Fiat 600 Rendez Vous

The Fiat 600 Rendez Vous: The introduction of the Fiat 600 in 1955 meant the start of the era of Italian mass mobility. For the first time in their lives many Italians could afford to have their own motor car. Vignale was eager to produce their own interpretations on the Fiat 600 right from its introduction. The Rendez vous, introduced in 1956 and in production in small series until 1959, was regularly to be seen on motor shows. Soon the Rendez vous was accompanied by a whole range of 600’s, including a number of beach vehicles and designs based on that awkward MPV, the Multipla. While Fiat’s 600 was intended to be an automobile for the masses and sold in great number within its native Italy, it was only natural that an Italian coachbuilder try their hand at designing coachwork on a Fiat 600 of their own. Dubbed the ‘Rendez Vous’, Vignale produced a small series of these, thought to be around 200 examples, from 1956 through 1959. Drawing inspiration from their design of Lancia’s Aurelia B20 and B50 platforms, similarities can also be seen in the design of Vignale-bodied Fiat 8Vs, which were also designed by Giovanni Michelotti. These charming and diminutive coupes were aimed at their traditional well-heeled clientle, who might be looking for a car with a Fiat 600 sized footprint, albeit one a bit more distinctive. Research carried out on the Fiat 600 Rendez Vous indicates that roughly 10-20 exampled were produced. Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s / Paolo Carlini