FIAT History, Vol. 13 - The Fiat 850
Tazilon Brenner | Published on 6/12/2025
FIAT HISTORY, Vol. 13
The FIAT 850
In the early 1960s, Fiat began looking for a successor to their aging 600. They turned to the venerable Dante Giacosa to pen the car. Dante kept much of the design concepts of the 600 but produced a larger vehicle.
Capable of conveying 2 adults and 3 children the Saloon (Berlina) version of the 850 was revealed in 1964. A 2+2 Coupe followed in 1965.
In 1965, an open top version called the 850 Spider, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, also hit the market.
In 1968, an updated version of the sedan called the 850 Special was released. It featured a larger motor, front disc brakes, sport steering wheel, and better trim.
Strangely, the 850 never ended up being the successor to the 600 it was planned to be; the 600 remained on the market for almost all of the 850's production run.
Fiat 850 Spider
Fiat 850 Saloon
The first 850's had a rear mounted 843cc inline 4 motor capable of producing 34hp and reaching 75 miles per hour. The updated motor had 903cc and up to 52 hp. It could reach over 100 mph once Carlo Abarth got done working his magic on it. Abarth called their version the Abarth 1000 OTR (this came in multiple veersions). Bertone responded to the Abarth with a special version of their own called the Sport Racer; basically, a Spider with a hardtop.
In the US, 850 owners got somewhat short changed on the engine side. In order to meet US emission standards, a 817cc motor was used.
850s had a 4 speed synchromesh gearbox FIAT marketed as a "Five Speed" (because they counted reverse, too).
A family van version of the 850 called the Familiare replaced the 600 Multipla. This was also produced as a 900T transporter to serve the commercial sector. The Familiare featured 3 rows of seats capable of accomodating 7 passengers, as long as several of the passengers were children.
In Spain, SEAT produced versions called the SEAT Coupe and Spider. In Germany, the 850 was produced as the Neckar Adria.
In 1967, Road & Track reviewed the 850, calling the coupe, "...one of the handsomest, best-balanced designs ever seen on a small car."
The 850 proved to be a commercial success, selling over 2.3million copies worldwide in all its variants. Of these, approximately 140,000 were Spiders. Production by Fiat continued through 1973, with the SEAT version continuing for 2 additional years.
Interestingly, while researching the 850, I stumbled across an article from May 2004 by Autoweek. It not only mentions a club member, but FCA itself, albeit under our name back then: Fiat Lancia Unlimited. Here is the relevant excerpt:
"Thad Kirk, a Fiat 124 devotee from Springfield, Pennsylvania, found his 850 SR at an estate auction a few years ago. He bid on the little Canguro Orange coupe and got it for a song because, he says, no one else"had any idea what it was." Fewer than a dozen 850 SRs exist in the United States, but parts commonality between the 850 series and other Fiats, including the 124, makes putting the SR on the road relatively easy. Kirk plans to show his car off at this summer’s annual Fiat-Lancia Unlimited Freak-Out."