For the first time, Fiat chose mechanical architecture with front-wheel drive and a transverse engine. The Turin manufacturer's smallest three-volume came to be, and was immediately met with the approval of the market, topped off by winning Car of the Year 1970.
The regular refresh of the range led the Turin-based company to launch the new Fiat 128 to replace the most recent Fiat 1100 R series. The debut took place in spring 1969, after the Geneva Motor Show that featured the new Fiat 130 flagship, not only on the stand.
The Fiat 128 brought in a genuine revolution at Fiat, offering traction on the front wheels combined with the transverse placement of the engine, alongside the gearbox. The small footprint of the propulsion unit left much more space in the passenger compartment, not only due to the absence of the central tunnel, meaning it was much roomier and had a greater load capacity in relation to the overall dimensions; the number of mechanical components was also limited, the benefit of which was a lower weight and therefore lower consumption. This technical decision also had a positive consequence on costs. The innovative scheme was seen in a Fiat for the first time after the positive outcome of the experiment with the Autobianchi satellite brand on the Primula model. It would also become the technological starting point for the more compact Fiat 127 a few years later.
Not only was the construction scheme innovative, but so was the engine itself. The engineer Aurelio Lampredi designed a compact and modern 1,116-cc in-line 4-cylinder with a single overhead camshaft controlled by a rubber toothed belt, which delivered 55 hp for a top speed of over 135 km/h. The chassis was also avant-garde, with independent suspension on all four wheels, disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear.
The 3.85-metre-long saloon designed by Dante Giacosa, like its elder siblings the 124 and 125, had a three-volume body, available in a two- or four-door version. In the autumn of the launch year, the family version was also presented, with two doors and a tailgate that allowed easy access to the boot, which was also taller. The passenger compartment was simple but spacious and bright, the boot capacity of the three-volume was excellent, shorter than the front compartment but well=proportioned and square-shaped, even inside. The lack of a spare wheel, located next to the engine, made better us of the space available.
The 128 immediately proved to be a winner as an excellent compact family car: 20 cm and over 100 kg less than its older sibling the 124. It became an immediate success with the public, including for the price: 875,000 Italian lire for the three-door and 930,000 for the version with five. Under a year after its launch, it was already one of the best-sellers in Europe, and at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970, it was named Car of the Year.
The range was enhanced by the addition of different sports versions: from the Rally to the coupé variants, which also obtained prestigious results in racing. Although the saloon was refreshed following the evolution of materials, production also extended abroad: from Yugoslavia and Spain to Egypt and Argentina.
At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, the Fiat 128 Rally made its debut. It was created with two-door bodywork, the most lightweight but also the least popular on the market. A few aesthetic changes differentiated it from the saloon on which it was based: the honeycomb grille was painted matte black, with the circular Fiat logo in the middle surrounded by a laurel wreath as on sports cars. The chrome-plated front bumper was divided into three, with the central part tubular and two additional headlights anchored to the side. At the rear, four round taillights, taken from the 850 Sport Coupé, accentuated the sporty character, with the “Rally” plate on the bonnet and boot lid. A black adhesive band in the lower part of the sides completed the picture.
The passenger compartment was more refined, the front seats sportier and equipped with headrests, whereas the tachymeter behind the steering wheel featured two perforated spokes typical of Fiat sports cars on the dashboard. Under the bonnet, the addition of a brake booster improved the braking system, with the single-shaft raising it to 1,290 cc and the output to 67 hp. It was not and should not have been the most powerful 128; that task was entrusted to the upcoming coupe version, so much so that, curiously, the Rally 1300 proved to be more economical in consumption than the 1100 saloon.
At the Turin Motor Show in November 1971, the Fiat 128 Sport Coupé was presented. The Fiat Centro Stile shortened the wheelbase by 22 cm and strengthened the floor. The coupé body featured a lower, tilted windshield and a sloping rear window that ended in a short third volume with a truncated tail, with the boot lid hinting at the curvature of a spoiler. Both engines were enhanced: the 1,116 delivered 64 hp, with the 1.290 rising to 75 hp. Both engines were also available in two trim levels: S (Sport) and SL (Sport Luxury). They differed in terms of the grille, the former with two rectangular headlights and the latter with double round headlights and more chrome plating.
They then began to be used in racing, not so much in official competitions as by the tuners who found excellent foundations in the sports versions of the Fiat 128: robust engines that lent themselves to tuning and lightweight, economical cars overall, suitable for use on the track, in hill climbs and in rallies. As the perfect training cars, they were ideal for emerging young drivers such as Giuseppe Ceccato, Federico Ormezzano and Attilio Bettega. They were also a success abroad: in all four overall victories, from 1971 to 1974, won by local crews aboard Fiat 128s at the demanding Canadian Winter Rally on the snow-covered roads there.
At the same time, the saloon continued its successful journey and in 1972 the first restyling adapted the Fiat 128 to the needs of the moment: away went the bumpers, in came a more refined dashboard and larger taillights. In 1974, the Fiat 128 Special was created, featuring rectangular headlights and a higher bumper. With 1976 along came the third series, bringing with it the addition of plastic resins, especially in the bumpers. In 1975, the Sport Coupé was also replaced by the Fiat 128 3P (three-door): the new more linear and angular lines of the coupé ended in a modern tailgate that closed above the six original vertical lights.
Production in Italy, begun at the Rivalta plant, continued until 1985 when the baton was passed to the more modern Fiat Ritmo hatchback, whereas production abroad continued until the new millennium: from the Zastava 128 in Yugoslavia; in Spain, the Seat brand continued to produce the 3P; the Nasr 128 was made in Egypt; plants in Argentina offered several models from the four-door 128 Rural to a five-door family car.