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1956 Fiat 600D Multipla
In-line four-cylinder, 633 cm3, 60.0 mm * 56.0 mm, light alloy cylinder head, crankshaft with three bearings, 7.0:1, OHV, downdraft carburetor, choke, liquid cooling, 15 kW (20 HP) at
4600 rpm, four-speed, 1st gear unsynchronized, rear engine longitudinally with rear-wheel drive, wheelbase 2,000 mm, turning circle, 8,700 mm, front suspension wishbone, coil springs, stabilizer, rear suspension
semitrailing arm, coil springs, worm/roller steering, hydraulic brakes, four-wheel, drums, 5.20 - 12 (3.5''), body, self-supporting, length 3,531 mm, tank capacity, 27 liters, fuel consumption, approx. 7 l/100 km, payload 350 kg,
empty weight approx. 700 kg + driver, electrics 12 V, 180 W, 32 Ah, approx. 90 km/h, from 1956.
The name 'Multipla' was used again much later for a van in which three people could sit next to each other in the front, but it was unable to repeat the success of the original Multipla.
Dante Giacosa was very worried. He knew that he had to present a successor to the pre-war 500 Belvedere. There were fears that sales would continue to decline. But another car with a front engine and rear-wheel drive?
But we already talked about the reservations the company had about front-wheel drive in the book Fiat 1. And all the anguish resulted in a solution that basically boiled down to the construction of a new steering system and a
large door on the left and right.
The new model was based on the Fiat 600 and basically took over its entire rear section including the drive and rear axle. At the front, however, it became a forward-control vehicle, so that although you sat on the front axle,
the steering to the front axle was located between your legs.
The spare wheel had to be placed in front of the passenger seat, towards the front bulkhead. But then it was actually possible to offer three rows for six people on relatively thinly padded seats. However, they were not
allowed to weigh more than 350 kg with luggage and without the driver.
The four doors were all hinged to the B-pillars, but could be opened wide enough. While this is not to say that the Multipla (multi-purpose) Fiat could not also be used by two or four people with a large loading volume.
It was even possible to fold the seat backs so that two people could lie next to each other on a long enough surface, and even some luggage could be stowed under the seats. There were reclining seats in many cars at the
time, but there was no perfect reclining area in such a small car.
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