The Fiat Uno is a supermini car which was produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries for nearly 20 more years, with the final Uno built in Brazil in 2013.
With approximately 8,800,000 built, it is the eighth most produced automobile platform in history, after the Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Model T, Lada Riva, 1965–1970 GM B platform, 1981–1997 GM J platform, 1961–1964 GM B platform, and 1977–1990 GM B platform.
The Uno name was reintroduced in 2010 in South America for the Fiat Mini (Economy) platform based car built in Brazil.
The Fiat Uno (Type 146) was launched in January 1983 to replace the ageing Fiat 127, which itself had revolutionized the supermini market on its launch more than 10 years earlier. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign company, its tall, square body utilising a Kamm tail achieved a low drag coefficient of 0.34 won it much praise for interior space and fuel economy as well as its excellent ride and handling, and was widely regarded as the most innovative small car in Europe at the time of its launch.
It incorporated many packaging lessons learnt from Giugiaro's 1978 Lancia Megagamma concept car (the first modern people carrier / MPV / mini-van) but miniaturised. Its tall car / high seating packaging is imitated by every small car today. It reversed the trend for lower and lower built cars. It showed that not just low sleek cars could be aerodynamic, but small, roomy, boxy well packaged cars could be too.
It was launched a month before the Peugeot 205 - another small European car which became the benchmark for this market sector, enjoying a long production life and strong sales. It also went on sale just after General Motors launched its new Opel Corsa supermini (which was sold as the Vauxhall Nova on the British market), and within a few months of its launch it had gained two new major competitors in the shape of the restyled Ford Fiesta and Nissan's new Micra.
United Kingdom sales began in June 1983, with more than 20,000 being sold in its first full year and peaking at more than 40,000 sales in 1988, making it one of the UK's most popular imported cars during the 1980s.
In December 1983, it was European Car of the Year for 1984, finishing narrowly ahead of the Peugeot 205.
Initially, the Uno was offered with the 0.9 litre (903 cc) 100-series OHV, 1.1 litre (1116 cc) and 1.3 litre (1301 cc) 128-series SOHC petrol engines and transmissions carried over from the 127. The Uno's badging was not by the commonly used measurement of engine size but by metric horsepower: 45, 55, 60, 70, or 75. The Uno was available as either a three- or five-door hatchback. It also featured ergonomic "pod" switchgear clusters each side of the main instrument binnacle, (that could be operated without removing the driver's hands from the steering wheel), although indicators remained on a stalk; an unusual arrangement similar to that used by Citroën.
The Uno had MacPherson strut independent front suspension and twist-beam rear suspension with telescopic dampers and coil springs.
From 1985, the 1.0 litre (999 cc) SOHC Fully Integrated Robotised Engine (FIRE) powerplant was offered, replacing the 0.9 litre unit. This was a lighter engine, built with fewer parts, and gave improved performance and economy. The most luxurious version, the single-point injected 75 SX i.e., had remote door locks, integrated front foglamps, and the oval exhaust tip also used on the Turbo.
Turbo i.e.
In April 1985 the hot hatch version of the first series Uno – the Uno Turbo i.e. – was launched as a three-door only derivative. It competed with the likes of the Ford Fiesta XR2, MG Metro Turbo and Peugeot 205 GTI.
Despite marketing claims that the Uno Turbo i.e. was fitted with an engine "specifically developed for turbocharging" the Turbo i.e. model actually used a Ritmo/Strada-derived 1.3 128-series engine with Bosch multi-point fuel injection, Magneti Marelli electronic ignition and a water-cooled IHI turbocharger with an intercooler to reduce intake air temperatures. The resultant power plant was highly regarded and considered as more technologically advanced than many of its contemporaries. Engine capacity was initially stated as 1299 cc but this was revised early on in production to 1301 cc. This change was a result of Italy's highway system allowing a higher speed limit to cars of more than 1300 cc. In both forms the engine offered 106 PS (78 kW; 105 hp) but owners report that the 1301 cc version was notably more responsive and had greater torque than the earlier 1299 cc unit. Cars built from 1985 to late 1987 were fitted with a Ritmo/Strada-derived five-speed gearbox. This was then replaced by a newly developed 'C510' five-speed gearbox, often referred to by owners as the 'Tipo style' gearbox, featuring a more durable differential and improved gearchange linkage. Ratios were unchanged between the two units.
The Turbo i.e. offered significant performance improvement over standard Uno models and was capable of reaching 205 km/h (127 mph), thanks in part to the car's low 845 kg (1,863 lb) weight. Reliability was improved due to the reduction in maximum turbo boost pressure for mass-production from 1.0 to 0.6 bar but conversely, it allowed tuners to modify the engine relatively easily to run 1.0 bar boost pressure for even greater performance without significantly compromising reliability.
Externally, the Turbo i.e. model sported black plastic sill trims and arch extensions (similar to that of the 70SX model), plus a revised front bumper with foglamps and inlets/scoops to direct air to the oil cooler and intercooler. Decals were added along the side of the car, initially as "T U R B O" in large outline letters but then later in stripe form with "Turbo i.e." cut into the rear-quarter section and complimentary stripes across the tailgate. This also deviated from the pressed steel tailgate fitted on non-turbo models as it was manufactured from fibreglass and incorporated a high-level spoiler to improve looks and aerodynamic performance. All body glass benefited from a very light green tint.
Suspension was lowered and uprated, 13" alloy wheels with Pirelli P6 tyres were fitted and the brakes upgraded to vented discs on the front and solid discs on the rear to replace the drum units of the non-turbo models.
Interior equipment was upgraded in the Turbo i.e. model with 'sports' seats, plush red carpet and an extended centre-console. Later models had red seatbelts in place of earlier black versions.
Options on the Turbo i.e. model included polished Cromodora wheels, electric windows, manual sunroof and a 'digital' instrument panel, which used bar-graphs in place of dial gauges for fuel level, coolant temperature, boost pressure, etc., and a numerical display of speed that, in the UK market, could be switched between mph and kph at the press of a button. Such units were rare.
An option on later first series Turbo i.e. models was called 'Anti-Skid' – a simple form of ABS that only operated on the front wheels and only once per ignition cycle meaning that if it was triggered during a journey it would not do so a second time until the ignition had been turned off and on again. Whilst it was an admirable attempt on Fiat's part at improving driver safety and reducing accidents, the 'Anti-Skid' system was largely regarded as ineffective and unreliable.[by whom?]
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