UNO

One of my favourite Fiat's was the Uno. 5 million Uno's ran off the production lines in Italy. It was the baby of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.

It was way back in January 1980 that a six man team sat around a table to discuss a brief for a new small car. Code name 146. Little did they know that this car would become the most successful car in the history of Fiat.

They were charged with the task of coming up with a replacement for the successful Fiat 127. Fiat knew that this was a critical stage in their history and that they needed to come up with a design that was chic and innovative. Giugiaro had already been given the responsibility for the functional and friendly Fiat Panda. The powers at Fiat now entrusted him with the bigger model.

Giugiaro had contributed to the design of long, low sleek fashionable cars but it was time for a change. He now saw the need to climb into a car. Giugiaro had been working on the Lancia Tipo 1 to replace the Autobiachi A112. The Lancia took the basic design of the Panda but made it rounder and softer. Lancia would not be able to produce this car in numbers but it was the starting point that would lead to the creation of the Uno.

The six men knew they had to bring it to the market quickly before sales of the 127 slumped.. They had a staggering Cd target of less than 0.35. Italdesign made a 1:1 polystyrene mock-up model with one door on one side and two on the other.

Giugiaro wanted to use integral doors that would eliminate drip channels. Bracco said that it was impossible to build in mass production. He was told that the Japanese were already doing it. Agnelli told Bracco that Fiat must have it if the Japanese can do it. Bracco couldn't sleep all weekend but came up with a solution.
February 21st, 1980, the polystyrene model was tested in the wind tunnel at Fiat's Turin Research centre. It was a winner and plaster models were built which could be fitted with bodywork trim, lights, door handles, wipers, door mirrors so that it looked like a real car. By May 1980 the model was 'frozen'. The only change from then was one requested by Fiat to raise the bottom of the windscreen by 0.6 inches to solve a technical problem with the windscreen wiper.

The Uno became the yardstick amongst smaller cars beating Peugeot's 205 in the 1984 Car of the Year competition. Fiat wanted to sell 450,000 Uno a year but by March 1985 had sold over 1 million. By October 1986 they had topped 2 million and by March 1988, 3 million and 5 million by 1991. No Italian car has been so well accepted. The Japanese magazine, Car Styling called it a masterpiece.

It was trendy, stylish, versatile.

Giugiaro was not invited to the world release of the Uno in Orlando, Florida because too much attention would have gone on the designer and not the car. Later, IDEA were to give the Uno a facelift in line with their own design, the Tipo.

It has also proved to be one of my favourite models and has a special place in my heart.