Thursday 10th March 1966
The Fiat 124 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and won “Car of the Year” in 1967. It superseded the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500 and spawned variants including an estate (with stiffened springs and a revised final drive ratio), four-seater coupé, two-seater spider convertible and a slightly lengthened and more luxurious version, the 125, launched in early 1967. The 124 had a new 4 cylinder, 1197cc, 60 bhp engine. Approximately 1,543,000 saloons and estates were built in Italy, before it was replaced in Italy in 1974 by the Fiat 131/132 4-door saloon, although production in other countries continued. Worldwide around 4 million Fiat 124s were produced. A factory at Togliattigrad in the erstwhile USSR at one time produced 2000 Fiat 124 cars per day, named Lada 124. Other cars revealed at the 1966 Geneva Show included the AC 428 fastback (fixed head), the Lamborghini Miura and the Alfa Romeo 1300 Spider, driven by Dustin Hoffman to the strain of Simon and Garfunkel in the film The Graduate.
