In March 1949, under the spotlight of the Geneva Motor Show, Fiat unveiled the "C" version of the 500, the famous city-carb born in 1936 and better known to the general public as the "Topolino".

The new model receives substantial aesthetic and mechanical changes, the most important of which consists of the new aluminium cylinder head.

Compared to the car from which it derives - and of which it repeats the mechanical scheme, with front engine and rear-wheel drive - the new 500 is a more comfortable car, thanks in part to a modern heating system with a windshield defrosting function: it takes advantage of the hot air coming from the radiator and is the first adopted as standard by a Fiat.

The bodywork of the Giardiniera version, which had debuted the previous year with the "B" model at the Turin auto show, is inspired by American station wagons and is made of metal, wood and masonite, a material composed of pressed wood fibres.

The Fiat 500 C Giardiniera Belvedere is identified by ch...