Fiat 508S Balilla Corsa: small wonder
What impresses people is generational, but Fiat has plenty of form when it comes to producing small, appealing roadsters.
Witness the likes of the 850 Spider, the pretty Pininfarina 1200/1500/600 Cabriolets, the 124 – both of old and the retro retread – the X1/9 and the Barchetta.
Rather less well known, particularly outside its homeland, is the 508S Corsa that preceded them.
The Fiat 508S Balilla Corsa became well-known in road rallying.
Like most other Fiat sports cars, a certain amount of begging, borrowing and stealing of parts was involved in its creation, the basis here being the 508A Balilla that was introduced at the Salone Internazionale dell’Automobile Milano in April 1932.
This diddy saloon boasted a sidevalve, four-cylinder 995cc engine developed by Bartolomeo Nebbia and making 22bhp, with later cars using overhead-valve cylinder heads.
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Author's summary: Fiat 508S Balilla Corsa is a small, appealing roadster.