77 Years Old. 1,593 miles from new. Blue-Blood Origins.
With an impressive low mileage this Fiat 500 Topolino travelled more for its transferts between palaces than to be actually driven: first owned by the second Duke of Westminster (Hugh Grosvenor) it was registered first to the Westminster ancestral country estate, Eaton Hall, in Cheshire and during World War II the Topolino was transferred to the Duke’s Dublin estate while Eaton Hall was used as a hospital.
It was then shipped to back to Eaton Hall after the war. Upon the Duke’s death in 1953, the car was transferred to the Dowager Duchess and remained part of the family until 1986 when the current vendor came across it. Yes, “vendor” because after all of this time the Little Fiat Topolino will be auctioned by Classic Car Auction on Saturday 19th March at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre.
Having been with its current owner for 30 years, this special little car has benefitted from a lengthy and careful restoration, including a rebuild of the engine and a new leather interior.
The estimated price for the sale is between £12,000 and £15,000 which makes it really interesting for a wide range of pockets out there. And don’t remember that someone used a Topolino from the same period for the Mil-Lon Marathon last summer, clocking up more than 3000 km in 10 days and without a single problem.
“It’s amazing that one of the world’s wealthiest men would order such a modest little vehicle and a car of the people”.
The Topolino, which translates as ‘Little Mouse’, was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production, and was the predecessor to the iconic Nuova 500 of the 1950s and 60s, as well as today’s popular model.
The Duke ordered his car with a 569L straight four side valve engine, with a manual gear box and in right-hand drive.
