Founded in Turin in 1899 by a group of aristocratic motoring enthusiasts, FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) built its first car in 1900 and by the outbreak of WWI was out-producing all of its British rivals.

After a succession of small twins and fours, medium and large-capacity models, including a number of leviathan racers, dominated the FIAT line-up in its early years, but in 1908 the firm introduced the ‘Taxi’, a modest, 2.2-litre, four-cylinder model that would point the firm in the direction of its future prosperity.

The Taxi’s successor was the Tipo 1, a 1.8-litre four built between 1910 and 1912, from which FIAT developed the Zero.

Influenced by Ford’s Model T, the Zero was available with tourer coachwork only at first and proved highly successful, though the 2,000-or-so sold between 1912 and 1915 represented a mere drop in the ocean by American standards.

The Zero’s success influenced FIAT’s first post-WWI introduction in the small-capacity class - the 501.

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