1922 FIAT 519 Coupe 4.8

Vehicle Overview

Fiat improved the 519 range over its predecessor, the Typo 3. As usual for those times, it offered it in various shapes or as a chassis alone.

There was a need for better cars, and Fiat tried to keep its home market advantage. It developed the 519 and sold it as a limousine, sedan, roadster, or Coupe de Ville. Its engineers developed new engines and technologies able to make the cars easier to drive than other brands. But the 519 was not the success that the company hoped for.

In the ’20s, the cars looked very similar to another, but Fiat tried to make things different. It adopted a V-shaped radiator instead of the already established squared ones. It placed the spare-wheels on the side-sills, behind the front wheels, and built a greenhouse with straight and flat elements. The Coupe, or Coupe de Ville, was built so the important passengers couldn’t be heard by the driver, separated from them by a glass panel, and there was no roof above him.

Fiat took good care in choosing good material quality for the interior. Fiat offered the car with leather upholstery, silk, or cloth seats.

The biggest upgrade for the technical part was the introduction of the power drum-brakes for the entire range. Fiat engineers upgraded the engine as well. It featured an inline-six unit with head valves, while other carmakers were still using the side-valve system. It was paired to a four-speed manual transmission.