1970 FIAT 500L

Built in Torino, Italy in 1970 this delightful left-hand-drive Fiat 500L was first registered in Messina, Sicily in June of the same year. The current owner found it parked in a garage on Antillo town in 2015 and had it partly restored by Mr. Bartolotta of Limina, a well-known and highly respected Italian car specialist a year later. He then imported it to the UK in December 2016.

With just 12,000kms showing, this is likely to have been around the clock at least once. Still, haven’t we all?

The bodywork was sound and solid but a little tired, making it an ideal candidate for a respray in the original colour of Bianco White. This work was carried out in Sicily prior to import and was clearly done to a very good standard (see photos).

The car also sports a new sliding fabric hood, which is completely watertight and looks fantastic in addition to be super-practical for the sort of weather we have to endure here in less sunny climes. 

It also sits on the original steel wheels, which have been newly refurbished; alloys are all very well, but you need steels for the win.

The interior colour scheme is original, comprising black vinyl trim and red carpets. The old carpets were threadbare and in need of replacement, something Mr. Bartolotta was happy to do at the same time as the respray. They look fabulous and are now protected by black runner over-mats, a sensible addition and one that makes the car ever-so-slightly more usable.

The finished interior is an appealing mixture of the old and the new, but a fastidious owner would find that a few hours’ work and minimal financial outlay would improve it even further. Everyone else will enjoy and appreciate its hard-won patina.

The Fiat is still fitted with its original 499cc engine, complete with a four-speed gearbox. Sitting in a fully detailed engine bay, it now exhales through a rorty sports exhaust, and while we couldn’t claim that performance of the car has been dramatically enhanced, it does sound lovely (listen for yourself in the video in the history section below)!

The brakes have been refurbished and now work as well as any Fiat 500 brakes ever did, which is to say they are very period in feel but get there eventually…

As with a lot of imported cars, the paperwork is thin. However, the owner does have the original historic registration/logbook, which lists the car’s services and previous ownership and can be seen in the history below.

The car comes with an MOT until January 2018 and is fully UK registered.

Cars like this are in the ascendency, especially in cities, and this is one of the very nicest ways we can imagine to get around the problem of congested streets.

It is a charming, largely original car that has been sensibly and sensitively restored, retaining all of its 47-year charm and really must be seen and driven to be fully appreciated. 

We think it is one of the best examples currently for sale in the country, making its guide price of £8,000 a sensible investment. As ever, the reserve is set at an even lower point.

The car can be viewed in Barnes, London, to arrange please use the 'Contact Seller' button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or view our frequently asked questions below.