Its name evoking happiness and fun, the Fiat Jolly was one of a number of beach buggy conversions of regular production cars constructed by Italian coachbuilders. They were distinguished by open sides, a chopped windshield, and a fringed surrey top with stripes, and were available in pink, corral, white, pale yellow, and sky blue. Although the Jolly’s price was almost double that of a standard Fiat 500, they were favored by both celebrities and the wealthy; Yul Brynner and Aristotle Onassis both owned them. Because they were used primarily as yacht tenders, golf cars, and estate runabouts, most surviving Jollys have unusually low mileage. Sold in the United States between 1958 and 1961, the model had a healthy run until its retirement in 1966.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
The Fiat that was commonly referred to as the “Topolino” was the little Italian car that was produced from 1936-1955 and was the very first of the Fiat 500 series. Even though the ‘Topolino’ is literally a 500 model, the ‘Topolino’ name is commonly used to describe this early series of Fiat cars, whereas the ‘Fiat 500’ is generally used in reference to the second or ‘Nuova’ generation of Fiat 500 models. The Topolino, which is the Italian word for “little mouse,” and additionally denotes Micky Mouse, was literally one of the smallest cars produced in the world at its time, but totaled in at a massive quantity of 520,000 made. This particular model is the Fiat 500C ‘Giardiniera.’ ‘Giardiniera,’ the Italian translation of “Gardner” was Fiat’s station wagon variant, and was big success with its initial debut under the 500B line 1948. Collectors revere the early Gardiniera’s unique look among Topolinos because of it having timber side paneling giving it the rightfully earned nickname as ‘The Little Wooden Mouse.’ In 1951 the little wooden mouse retired and the Fiat 500C ‘Belvedere’ Station Wagon, took its place having metal side paneling in place of timber.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
The Fiat that was commonly referred to as the “Topolino” was the little Italian car that was produced from 1936-1955 and was the very first of the Fiat 500 series. Even though the ‘Topolino’ is literally a 500 model, the ‘Topolino’ name is commonly used to describe this early series of Fiat cars, whereas the ‘Fiat 500’ is generally used in reference to the second or ‘Nuova’ generation of Fiat 500 models. The Topolino, which is the Italian word for “little mouse,” and additionally denotes Micky Mouse, was literally one of the smallest cars produced in the world at its time, but totaled in at a massive quantity of 520,000 made. This particular model is the Fiat 500C ‘Giardiniera.’ ‘Giardiniera,’ the Italian translation of “Gardner” was Fiat’s station wagon variant, and was big success with its initial debut under the 500B line 1948. Collectors revere the early Gardiniera’s unique look among Topolinos because of it having timber side paneling giving it the rightfully earned nickname as ‘The Little Wooden Mouse.’ In 1951 the little wooden mouse retired and the Fiat 500C ‘Belvedere’ Station Wagon, took its place having metal side paneling in place of timber.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
Carrozzeria Allemano was an automobile coachbuilder in Turin, Italy, founded by Serafino Allemano in 1928. Originally set for mechanical repairs, however by 1935 Allemano decided to direct its efforts solely in the field of bodywork. But few years later, the outbreak of the Second World War forced him to suspend their activities. However, the coachbuilder survived the war and began to thrive as Allemano expanded its clientele to Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Fiat, and then to Jaguar, Aston Martin, and on. 1958 was the last year of the Allemano-bodied Fiat 600 type chassis Abarth, most of which were 750cc. This Abarth, which is restored to a concour level is said to be one of five, and is a testament in defining the beauty in Allemano’s craft in all things big or as in this case, small.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
Introduced in 1956, the Fiat Multipla was based on the platform of the extremely successful Fiat 600 passenger car, which had debuted one year ealier. Resembling an early minivan, the mixed-use station wasgon was dubbed the Multipla, which was Italian for “all service.” Three versions were available, including a 4/5 seater (with front and rear bench seats that folded to make a bed), a six-seater, and a taxi. Almost 130,000 of the rear-engine, four-cylinder vehicles were built until the model was discontinued in 1969. This car was fully restored by the Malamut Museum’s in-house restoration shop.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
The Giulietta was a subcompact automobile manufactured by the Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo from 1954 to 1965. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale was built at Bertone’s Gruliasco factory. Franco Scaglione, the man responsible for the 3 curvy-finned BAT prototypes or “Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica” cars, designed it. The main aim of the project was to develop a car that was as aerodynamic as possible, and many styling cues from the BATs are evident. Bertone managed to get the drag factor comfortably below the 0.3 CD threshold, giving the car an impressive 125 mph top speed. Around 1,350 were sold with either the original 1300cc Giulietta engine or the later uprated Giulia unit.
-On loan from The Mike Malamut personal collection
Originally called Bianchi, the car’s birth was in Milan in 1899. Fifty-six years later in 1955, after having made big cars, tanks, and trucks, the company merged with Pirelli and Fiat to form Autobianchi (pronounced auto-bjanki). Used to test new concepts such as fiberglass bodies and front-wheel drive, the automobile was eventually rebranded as the Lancia A112, marketed as well by Saab of Sweden.
-Part of the Malamut Auto Museum Foundation
The Pantera was a mid-engined sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1992. Italian for “Panther”, the Pantera was the automaker’s most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its 20-year production.
Late in 1971, Ford began importing Panteras for the American market to be sold through its Lincoln Mercury dealers. As with most Italian cars of the day, rust-proofing was minimal and the quality of fit and finish on these early models was poor with large amounts of body solder being used to cover body panel flaws. Subsequently, Ford increased their involvement in the production of the later cars with the introduction of precision stampings for body panels which resulted in improved overall quality.
Several modifications were made for the 1972 model year Panteras. A new 4 Bolt Main Cleveland Engine, also 351 cu in, was used with lower compression ratio (from 11:1 to 8.6:1, chiefly to meet US emissions standards and run on lower octane standard fuel) but with the more aggressive “Cobra Jet” camshaft (featuring the same lift and duration as the 428 Cobra Jet’s factory performance cam) in an effort to reclaim some of the power lost through the reduction in compression along with a dual point distributor. Many other engine changes were made, including the use of a factory exhaust header.
Ford ended their importation to the US in 1975, having sold around 5,500 cars. De Tomaso continued to build the car in ever-escalating forms of performance and luxury for almost two decades for sale in the rest of the world. A small number of Panteras were imported to the US by gray market importers in the 1980s, notably Panteramerica and AmeriSport. After 1974, Ford US discontinued the Cleveland 351 engine.
American-Retro Red Racer AR-5001 Ferrari Pedal Car. The model is out of production and somewhat difficult to find. The car has been styled to resemble a 1952 Ferrari 500 F2 Indy race car that Alberto Ascari won two championships while with Ferrari. Marked with the letters “AR” and a shield.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
The Fiat Dino (Type 135) was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Fiat from 1966 to 1973. The Dino name refers to the Ferrari Dino V6 engine, produced by Fiat and installed on the cars to achieve the production numbers sufficient for Ferrari to homologate the engine for Formula 2 racing.
Dino was the nickname of Enzo’s son Alfredo Ferrari, who had died in 1956 and was credited with the concept for Ferrari’s Formula 2 V6 racing engine. In his memory, V6-engined Ferrari sports prototype racing cars had been named Dino since the late 1950s.
The Fiat Dino was introduced as a 2-seater Spider in October 1966. The Spider had poorer interior trim than the Coupé, below par for its class: the dashboard was covered in vinyl, the metal-spoke steering wheel had a plastic rim, and the interior switchgear was derived from cheaper Fiat models. After a few months this issue was addressed, and Spiders produced after February 1967 had a wood-rimmed steering wheel as well as a wood trim on the dashboard like the sister Coupé car had since the beginning. Option lists for both models were limited to radio, metallic paint, leather upholstery, and for the Spider a vinyl-covered hardtop with roll-bar style stainless steel trim.
In 1969, both Ferrari and Fiat introduced new 2.4-litre Dino models.Besides the larger engine, another notable improvement was independent rear suspension. The V6 now put out 178 hp, and used a cast iron instead of the previous light alloy engine block. The same engine was installed on the Dino 246 GT, Ferrari’s evolution of the 206.
The original Dino was equipped with a rigid axle suspended by leaf springs and 4 shock absorbers. 2.4-litre cars used a coil-sprung independent rear suspension with 2 shock absorbers derived from the Fiat 130. Rather than engine power and absolute speed, the most important consequence of the larger displacement was a marked increase in torque, available at lower engine speeds. The Dino 2400 had much better pickup and it was found more usable, even in city traffic.
Other modifications went on to improve the car’s drivability and safety: larger diameter clutch, new dogleg ZF gearbox with revised gear ratios, wider section 205/70VR -14 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 tires, and up-sized brake discs and callipers.
Cosmetic changes were comparatively minor. Both models were now badged “Dino 2400”. On the coupé the previous silver honeycomb grille with the round Fiat logo on its centre had been replaced by a new black grille and a bonnet badge. A host of details were changed from chrome to matte black, namely part of the wheels, the vents on the front wings and the cabin ventilation outlets—the latter moved from next the side windows to the rear window. At the rear there were different tail lights. The spider also sported a new grille with two horizontal chrome bars, 5-bolts instead of knock-off wheels, as well as a new bumpers with rubber strips.
-On loan from the Mike Malamut personal collection
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 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 Rendez Vous indicates that roughly 10-20 exampled were produced.
This 1957 Fiat 600 Vignale Rendez-Vous is a coachbuilt coupe that was purchased new in Cuneo, Italy and remained with its original owner until 1990. The car stayed with the second owner for 25 years before it was acquired by the third owner in 2015 and then by the selling dealer approximately two months ago. The original, rear-mounted 633cc inline-four is paired with a 4-speed manual transaxle, both of which are shared with the standard Fiat 600 model.
The Giovanni Michelotti-designed body was built by Italian coachbuilding firm Vignale based around the chassis of a Fiat 600. This example is finished in turquoise with darker blue accents framing the side windows and tracing the centerline of the hood.
When we added the car to the collection the car, we redid the chrome and the seats.
-Part of the Mike Malamut Personal Collection
-Part of the Mike Malamut Personal Collection