel.
Pleasant frequency range inside
Of course, the solid construction of the Fiat 1100 R also creates a certain handicap here, because with an empty weight of 849 kg it is not exactly easy to call. But this fact could have been taken into account with a slightly more powerful engine, especially since the Europe, with an even higher weight, had better performance.
The interior noise is clearly determined by the engine even at high speeds, but it is still annoying considerable phon values not too much, because it is apparently in pleasant frequency ranges. The gear noises and noises in the power transmission are low (exception first gear). With a split cardan shaft, an effort was made that is rare in this class in order to be spared from disturbing vibrations of this kind.
Stiff steering
A relic of classic automobile construction that unfortunately cannot be eradicated seems to be the imprecise and relatively sluggish steering with which all eleven hundred were previously equipped. Although it keeps all road bumps away from the steering wheel, it is not particularly suitable for precise driving and quick steering wheel corrections and makes the car appear more unwieldy than it actually is.
The concept of the Fiat 1100 R is by no means out of date , because there are still a lot of modern and much later developed cars that are built on the same principle. However, one should have been more consistent with the renovation and also include the engine and the antiquated gearbox. But the Fiat 1100 R is a very inexpensive offer in its class, and it has enough advantages to offer on other levels.
Fiat 1100 R with a successful overall package
For around 5,500 marks The customer cannot easily find another four-door full-fledged automobile whose equipment and quality of workmanship come close to those of the Fiat 1100 R. In addition, the car is so mature in its long construction period that you can trust it.
Whether Neckar, Europe, NSU-Fiat, 1100 Speciale or Millecento - the Turin compact sedan, internal type 103, was part of the 17th century Years of production on many names. The conventional small car, which also rolled off the assembly line in Heilbronn, is in its ingenious efficiency a typical child of the legendary Fiat designer Dante Giacosa.
Fiat with a lavish variety of types
Fiat has always had a great talent for building small cars. They have always characterized the model range in a closely spaced manner. 500, 600, Multipla, 770, 850 with special body and finally 1100, 124 and 128 made for especially in the sixtiesa lavish variety of types in the displacement class up to 1,200 cubic meters alone.
The aged simple construction 1100 with a pre-war four-cylinder - at least head-controlled with hanging valves - and a clearly drawn pontoon body from the early fifties even overlapped one year with the transversely driving front-wheel drive revoluzzer Fiat 128. Production only ended in 1970 after just over two million copies.
Gert Hack tested the last version of the Millecento in 1966, the 1100 R, got 103 P. the small one again a slight facelift on the front and rear, stick shift and wider 13-inch wheels instead of the narrow 14-inch model.
Dove-blue cream piece
For Motor Klassik the predecessor 1100 D, internally 103 G, was available to refresh the driving experience with this lovable but rare Fiat. It's a powder blue cream with a slightly patinated original paint, including an Italian sales brochure and the invoice from October 1963 from Mirsad Besic's old-timer treasure trove in Kolbermoor.
I am happy to take a seat on the fabric seat behind the thin two-spoke steering wheel. The feeling of space is not cramped, but rather relaxed for a car the exact size of an A-Kadett. Four doors and a relatively long wheelbase do not make the Millecento look chubby.
The ignition lock is in the middle of the instrument panel like on a Jaguar Mk II, the tiny handbrake lever on the center tunnel is hidden by your trouser leg. The brave little four-cylinder, in the 1100 D at least a twelve hundred with 48 hp, rattles away happily.
The engine was still in service in the Panda
Before the FIRE era, connoisseurs already know: “Fully integrated robotized engine”, this indestructible and lively screamer was still doing his job in the Panda in the 903 cubic version. The unsynchronized first gear howls like a mini, then it goes on at medium speeds. The exact steering wheel shifting is a source of great joy because of its casual otherness.
While I sort the gears, busily pedal the stationary pedals and thread my way into the overland traffic, a hearty laugh slips away from me - and suddenly echoes after a complete loss of control the word 'sweet' through the car. The generously glazed and poorly insulated pontoon cell of the Fiat 1100 looks like a large sound box.
Despite the tinny sound of the doors, the Fiat does not look cheap, its bright interior is tastefully decorated. His modesty, without being primitive, is thought provoking. Eight liters consumption, 850 kilos ready to drive, a Methuselah from 1953 teaches us to conserve resources.
By no means primitive
In addition to four gears, it even treats itself to a 12-volt system and a split cardan shaft , technical features that are only taken for granted a class higher. Well, the only triple bearing 1200 under the at least self-locking bonnet is not a paragon of revving pleasure (unlike its little 903 brother), and the tiny Solex carburetor under the air filter can is evidence of all too economical alimony. Gert Hack measured a tight 130 km /h top speed and almost 25 seconds from 0 to 100 km /h in the ams test in issue 6/1966.
Driving fun in a naive, carefree way
The chassis of the 1100 offers no surprises. Here, too, the watchword is good average, double wishbones on coil springs at the front, no primitive transverse leaf spring after all. At the rear, however, leaf springs take over the guidance and suspension of the rigid axle.
The simple recipe does not work miracles, but it provides usable comfort and safe, understeering driving behavior. Only the hardened Michelin XM tires cause the rear to be wiped away fairly quickly on loose surfaces. The Fiat 1100 D is fun in a naive, carefree way. Unlike a pampered 500, it offers the minimum performance to swim well in traffic.
