Top 10: Forgotten Italians
There have been plenty of brilliantly successful Italian cars launched over the years, models that have either sold in huge numbers or have gone on to achieve iconic status – particularly amongst British enthusiasts. And then there’ve been others that have sunk without a trace. Well, almost…
So we thought we’d celebrate some of the Italian-badged underdogs that failed to make it big. Not all of them were officially sold in the UK, but even those that were have long since been forgotten by your average Brit. The sad part is, not all of them were terrible. Let us know your thoughts!
Paul Guinness, Contributor
Lancia Zeta
Multi-purpose vehicles (or MPVs) were big news in the 1990s, which explains why Italy’s Fiat and France’s PSA groups collaborated together, the end result being the 1994-on Fiat Ulysse, Citroen Synergie and Peugeot 806 – a trio of seven-seater family favourites that did well for themselves during their eight-year career. But Fiat went one step further by launching a Lancia version of the same MPV, complete with ‘chrome’ Lancia grille, luxury fittings and a list price 20% higher than its sister models. For Lancia fans worldwide, the Zeta MPV was a particular low point.
francdever on 23 May 2016
Hi, i was living in italy in those years and i cannot remember a fiat 133 or anything that looks like the car in the photo. I think it was a Seat that was never sold in Italy, if it was sold in Italy it must have been sold in very small quantities. More likely it was built and sold in Spain as Seat.
Fiat named with higher numbers like 130-131-132 used to be big cars, the higher the number, the bigger the car. Of course the 500 and 600 are not from the same period.
And of course i could be wrong, it was a while ago.
Kind regards
Giuseppe
PG1234 on 23 May 2016
Hi Giuseppe
Yes, as the article says, the 133 was a SEAT built in Spain - but it was sold in Britain (for a very short time) as the Fiat 133.
The 133 was based around the platform, engine and running gear of the old SEAT 850 (the same as the Fiat 850 but Spanish-built), albeit with all-new bodywork.
The Fiat 133 wasn't a success in the UK and remained on sale for just a few months.
Hope this helps?
Best wishes
Paul
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