Fiat 126 Cavalletta

At the 1976 Turin Motor Show, the Fiat stand was adorned by a curious little creature. The car was called the Cavalletta — the “Grasshopper.”

In the rare publications that mention this car, it’s usually described as a spiaggina — a type of very simple open-top leisure vehicle popular in Italy.

These lightweight beach cars roamed resort towns all across the Mediterranean, from Rimini to Saint-Tropez, carrying all sorts of carefree pleasure-seekers.

Formally, the Cavalletta does fit into the spiaggina category, but the period brochures — which usually specify the target audience quite precisely — suggest that the concept’s creators saw its purpose as broader than just fun seaside cruising.

The Cavalletta is better viewed as an example of an inexpensive, multipurpose transport vehicle, an idea that was highly fashionable in the 1970s. Its body was designed to be transformable: when fitted with a hard plastic top, it became a station wagon or even a pickup. Several types of removable roofs were offered. Remove the top — and it turned into a convertible.

Its mechanical components were taken from two Fiat models at once: the Fiat 500 Giardiniera and the Fiat 126. From the 126, the concept car received its engine — Fiat’s evergreen classic: a two-cylinder, 594-cc unit producing 23 hp. From the 500 Giardiniera came the suspension and brakes. The wagon’s suspension was reinforced, hinting again at the Cavalletta’s possible use as a commercial vehicle.

The Cavalletta never reached mass production. Buyer interest proved too weak, and Fiat decided not to pursue full-scale manufacturing, instead leaving the market for similar vehicles to small coachbuilders.