FIAT 1100-103 was presented by the Italian manufacturer FIAT to the Salon of Geneva in March 1953.

Replacing preceding series resulting from the antique FIAT 508 Balilla, which known an immense world success and whose FIAT drew several versions modernized with the wire from time, old FIAT 1100 took again the frame of the 508C of 1937.

This news 1100, FIAT chose a total recasting of the project giving up the traditional frame of the time and adopted a monopiece body.

The car was baptized of its code name FIAT 1100-103 but its devancière only the engine of 1089 cm ³ developing kept 36 ch but of which legendary reliability and the great flexibility had conquered the whole of the technicians. (This same engine equipped good number of Simca and in particular all the series Aronde and P60) . The body of the first version of origin was very round with two volumes with a trunk very little marked. This same year, FIAT presented to the Living room of Paris version 103 TV (Turismo Veloce) which was been driven by an engine carried with 50 ch.

With the second series appeared in 1956, the FIAT 1100-103 E was entirely altered and the new version took more angular forms and the trunk became a true trunk. The engines were carried to 40 ch for the truck and the familiare, and 53 ch for the version TV, a convertible, said " trasformabile" the range supplemented.

The third series goes up at 1957 with the FIAT 1100 D which profited from final improvements of body and in particular of the opening of the front doors against the wind. This model accepted a new engine of 1.221 cm ³ developing 50 ch. It is this same engine which was used on the Autobianchi Primula the first traction before group FIAT.

In 1959, FIAT launched the 1100-103H, luxurious version of the FIAT 1100-103 which came to occupy the crenel under the FIAT 1200 GranLuce.

In 1960 the versions 1100-103 D and H were replaced by the FIAT 1100-103 Export and Special.

With the Living room of Turin in April 1962, these versions were replaced by the FIAT 1100D which was equipped with the engine 1221 cm ³ of the FIAT 1200.

The last version presented in February 1966, the FIAT 1100R, of which more tended lines gave him a very modern pace which was in agreement with the other models of already very broad range FIAT, FIAT 124 and FIAT 125. The 1100 R version remained with the catalog until 1969, date of its replacement by the revolutionist FIAT 128.

The FIAT 1100 - 103 in the world

FIAT 1100 was one of the many cars FIAT with being built in many countries out of Italy where it was manufactured with more than 1.437.100 specimens; manufacture should be added abroad:

• Argentinian : in the factory FIAT Concord of Cordoba in the same configuration of the Italian original, between 1960 and 1963 in 23  162 specimens. It was replaced in 1970 by FIAT 128.

• Germany : in factory NSU- FIAT Neckar, with the engines 1100 and 1200 cm ³, between 1953 and 1969. It taken the continuation of the first FIAT 1100 of the years 1930. Almost 160.000 specimens were manufactured.
• India : as from 1954, FIRST bought a production line of the first series of the FIAT 1100 of the years 1930. Then, in 1960, FIAT yielded to Premier a license and 1 as of its 2 production lines of the FIAT 1100-103 1st series of 1953, able to produce 40.000 models per annum. In 1967, FIAT again yielded a line of assembly of the FIAT 1100-103 D to FIRST which will continue manufacture of it by renaming it Padmini, car very appraisal of the Indian taxis, until 2000! On the whole they will be more than 1.500.000 FIAT 1100 which was manufactured in India for the only local market.

The aggregate output of series FIAT 1100-103 exceeded 3.800.000 specimens in the world.