In July 1957, the Fiat Nuova 500 was born in Turin, in the Mirafiori plant. Its launch was not a happy one, it even risked being a failure. It was to be the ultimate utility car, an automobile able to appeal to those who previously had used only bicycles. Its purpose was to replace the ‘Topolino’ launched in 1936 and take the lead in a segment where the Fiat 600 (manufactured two years earlier in 1955) had ranked second. In the era of the italian economic ‘boom’, it was to become a true phenomenon of custom: a popular and transverse car, that was able to motorise even workers and women, as well as serving as the second car of those who already owned one