AutobianchiBianchina

01

Origins

Autobianchi was created in 1955 by Bianchi, Fiat and Pirelli, and the Bianchina of 1957 defined its purpose: take Fiat's austere new 500 and clothe it in charm — chrome whiskers, two-tone paint, a jaunty roofline — for buyers who wanted the second car to be pretty. The formula worked delightfully; the range spread to a cabriolet, the Panoramica estate and a tiny van beloved of Italian tradesmen, all trading on the gap between 500 practicality and 500 plainness. For Fiat, the marque had a second, quieter function as a laboratory and market test-bed at arm's length from the parent badge. The Bianchina sold steadily into the late 1960s and remains the marque's sweetheart — the Cinquecento's stylish cousin, forever double-parked outside a café in collective memory.