FSO Polonez (1985)
The FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle produced from 1978 to 2002. The car name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.
The Polonez is a rebodied Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO) built under license from Fiat. The internal components, including modernized 1.3/1.5 Litre engines, (pistons and carburetor), the chassis, and other mechanicals, were from the Polski Fiat 125p, but the body was an entirely new hatchback body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car was meant to be equipped with Fiat's 2.0 Litre DOHC engines in the 1980s, but financial problems at the time made the purchase of a license from Fiat impossible. This is also why the 125p was produced simultaneously with the Polonez for more than a decade. Moreover, mechanical modernization only took place when it could be applied to both cars. This situation finally changed after the production of the 125p ended in 1991.
Development:
1970 Fiat launched ESV (European Safety Vehicle) project.
1974 FSO chose Fiat's ESV prototype as base of new car. FSO's designer Zbigniew Watson joins Giorgetto Giugiaro and Walter de Silva to convert ESV project to the size of Fiat 125 floor and design interior and all body details. Project known as "type 137".
1975 Fiat prepared prototypes of type 137 named "Polski" and sent them to FSO.
Debut:
In May 1978, mass production commenced. The official premiere of the FSO Polonez 1500 and FSO Polonez 1300 took place. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally with a 2 liter Fiat DOHC engine was displayed. In 1979 the FSO Polonez 2000, sold mostly to government officials, appeared. The Polonez 2000 has a Fiat twin-cam engine with 1,995 cc, 82 kW (110 hp), a 5-speed gearbox, a 0–100 km/h acceleration of 12.0 seconds, and a 175 km/h (109 mph) top speed. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally debuted in the Rallye Monte Carlo. In 1980 the FSO Polonez 1300 and 1500 three-door appeared. With the same short front doors as the five-door version, it was produced in 1980-1983 in about 300 units.
In 1981 the FSO Polonez in economy version was added. This was sold without: black side rubbing strips between front and end wheel, chrome bumper strips, rear wipe-wash, fog lamps, luggage cover, and rev counter. Plain vinyl was used on the seats and in the luggage compartment. At the other end appeared the top version, FSO Polonez 1500 X. This was fitted with the AB 1,481 cc engine of 60 kW (80 hp), a five-speed gearbox (final drive ratio 4:3), and a radio. It was sold in the domestic market, usually for U.S. dollar payments.
In 1982 FSO Polonez 1500 Coupé with proper three-door bodywork was introduced. It has the usual 1,481 cc engine with 60 kW (80 hp). This was the first FSO model to feature electronic ignition and fuel economiser owing to supply of pre-heated air to suction manifold. Only a few dozen were produced.
In 1983 The Polski Fiat 125p was renamed FSO 125p, after FSO's licence rights to the Fiat badge expired. The new naming system for FSO's models was as follows:
FSO 125p: 1.3 L, 1.3 ML, 1.3 ME, 1.5 C, 1.5 L, 1.5 ML, 1.5 MS, 1.5 ME
FSO Polonez 1.3 C, 1.3 CE, 1.3 L, 1.3 LE, 1.5 C, 1.5 CE, 1.5 L, 1.5 LS, 1.5 LE, 1.5 X, 2000.
Also in 1983, the FSO Polonez 2.0 D Turbo with an Italian VM Motori HR 488 engine of 1,995 cc appeared. It produces 62 kW (83 hp) at 4,300 rpm and 163 N·m (120 lb·ft) at 2,500 rpm. Final drive ratio is 3,727, for a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 20,0 s, and a top speed of 146 km/h (91 mph). Fuel consumption is 7,1/10,6/10,0 l/100 km, approximately 100 cars were produced to this specification.
1984 FSO Polonez 2000 Turbo 3-door - rally car, never got rally homologation, bodywork like Coupé version, but without the Coupé-like front. This car received a turbocharged 1,995 cc Fiat engine, in some variants combined with a supercharger for better torque.
1985 FSO Polonez - first five-door cars with a Coupé-like front
1986 FSO Polonez 1.5 Turbo mass production launched. Also a rally version 1.5C Turbo known as "Iron Rain" official premiere.
Export markets:
FSO Caro Pick-up ST (UK export version of FSO Polonez Truck ST produced between 1992 and 1997), Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
Polonez was exported to many countries, including Netherlands, Argentina, Bolivia, UK, China, Greece, Italy, Finland, Egypt (Complete knock down (CKD) were assembled in Egypt, and Polonez was still popular in Egypt through 2008), Spain, Portugal, and others. In the late 1980s a batch of 150 Polonez hatchbacks was exported to New Zealand. They were also exported to Chile and Colombia (in the latter country as police cars and taxicabs) from the late 1980s to early 1990s. In some countries the FSO Polonez was sold as FSO Celina, FSO Prima, or FSO Caro.
Imports to the UK ceased in 1997, though sales continued in some parts of Western Europe - including France - for at least a year afterwards. They were withdrawn from those markets largely because of more stringent emissions requirements.
Legacy:
The FSO Polonez suffered from relatively poor performance (except those with Fiat 2.0 DOHC, Ford 2.0 SOHC and Rover 1.4MPI 16V). Polonez parts were relatively cheap and readily available. After 1992, quality began to increase, especially after 1995 when Daewoo started its cooperation with FSO. The last production models, the PLUS series since 1997 offered new features such as ventilation systems.
Production ended, 24 years after it had begun. The relatively low price of the Polonez was seen as the main advantage over other cars. Demand slumped and the last versions of the Polonez produced were the Truck versions, valued for their low price, reliability and high load capability (up to 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) depending on the version).
The Polonez was a common sight in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in its home country of Poland, but since Poland joined the European Union in May 2004, the car was rapidly replaced by relatively cheap, tax free, and more modern used cars from Western Europe.
[Text taken from Wikipedia]
This Lego miniland-scale FSO Polonez 5-door hatchback has been created for Flickr LUGNuts 84th Build Challenge, our 7th birthday, to the theme, - "LUGNuts Turns 7…or 49 in Dog Years", - where all the previous challenges are available to build to. In this case challenge 66, - "Behind the Iron Curtain", - a challenge focusing on cars built in countries with communist regimes. The FSO, from Poland was top of the list of requested cars from our part-time Eastern European correspondent, Raphy.
FSO Polonez (1985)
The FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle produced from 1978 to 2002. The car name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.
The Polonez is a rebodied Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO) built under license from Fiat. The internal components, including modernized 1.3/1.5 Litre engines, (pistons and carburetor), the chassis, and other mechanicals, were from the Polski Fiat 125p, but the body was an entirely new hatchback body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car was meant to be equipped with Fiat's 2.0 Litre DOHC engines in the 1980s, but financial problems at the time made the purchase of a license from Fiat impossible. This is also why the 125p was produced simultaneously with the Polonez for more than a decade. Moreover, mechanical modernization only took place when it could be applied to both cars. This situation finally changed after the production of the 125p ended in 1991.
Development:
1970 Fiat launched ESV (European Safety Vehicle) project.
1974 FSO chose Fiat's ESV prototype as base of new car. FSO's designer Zbigniew Watson joins Giorgetto Giugiaro and Walter de Silva to convert ESV project to the size of Fiat 125 floor and design interior and all body details. Project known as "type 137".
1975 Fiat prepared prototypes of type 137 named "Polski" and sent them to FSO.
Debut:
In May 1978, mass production commenced. The official premiere of the FSO Polonez 1500 and FSO Polonez 1300 took place. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally with a 2 liter Fiat DOHC engine was displayed. In 1979 the FSO Polonez 2000, sold mostly to government officials, appeared. The Polonez 2000 has a Fiat twin-cam engine with 1,995 cc, 82 kW (110 hp), a 5-speed gearbox, a 0–100 km/h acceleration of 12.0 seconds, and a 175 km/h (109 mph) top speed. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally debuted in the Rallye Monte Carlo. In 1980 the FSO Polonez 1300 and 1500 three-door appeared. With the same short front doors as the five-door version, it was produced in 1980-1983 in about 300 units.
In 1981 the FSO Polonez in economy version was added. This was sold without: black side rubbing strips between front and end wheel, chrome bumper strips, rear wipe-wash, fog lamps, luggage cover, and rev counter. Plain vinyl was used on the seats and in the luggage compartment. At the other end appeared the top version, FSO Polonez 1500 X. This was fitted with the AB 1,481 cc engine of 60 kW (80 hp), a five-speed gearbox (final drive ratio 4:3), and a radio. It was sold in the domestic market, usually for U.S. dollar payments.
In 1982 FSO Polonez 1500 Coupé with proper three-door bodywork was introduced. It has the usual 1,481 cc engine with 60 kW (80 hp). This was the first FSO model to feature electronic ignition and fuel economiser owing to supply of pre-heated air to suction manifold. Only a few dozen were produced.
In 1983 The Polski Fiat 125p was renamed FSO 125p, after FSO's licence rights to the Fiat badge expired. The new naming system for FSO's models was as follows:
FSO 125p: 1.3 L, 1.3 ML, 1.3 ME, 1.5 C, 1.5 L, 1.5 ML, 1.5 MS, 1.5 ME
FSO Polonez 1.3 C, 1.3 CE, 1.3 L, 1.3 LE, 1.5 C, 1.5 CE, 1.5 L, 1.5 LS, 1.5 LE, 1.5 X, 2000.
Also in 1983, the FSO Polonez 2.0 D Turbo with an Italian VM Motori HR 488 engine of 1,995 cc appeared. It produces 62 kW (83 hp) at 4,300 rpm and 163 N·m (120 lb·ft) at 2,500 rpm. Final drive ratio is 3,727, for a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 20,0 s, and a top speed of 146 km/h (91 mph). Fuel consumption is 7,1/10,6/10,0 l/100 km, approximately 100 cars were produced to this specification.
1984 FSO Polonez 2000 Turbo 3-door - rally car, never got rally homologation, bodywork like Coupé version, but without the Coupé-like front. This car received a turbocharged 1,995 cc Fiat engine, in some variants combined with a supercharger for better torque.
1985 FSO Polonez - first five-door cars with a Coupé-like front
1986 FSO Polonez 1.5 Turbo mass production launched. Also a rally version 1.5C Turbo known as "Iron Rain" official premiere.
Export markets:
FSO Caro Pick-up ST (UK export version of FSO Polonez Truck ST produced between 1992 and 1997), Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
Polonez was exported to many countries, including Netherlands, Argentina, Bolivia, UK, China, Greece, Italy, Finland, Egypt (Complete knock down (CKD) were assembled in Egypt, and Polonez was still popular in Egypt through 2008), Spain, Portugal, and others. In the late 1980s a batch of 150 Polonez hatchbacks was exported to New Zealand. They were also exported to Chile and Colombia (in the latter country as police cars and taxicabs) from the late 1980s to early 1990s. In some countries the FSO Polonez was sold as FSO Celina, FSO Prima, or FSO Caro.
Imports to the UK ceased in 1997, though sales continued in some parts of Western Europe - including France - for at least a year afterwards. They were withdrawn from those markets largely because of more stringent emissions requirements.
Legacy:
The FSO Polonez suffered from relatively poor performance (except those with Fiat 2.0 DOHC, Ford 2.0 SOHC and Rover 1.4MPI 16V). Polonez parts were relatively cheap and readily available. After 1992, quality began to increase, especially after 1995 when Daewoo started its cooperation with FSO. The last production models, the PLUS series since 1997 offered new features such as ventilation systems.
Production ended, 24 years after it had begun. The relatively low price of the Polonez was seen as the main advantage over other cars. Demand slumped and the last versions of the Polonez produced were the Truck versions, valued for their low price, reliability and high load capability (up to 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) depending on the version).
The Polonez was a common sight in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in its home country of Poland, but since Poland joined the European Union in May 2004, the car was rapidly replaced by relatively cheap, tax free, and more modern used cars from Western Europe.
[Text taken from Wikipedia]
This Lego miniland-scale FSO Polonez 5-door hatchback has been created for Flickr LUGNuts 84th Build Challenge, our 7th birthday, to the theme, - "LUGNuts Turns 7…or 49 in Dog Years", - where all the previous challenges are available to build to. In this case challenge 66, - "Behind the Iron Curtain", - a challenge focusing on cars built in countries with communist regimes. The FSO, from Poland was top of the list of requested cars from our part-time Eastern European correspondent, Raphy.