Jay owns Miuras, a P1, and all kinds of other exotica, but he still appreciates the joy of a basic automobile. Definitely my kind of guy. Well done, Jay!
I’m from Italy and my grandpa had a few of those when he was young, these cars were made in desio, a city near were I live. It’s a really special car and it’s very near to my heart
Acca Larentia a me sono sempre piaciute, molto più particolare di una 500 e di sicuro se ne vedono poche, poi come Già detto vivo vicino alla ex fabbrica autobianchi quindi sono un po’ di parte haha
This car rocks! The last video I saw of Jay Leno he was driving one of only 5 Fiat 600 Multipla Mirafiori's ever produced. They were used simply for transport around the Mirafiori factory.
In Italy the countryside was RHD while cities were LHD until 1927. Rome changed to RHD in 1924 and Milan in 1926. Alfa Romeo and Lancia did produce RHD cars until as late as 1950 and 1953 respectively only to special order, as many drivers favoured the RHD layout. RHD offered the driver a clearer view of the edge of the road in mountainous regions at a time when many such roads lacked barriers or walls. Trucks with RHD were produced into the 60's for the Italian market
You also see RHD in sports cars from Italy well into the 60's. The luxury touring cars would be be LHD, the weekend racers RHD. Not just from Italy. If you look at the Ford GT40 they're RHD(with the gear shift on the right like a LHD). The usual reason given is that European race tracks nearly always run clockwise so RHD gives better visibility and weight distribution in corners(IIRC over in the States most course run anticlockwise?).
Oh certainly A. Based on a Lola IIRC and there were engineering reasons in the mix too, but the whole RHD and European racetracks was a thing well into the 1960's because it was thought to be advantageous. Look at Jay's Bugattis with racing history. RHD. @@Arayig1982
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. For me this kind of segment is far more beautiful than the half million exotics. And Jay is equally excited about both.A great peek into the past
Ok...once you feature an AUTOBIANCHI you're officially a hard-core collector! For anyone who hasn't tried one of these...trust me...this tiny cars deliver TONS of laughter, fun, cheers from people walkin' or driving by.
Thanks for this great video of a wonderful car, Jay. We imported one ourselves a few years ago from a restoration shop in Italy. The tires are actually 12 inch and the box in the engine compartment is part of the air induction system. Fully restored these cars have sold for as much as $82,500 at auction in recent years. Yes Sophia Loren drove one and so did Peter Sellers in Pink Panther! 👍
I agree with you 100%. I'm a big Macho 6ft 2, 265 lb conservative jacked up truck driving sob and I would love to own this car. What a little sweetheart. Such a cool car. It's great to be able to appreciate the beauty and things that we might not necessarily first be drawn to
Having lived in Italy for several years as a child in the mid sixties, this brought back some lovely memories. The Bianchina was, and continues to be one of my favorite Italian cars.
The funny part is that with this engine, a little more cubic centimeters (600), it was produced until 2000 in Poland under the name Fiat 126. I drove that Fiat a lot. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_126 Tom Hanks received one as a gift because he often joked with it when he was filming in Hungary.
Jay, show us more cars like this, it more inexpensive, small, slow, and fun. This thing is a little gem and I wish I had one around here cuz I would buy it. This is the kind of car that puts a smile on your face every time you see it, and you're not worried about impressing others with your mega horsepower and your tough guy styling.
Love the honesty of these videos. Whether it's a supercar, a survivor, a barn find or a frame-off restomod, he shows it as it happened - including any mechanical gremlins that strike while on the road. And I have to agree - it's one of the things that makes cars like that fun at times. And as they're so easy to fix, you still know you'll get home in the end. But you'll probably meet some interesting people on the way.
When I was a kid my neighbor (who had a Citroën DS) gave me an oldtimer encyclopedia. This car was in it along with some other post-war midget cars. I always loved these!
My Dad drove a new '59 Red & Black Trasformable from Orange County to Torrance to work & I drove it to high school in '77. Friends on the football team picked it up to move, but the guard caught them. It was sideways in the parking spot when I came out. I was told later that they intended to turn it upside down. Fun and scary at the same time. I still have it, but it needs restoration. No power, 55 is as fast as I've gotten it. 50 mpg. Wheels are 12" This one sounds like it has an exhaust leak.
Thank God the clutch didn't burn out on the test run! I was grinning throughout the video. "I feel like a circus bear in this thing!" That was the best feel good vid on UA-cam in ages man.
Oh my goodness did that make me smile. I couldn’t agree more with Jay when he says that that time period was the best for non-governmental regulation. Just build it and go. And go it did, not fast but definitely in its own style.
He should just buy it. He would take better care of it I bet. That guy doesn't seem like he truly loves cars. But I don't know him, just my impression of his character. "just a spur of the moment thing" - talking about buying it.
@@the_original_Bilb_Ono and then just drive it around until it dies and then he'll sell it when the motor or trans is totally scrapped. If you buy old rare classics, you should at least do the tune ups people of the time would do to keep it running good. Cars that old need alot more than just periodic oil changes.
Such a great video Jay and Peter are all smiles and laughing and joking the whole ride, no serious stuff here. People usually are so serious about their trophy cars and the fun is gone, gone, gone.
Nice video of a very unusual car, with a totally fantastic paint job !! Most of the Bianchina's I saw in Italy in the 60s were not trasformabile / convertible (although the base Fiat 500 was to some extent, having a sliding fabric roof segment). The Bianchina was very popular with families in the countryside (eg farmers) because it was more spacious and could carry more than a Fiat 500, with the same fuel economy. Before Enrico Mattei and ENI / Agip, Italy had no national gasoline production facilities, and gasoline was very expensive in the early postwar years. 1100 cc and 1300 cc engines were regarded at the time (late 50's and early 60s) as already quite large, 2000cc engines only became more widespread in the late 60s & early 70s. My father skipped the Bianchina, and went from the Topolino to the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and later Giulia :-) The incomprehensible sticker you see on the windshield refers to "rodaggio", giving the maximum recommended speed for each gear during the engine run-in phase (the rodaggio). Engine parts fit was not optimal at the time, and most Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars required maybe (citing from memory) a 500 km run in period. Most Italian cars of the time had a sticker like that, Alfa Romeos had an icon next to it with a turtle "oggi" turning into a greased lightning "domani" ... Come Jay sia riuscito ad infilarsi in quella Bianchina resta ancora un mistero, per me. Jay you need to acquire a (preferably alfa red) 1970's Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Veloce (2 Liter, four front lights), a masterpiece in it's own time. Forget about Appias & Fulvias ...
Just some more info: -In italian, "Bianchina" means "The cute little white one". -This car is often remembered because it became famous due to some italian comedy movies written and acted by the great Paolo Villaggio. His character was named "Fantozzi" and it was a sad-hilarious representation of the average italian officeman in the 70s. -There was also a "Wagon" version, actually rare on the market.
Fantastic to see a little autobianchini make it to Jay Leno's Garage! I do see two missed opportunities: 1. Naming that the transformabile was the car that inspired the Nissan Figaro 2. Naming that the car was the basis for Lucy's car that featured in Despicable Me 2
"Transformable". Transforms from a car into an accordion when someone opens their car door in it's path. A+ for the cool car and Jay's continuing comedic sensibilities!
What's the matter with the car I'm driving? "Can't you tell that it's out of style?" Should I get a set of white wall tires? "Are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?
@@FPVREVIEWS It all seriousness would you really want to be driving a car this small, even in city streets, where there are 18 wheelers, Suburbans, and idiots driving their SUVs while talking on their cell phones?
Pretty much every car from post-war Europe was a deathtrap by today's standards. I suspect the 500 this car was based on would be even worse. But that didn't really matter to them. As my father (who was Sicilian) once told me: "Danger? We weren't long out of a war where people were shooting at us with machine guns almost daily. Tanks drove along the back roads and through the villages. Driving wasn't thought of as dangerous after living through that."
The concept of crumple zones taken to the extreme :) As a kid my parents had a Citroen 2cv. Pretty much the same thing. A kid could total that car by hitting it with a teddy bear.
@@deltavee2 At home in Europe, maybe not so much of a problem. Imported into the USA, definitely a problem - and a bunch of very little foreign cars were imported in the late '50s and early '60s, mixing on the roads with the immense American machines of the time.
Autobianchi had a later model called A112, produced since late 60’s until mid 80’s, same segment as the Mini, and with an Abarth version. In Europe and in Portugal we still have a few running. Beautiful car. Congrets.
This past October a friend of mine gave me one of these except it was left hand drive. It was in pretty bad shape, so I sold it. I'd never seen one before and knew nothing about them until I got that car and did a little research. It was a 1960 Transformabile same as this one. I especially enjoyed this video. It was nice to see one running and in such nice condition. The guy who bought mine said he was going to restore it. I hope he gets the job done.
So lovely in red and white. About 46 years ago, when I did a stint on the dustcarts (UK), I collected a Bianchi moped from a resident instead of tossing it. My brother and I used it for ages. it was bulletproof.
Well, you can't consume much fuel if your engines have 18 HP and your cars weigh 500 kilos. But yes, those cars were designed to be reliable and cheap. They had to get a whole nation on wheels as there was a nation to get back up and running
honestly Amazon or netflix should pick this up as a channel. This is what a car show should be. An incredible amount of education, information and fun. A real joy to watch
I love how it felt like he whispered to me ," I'm gonna work on the clutch now!" Knowing Jay there is multiple fiat 500 clutches laying around the shop!
Perhaps we should tell Jay that besides the aircooled cinquecento from 1957 to 1975 there was also the heritor of his "Topolino" the seicento (600) with 633 cc and 19hp from 1955 to 1960 and with 767cc and 23 hp ! from 1960 to 1966 (afterwards imported as licence product from S.E.A.T who produced until 1969). So there was still a watercooled fourcylinder in the back. AAAAANNND there was from 1964 to 1972 the 850 series which did evolve the 767cc engine to 843cc and 34 !!! hp and the 850Super with 903 cc and 47 hp. And these engines were literally used for more than further 2 decades as front drive engines for Cars like Fiat 127/Super, Uno, Autobianchi A 112 /Elite, Fiat Panda 34 and 45, SEAT Marbella, Yugo 45, Autobianchi Lancia Y10 and so on zillions have been produced.
Jay owns Miuras, a P1, and all kinds of other exotica, but he still appreciates the joy of a basic automobile. Definitely my kind of guy. Well done, Jay!
@Miles Doyle why?
This came up and I watched it again three years later. It was and is still one of my favorites.
I’m from Italy and my grandpa had a few of those when he was young, these cars were made in desio, a city near were I live.
It’s a really special car and it’s very near to my heart
Acca Larentia a me sono sempre piaciute, molto più particolare di una 500 e di sicuro se ne vedono poche, poi come
Già detto vivo vicino alla ex fabbrica autobianchi quindi sono un po’ di parte haha
Acca Larentia sarebbe fantastico!!
It's an awesome little car built in a time when people put their hearts into their craft.
David J yeah exactly! They don’t make them like they used to😭
This car rocks! The last video I saw of Jay Leno he was driving one of only 5 Fiat 600 Multipla Mirafiori's ever produced. They were used simply for transport around the Mirafiori factory.
The Bianchina is a legend here in Italy, thanks for this video ☺️
How could anyone not have a smile on the face when you see a nice little car like that
I never forgot how fun it was in a Beetle to suddenly look at the speedo and realize you’re only going 35 mph. Felt like 60, easy. So fun.
What a beauty. Makes me smile. 😀
same
In Italy the countryside was RHD while cities were LHD until 1927. Rome changed to RHD in 1924 and Milan in 1926. Alfa Romeo and Lancia did produce RHD cars until as late as 1950 and 1953 respectively only to special order, as many drivers favoured the RHD layout. RHD offered the driver a clearer view of the edge of the road in mountainous regions at a time when many such roads lacked barriers or walls. Trucks with RHD were produced into the 60's for the Italian market
Thats very confusing 🤣
@MichaelKingsfordGray and lhd was invented by Napoleon who was a lefty.
You also see RHD in sports cars from Italy well into the 60's. The luxury touring cars would be be LHD, the weekend racers RHD. Not just from Italy. If you look at the Ford GT40 they're RHD(with the gear shift on the right like a LHD). The usual reason given is that European race tracks nearly always run clockwise so RHD gives better visibility and weight distribution in corners(IIRC over in the States most course run anticlockwise?).
@@MrGrentch Ford GT40 was an English sports car, hence rwd. The mark IV variant was American Ford however.
Oh certainly A. Based on a Lola IIRC and there were engineering reasons in the mix too, but the whole RHD and European racetracks was a thing well into the 1960's because it was thought to be advantageous. Look at Jay's Bugattis with racing history. RHD. @@Arayig1982
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. For me this kind of segment is far more beautiful than the half million exotics.
And Jay is equally excited about both.A great peek into the past
Jay entertaining us on a regular basis...one of the great things in life that you can simply count on.
Ok...once you feature an AUTOBIANCHI you're officially a hard-core collector!
For anyone who hasn't tried one of these...trust me...this tiny cars deliver TONS of laughter, fun, cheers from people walkin' or driving by.
It's actually a very pretty car. it's really got that classic italian styling.
Thanks for this great video of a wonderful car, Jay. We imported one ourselves a few years ago from a restoration shop in Italy. The tires are actually 12 inch and the box in the engine compartment is part of the air induction system. Fully restored these cars have sold for as much as $82,500 at auction in recent years. Yes Sophia Loren drove one and so did Peter Sellers in Pink Panther! 👍
Audrey Hepburn drove one of the full convertible versions in "How to steal a million" I think, cute little things for sure.
BMAWG1968 correct- although that was a ‘65 full convertible not the rarer ‘59 “trasformabile” model as shown here.
$82.500? Boy, they are not kidding when they say a buck don't buy what it used to.
Gregory Timmons ✔️
You can probably tell the difference in performance with and without the cameras attached
All of that extra wind drag... ;)
They had to attach one on either side to keep it from circling.
And the slightly overweight gentlemen inside.
"I feel like a circus bear!" What are you Jay, a comedian? 😂
A "Stand-up" comedian but was SITTING when he cracked the joke. Talk about multi-talent!
Jay doesn't get in... he puts it on one leg at a time.
lmaoo
@@JDMHaze What is "imaoo" in English?
Scooter George it means i found that extremely funny
One of the cutest cars/power wheel awesome, i like this better than fancy cars. In my opinion thank you
I agree with you 100%. I'm a big Macho 6ft 2, 265 lb conservative jacked up truck driving sob and I would love to own this car. What a little sweetheart. Such a cool car. It's great to be able to appreciate the beauty and things that we might not necessarily first be drawn to
C W are you enough macho to make feel a twink like a woman ? 😂
@@gaittr agreed. love this thing
@@luisg7109 What the hell does that mean?
Having lived in Italy for several years as a child in the mid sixties, this brought back some lovely memories. The Bianchina was, and continues to be one of my favorite Italian cars.
the white walls were genius lol
Yea but there flapping in the wind🥴 making it have 14HP 🤣🤣
Yea but there flapping in the wind🥴 making it have 14HP 🤣🤣
@Miles Doyle wtf
Jay just oozes big kid excitement here, very infectious
The funny part is that with this engine, a little more cubic centimeters (600), it was produced until 2000 in Poland under the name Fiat 126. I drove that Fiat a lot.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_126 Tom Hanks received one as a gift because he often joked with it when he was filming in Hungary.
Thanks for pronouncing Autobianchi properly
Thanks for the video, Jay. In my opinion these were the most beautiful of the micro cars. Keep up the good work
Jay, show us more cars like this, it more inexpensive, small, slow, and fun. This thing is a little gem and I wish I had one around here cuz I would buy it. This is the kind of car that puts a smile on your face every time you see it, and you're not worried about impressing others with your mega horsepower and your tough guy styling.
Love it. Put a smile on my face.
Love the honesty of these videos. Whether it's a supercar, a survivor, a barn find or a frame-off restomod, he shows it as it happened - including any mechanical gremlins that strike while on the road. And I have to agree - it's one of the things that makes cars like that fun at times. And as they're so easy to fix, you still know you'll get home in the end. But you'll probably meet some interesting people on the way.
When I was a kid my neighbor (who had a Citroën DS) gave me an oldtimer encyclopedia. This car was in it along with some other post-war midget cars. I always loved these!
There is something alluring about a 1950s, early 60’s two tone red car with a white top.
My Dad drove a new '59 Red & Black Trasformable from Orange County to Torrance to work & I drove it to high school in '77. Friends on the football team picked it up to move, but the guard caught them. It was sideways in the parking spot when I came out. I was told later that they intended to turn it upside down. Fun and scary at the same time. I still have it, but it needs restoration. No power, 55 is as fast as I've gotten it. 50 mpg. Wheels are 12" This one sounds like it has an exhaust leak.
Must have sucked trying to get laid at the drive in.
@@boataxe4605 For that I used the '66 Dodge Monaco station wagon.
"Friends" did the sideways parking trick on me and my Austin Cooper S also !!
Jim Shelton That’ll work!
@@jimshelton1 I used a '66 Mercury wagon. Fabulous boats, weren't they?
I am italian and I'm 54. My grandpa had the Panorama version (a SW of that!) at the end of the '60s. Luggage and dog included!
I absolutely Love this car!!!!! I never heard of this car let alone set my eyes on one until now. But I Love it!
Thank God the clutch didn't burn out on the test run! I was grinning throughout the video. "I feel like a circus bear in this thing!" That was the best feel good vid on UA-cam in ages man.
Jay fa l'accento italiano semplicemente alzando la voce e facendo gesti con le mani...😹 fantastico!!
Ridicolo piu' che altro
Ha ha I love those little cars for the 50s and 60s. I'd collect them if I were rich. Thanks for the fun ride.
Jay - you are so right, this car does make me smile. Thank you for the video.
Oh my goodness did that make me smile. I couldn’t agree more with Jay when he says that that time period was the best for non-governmental regulation. Just build it and go. And go it did, not fast but definitely in its own style.
This would get more attention than a Lamborghini! I want one, it’s hilarious! 😂👍
I love these little cars, they remind me of my childhood, dad was in the air force in germany after the war
You know Jay put that right up on the lift and had the clutch fixed afterward.
I would think so ;)
He should just buy it. He would take better care of it I bet. That guy doesn't seem like he truly loves cars. But I don't know him, just my impression of his character. "just a spur of the moment thing" - talking about buying it.
@@the_original_Bilb_Ono and then just drive it around until it dies and then he'll sell it when the motor or trans is totally scrapped. If you buy old rare classics, you should at least do the tune ups people of the time would do to keep it running good. Cars that old need alot more than just periodic oil changes.
I just assumed he brought it to jay to fix and jay wanted to do a segment on it while he had it.
Lift? Just bend over, grab the bumper and pick it up. Couldn’t be more than 50 to 75 lbs!
My three favorite TV shows, thanks for all the hard work.
Love the Bianchi recognition! Il Pirata [Marco Pantani] and Eduardo Bianchi would be proud!
That little car is awesome. If you aren’t intimidated by big vehicles those cars are a ball !
4:40 “oh you got the big block” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Such a great video Jay and Peter are all smiles and laughing and joking the whole ride, no serious stuff here. People usually are so serious about their trophy cars and the fun is gone, gone, gone.
Nice video of a very unusual car, with a totally fantastic paint job !! Most of the Bianchina's I saw in Italy in the 60s were not trasformabile / convertible (although the base Fiat 500 was to some extent, having a sliding fabric roof segment). The Bianchina was very popular with families in the countryside (eg farmers) because it was more spacious and could carry more than a Fiat 500, with the same fuel economy. Before Enrico Mattei and ENI / Agip, Italy had no national gasoline production facilities, and gasoline was very expensive in the early postwar years. 1100 cc and 1300 cc engines were regarded at the time (late 50's and early 60s) as already quite large, 2000cc engines only became more widespread in the late 60s & early 70s. My father skipped the Bianchina, and went from the Topolino to the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and later Giulia :-) The incomprehensible sticker you see on the windshield refers to "rodaggio", giving the maximum recommended speed for each gear during the engine run-in phase (the rodaggio). Engine parts fit was not optimal at the time, and most Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars required maybe (citing from memory) a 500 km run in period. Most Italian cars of the time had a sticker like that, Alfa Romeos had an icon next to it with a turtle "oggi" turning into a greased lightning "domani" ... Come Jay sia riuscito ad infilarsi in quella Bianchina resta ancora un mistero, per me. Jay you need to acquire a (preferably alfa red) 1970's Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Veloce (2 Liter, four front lights), a masterpiece in it's own time. Forget about Appias & Fulvias ...
Just some more info:
-In italian, "Bianchina" means "The cute little white one".
-This car is often remembered because it became famous due to some italian comedy movies written and acted by the great Paolo Villaggio. His character was named "Fantozzi" and it was a sad-hilarious representation of the average italian officeman in the 70s.
-There was also a "Wagon" version, actually rare on the market.
I got all smiles watching this video.. nice one Jay 😁
Wonderful, I would buy that in a heart beat.
The design is gorgeous!
Grown up tail lights... lost it!!!
What a cutie!!! 😁😁😁 Makes me smile.
Cute. It makes the VW Beetle look like a road yacht.
Compared to this the Beetle IS a road yacht!
Fantastic to see a little autobianchini make it to Jay Leno's Garage!
I do see two missed opportunities:
1. Naming that the transformabile was the car that inspired the Nissan Figaro
2. Naming that the car was the basis for Lucy's car that featured in Despicable Me 2
Wow! Great 1960 Autobianchi Bianchina Trasformabile review! It is awesome!
More of the variety stuff that I really enjoy from this channel!
Jay: "I see the fuse box is right next the gas tank, always a good Idea... You want those two together in case there's any sparks!"
Leno is a true legend!
Fabulous car!! That little pouch in the engine compartment would be great for warming up sandwiches.
Love that little car.
those two guys weigh more than a family of 5 from 1960 Italy.
True people were at starvation weight!
@@Philflash They`re still not big people, not compared to americans anyway hehe
I love the sound of this 2 cilinders 😍
That poor little car was definitely leaning towards Jay's side.
The roads in Los Angeles are in a shocking state, by the way.
🤣🤣🤣
Apparently you’ve never been to Pennsylvania.
Try upstate N.Y.
You can't try Michigan,the roads are closed.
even in Italy the roads are degraded, every 100 meters there is a hole in it
In Wisconsin we rank near the bottom in road quality. You learn to steer around potholes or you incur tire/wheel damage.
You nailed it: she is a Happy Car!
That little cutie gets more attention than some Ferraris at events like The Quail, etc.
Makes everyone happy.
If Looney Tunes ever made a car, this would probably be it.
Eh, what's up Doc?
ua-cam.com/video/PfsTk5i7mPw/v-deo.html
It could have been Woody Woodpecker's car as well...... cheers from Italy!
Love it. Just bought one recently as a project. Nice to see how things fit together and how much fun they are when they're done!
Jay, the type of guy to care so little about the UA-cam algorithm, that he consistently uploads at 11 PM
It's 9:00 pm here in California. Completely reasonable time.
Clay Loomis potato potato
@@risingembersgaming7740 I'm in Jay's time zone. The rest of the world can worry about when it posts for them.
Gorgeous little car, I wish something like this were available new today.
Use to see these little cars in Fillini movies back in the day.
Fellini
"Transformable". Transforms from a car into an accordion when someone opens their car door in it's path.
A+ for the cool car and Jay's continuing comedic sensibilities!
So beautiful
Hilarious!
While Jay was driving, I was smiling and holding my breath at the same time. Great fun car!
Cletus let us down today. Jay never lets us down.
True. I hope he's ok.
Did he crash?
I’ve never let anyone down, Son.
Yes! Love these old European classics from that era. My head would be completely above the roofline, but I'd love to drive it (with a fixed clutch!).
Hey Jay thanks for new video 😎
What a delightful little gem :) .
What's the matter with the car I'm driving?
"Can't you tell that it's out of style?"
Should I get a set of white wall tires?
"Are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?
Still Rock and Roll to me.
I hate you people. Now this is playing in my head. Grrrr!!
probably fit in the trunk of a baby blue Continental,
@@radioguy1620 It would be wise to do so. Nowadays you can't be too sentimental.
Best episode yet. Thanks
Why the hell can't Fiat produce it in 2020 with an electric motor? I'll take 2!
Even if they built it they couldn't sell it, at least not here. The feds would never allow it.
True, Sadly.. @@JeffDeWitt
@@FPVREVIEWS It all seriousness would you really want to be driving a car this small, even in city streets, where there are 18 wheelers, Suburbans, and idiots driving their SUVs while talking on their cell phones?
I agree. Apparently the next Fiat 500 will be electric, so that's something.
People still ride motorcycles so why not? Driving this, at least they would see you a little bit more than on a motorcycle lol. At least in that red.
Wonderful smile on Jays face as they entered his garage at the end.
Neat little deathtrap, imagine cruising down the Italian coast during summer in one of these
Pretty much every car from post-war Europe was a deathtrap by today's standards. I suspect the 500 this car was based on would be even worse. But that didn't really matter to them. As my father (who was Sicilian) once told me: "Danger? We weren't long out of a war where people were shooting at us with machine guns almost daily. Tanks drove along the back roads and through the villages. Driving wasn't thought of as dangerous after living through that."
The concept of crumple zones taken to the extreme :) As a kid my parents had a Citroen 2cv. Pretty much the same thing. A kid could total that car by hitting it with a teddy bear.
Since nearly everyone else was driving something about the same calibre, I wouldn't call it a death trap; more of a bumper car that's been set free.
@@deltavee2 At home in Europe, maybe not so much of a problem. Imported into the USA, definitely a problem - and a bunch of very little foreign cars were imported in the late '50s and early '60s, mixing on the roads with the immense American machines of the time.
Autobianchi had a later model called A112, produced since late 60’s until mid 80’s, same segment as the Mini, and with an Abarth version. In Europe and in Portugal we still have a few running. Beautiful car. Congrets.
Whats not to like, a fantastic piece of circus history. ;~)
It's not just about driving fast. Some people wouldn't understand that you don't need a fast car to have fun.
That car looks like something out of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Kinda like Bennie the cab?
I'm just happy someone remembers this grossly underrated movie.
More like Luigi's Rolicinkin Roadster at Disney California Adventure
@@Pannemat i still have the video game from the old Nintendo system i still play it once in a while
This car has no sewn on patches on the tires though. ^^ Fastest and classiest lawn mower I've ever seen.
it looks brand new. i wish we had someone making little cars like these today. i think they would sell like mad.
This is what happens when you wash cars too often.
Hot dryer, no doubt........
Like a bar of cheap soap.
Tumble dry.
😂😂😂
Cute and fun, Jay and his buddy put a wonderful spin on this incredibly joyful ride 👍thanks !
What an awesome car!
Love it!!!
This is the car America NEEDS except with an ELECTRIC motor and NO FUMES!
This past October a friend of mine gave me one of these except it was left hand drive. It was in pretty bad shape, so I sold it. I'd never seen one before and knew nothing about them until I got that car and did a little research. It was a 1960 Transformabile same as this one. I especially enjoyed this video. It was nice to see one running and in such nice condition. The guy who bought mine said he was going to restore it. I hope he gets the job done.
Love it...GOT and the king of the north followed by leno garage and the lord of denim
So lovely in red and white. About 46 years ago, when I did a stint on the dustcarts (UK), I collected a Bianchi moped from a resident instead of tossing it. My brother and I used it for ages. it was bulletproof.
In a lot of ways, the Italians and Japanese were far ahead of their time. Design and fuel consumption.
Well, you can't consume much fuel if your engines have 18 HP and your cars weigh 500 kilos. But yes, those cars were designed to be reliable and cheap. They had to get a whole nation on wheels as there was a nation to get back up and running
Right? 52mpg in 1960 is incredible! If you driving around a city or small town it's plenty of power.
They still make nice things.
honestly Amazon or netflix should pick this up as a channel. This is what a car show should be. An incredible amount of education, information and fun. A real joy to watch
This is just a freshly hatched Ferrari. ;)
I love how it felt like he whispered to me ," I'm gonna work on the clutch now!" Knowing Jay there is multiple fiat 500 clutches laying around the shop!
Bella! Maccina!
This has got to be one the most humorous car videos I have watched.
The streets look like a war field. Awful roads.
The car, a beauty.
Until you’ve seen the spring crop of potholes in New England, you ain’t seen anything.😀
Dude.. Ever been to Sweden? 😂
@@jc_nilsson Yes, I have been in Upssala and Stockholm two year ago and it's nota a disaster like this by far.
@@lgriestra yeah.. But Stockholm/Uppsala is like a own country where only the rich lives 👌
@@jc_nilsson And Los Angeles is ....
I love your videos Jay! I watch them, while eating breakfast.
Could be a Luigi's cousin in a spin-off Cars movie.
Luigi is a Fiat 500.
It is infatti...you're right,
Is spin off of the first 500
Fiat Bianchina
Perhaps we should tell Jay that besides the aircooled cinquecento from 1957 to 1975 there was also the heritor of his "Topolino" the seicento (600) with 633 cc and 19hp from 1955 to 1960 and with 767cc and 23 hp ! from 1960 to 1966 (afterwards imported as licence product from S.E.A.T who produced until 1969). So there was still a watercooled fourcylinder in the back.
AAAAANNND there was from 1964 to 1972 the 850 series which did evolve the 767cc engine to 843cc and 34 !!! hp and the 850Super with 903 cc and 47 hp. And these engines were literally used for more than further 2 decades as front drive engines for Cars like Fiat 127/Super, Uno, Autobianchi A 112 /Elite, Fiat Panda 34 and 45, SEAT Marbella, Yugo 45, Autobianchi Lancia Y10 and so on zillions have been produced.