Fiat 126p - Classic cars for sale

In Poland, the Fiat 126p is not simply a car. It is a cultural institution. Known universally as the "Maluch" (the little one), it carried an entire nation through the final decades of the People's Republic and into the free-market era beyond. Over three million were produced at the FSM factory in Bielsko-Biała between 1973 and 2000, making Poland the largest producer of Fiat 126-family vehicles in the world - surpassing even Italy itself. Every Polish family has a Maluch story: the first holiday to the seaside, the wedding car decorated with ribbons, the university student's first taste of independence on four wheels.

The 126p's origins are Italian. Fiat launched the original 126 in Turin in 1972 as the successor to the iconic 500, and licensed production to Poland's FSM (Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych) the following year. Polish production ran for 27 consecutive years - one of the longest continuous production runs of any car model in history. During that period, the 126p evolved through several significant variants while retaining its essential character: rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, and small enough to park in spaces that other cars could only dream of.

The variants

The earliest Polish-built models carry the original 594cc air-cooled twin-cylinder engine - the same unit used in the Italian Fiat 500. These early cars are increasingly sought after for their period character and original specification. The 650cc air-cooled engine became the standard for the majority of production and represents the classic Maluch experience: 24 horsepower, a top speed of approximately 110 km/h on a generous day, and an engine note that sits somewhere between a sewing machine and a moped.

The BIS (1987 onward) introduced a water-cooled 704cc engine and, in some versions, a full-length canvas roof. It is mechanically the most practical variant, though air-cooled purists consider it a