About this Collectable

Fiat Topolino 1955

The Never thought we at The Collectables would offer a car you could drive the 1000-Miglia with. The Fiat 500C Topolino is one of those. A whopping 16hp for just 600kg was enough to deliver sporting performance at the time. The 500C is the 3rd and last series Topolino and was insanely popular in its native country. It all started in 1936 with the Topolino A with 13hp and a top speed of 85kmh. After the war, the B version came in 1948 with almost 25%(!) more power. This was in turn succeeded by (you won't guess) the Topolino C with more modern bodywork (including integrated headlights in the wings) and was built until 1955. Incidentally, the Topolino (Mouse) was actually just called 500 and Topolino was just a nickname. Over half a million were produced. Fiat pioneered the small and cheap car segment and the Topolino was developed in response to the economic crisis in Italy. At the time, it was the smallest mass-produced car!

Very few have survived the last 70 years, but an enthusiast from Brabant has put a lot of energy into it over the last 35 years to put down a neat driving example. This example from the last year of production was delivered new in the Netherlands and spent almost half its life with its current owner. He took the car over from his father-in-law who owned a car company and had traded in this Topolino in mediocre condition. Bit by bit, the Topolino was tackled. The welding and painting work was outsourced as was the upholstery. The Topolino was carefully rebuilt and made ready to drive. By now (after 35 years....), the Topolino looks great again. Everything has been recorded in a restoration report and there is also a valuation report for €16,000. The bumpers, door strips and a few chrome parts were not fitted by the owner (he likes it better that way) and come with the car.

Our opinion

The Topolino has a high cuddliness level and everyone likes it, especially in this mint-green colour. It is again very basic driving without distractions or aids. It seems easy to buy a refurbisher and start working on it yourself, but you quickly spend 4x as much on materials (if it can be found at all) and outsourced work. The fact that you can get your hands on a 1000Milgia car in this segment obviously makes it extra fun, and with a bit of luck you'll also get it homologated for this Mother of all Rallies. That the value can rise to astronomical heights after participation, we don't need to explain.

About the seller

The current owner bought the Topolino from his father-in-law in 1990, started working on it but career, children and other priorities made for a long road. Actually, he likes the refurbishment more than the driving and therefore wants to put his time into a new project and has therefore decided to auction the Topolono through The Collectables.

Notes

As already indicated, a few loose parts come with the car. The Topolino drives, brakes and steers, but it is still an (Italian!) car of almost 70 years old, so it can have its quirks from time to time. Periodic inspections are long overdue and, of course, the car is road tax-free. Thanks to its age, the Topolino is also allowed to enter all city centres. Maikel de Munnik recently valued the Topolino at 16,000 euros.

Recent maintenance history

A complete restoration report is available

Standard equipment

This Topolino has the following equipment

- Convertible roof
- Fabric upholstery
- Dimmable interior mirror
- Electric windscreen wipers
- Left exterior mirror

Modifications

Bumper delete    

Included in sale

Booklets 
2 keys
Paper registration certificate
Restoration report
Valuation report Maikel de Munnik
Various Topolino documents
Set of bumpers
Decorative and door strips

Summary

Seller - Private
Location - Vught
Chassis number - 515349
Registration number - ST-76-53
Year of construction/date - 13-08-1955
In possession since - 08-09-1990
Mileage - 87,501km
Demonstrable - N/A
Warranty - no
VAT/margin car - Margin
Bodywork - Convertible
Engine - 569 cc with 16 hp
Drive system - Rear wheel drive
Transmission - Manual
Exterior - Mint green
Interior - Beige
Upholstery - Fabric 
Smoking car - No
Owners - 1 previous owner as far as known
Tyres - 125R15 Michelin Radial X, 7mm profile

The description of this Collectable has been created with the utmost care, based on the information provided by and validated by the seller. Based on the information provided, The Collectables performs a (pre)selection and consults public sources for any irregularities. However, bidders should ascertain for themselves the accuracy of the description and can, if they wish, conduct (or have conducted) personal research. All Collectables on our platform can be subjected to any possible inspection, examination or valuation in advance by buyers, in consultation with the seller, of course. Consult our General Terms and Conditions for more details.

Do you also want to sell your Collectable to a new lover without any worries? Please contact us.