Polski Fiat 126p

The Polski Fiat 126p is a small two-door car that was produced under license from Fiat (Fiat 126) at the Polish factory FSM in Bielsko-Biala from 1973 to 1992. The engine is mounted at the rear and under the front bonnet there is very limited luggage space with spare tire, battery and space for up to 25 liters of luggage.

Trivia …

The friendly-looking car got many cute nicknames, especially in Slovenia, where it was known by the names bolha (flea), pejek (little spider), pejček, piči-poki, calimero and peglezen (old world for iron <for clothes>). In the other republics of the former Yugoslavia, it was known as peglica (small iron). Different nicknames have also caught the car in other markets where it appeared:
Albania: Kikirez (cockerel)
Chile: bototo (shoe)
Cuba: polqi or polaquito (little Pole)
Hungary: kispolszki (little Pole), kispók (spider) and egérkamion (mouse truck)
Germany: bambino (child in Italian)
Poland: maluch (toddler), which later became the official name for the 126p in Poland, so that after 1997 cars had the inscription “Maluch” on the back. In some regions it was called Kaszlak (cougher, because of the sound of the engine when starting)

The Polski Fiat 126p also appeared in the Polish cartoon Teddybear Uhec in the 1970s

In 1977, a prototype of the station wagon version of the Polski Fiat 126p Kombi was also made in Poland. Serial production did not take place.

Between 1991 and 1995, however, the Polish company Bosmal converted the 126p into a roofless version. They produced around 500 examples.

There is no doubt that 126p is the most popular in Poland. Between 2003 and 2010, they also made three PC games called Maluch Racer, the theme of which was racing with different versions of 126p.

The 126P also has a history in China: in the early 1980s, it was one of the first passenger cars imported into the country. The government bought 10,000 of them, but they were mostly used as taxis. Later, they were also available to private buyers, which was a rarity in the country at the time. In the 1980s, it was even one of the best-selling cars in China. About 30,000 cars were sold per year. One also found its way into the lens of a Japanese reporter, who on May 17, 1989 photographed students who took part in a massive pro-democracy demonstration in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. (AP Sadayuki Mikami)