I’m a big fan of Wybór’s videos on YouTube. He usually features an eclectic mix of Polish garbage cars on his channel, ostensibly stuff you could buy in-country for under $600. Usually the cars are rusty and rough, and would have been relatively inexpensive when they were new. Most of his videos are in Polish, but this one happens to be in English. Watch and enjoy.
It is because of these videos that I’ve considered flying to eastern Europe, buying something small and interesting for very little money, and road tripping it throughout the continent for a month or so. Something like this Fiat Cinquecento Sporting-which was built in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland-would be the perfect conveyance for such an inadvisable trip.
The Polski-built Fiat city car was introduced in 1991 as a modern replacement for the iconic 500, and was available in a variety of displacements. There was a two-cylinder 700cc engine making 30 horsepower, and a 900cc four-cylinder with 39 horsepower, both carbureted, naturally. Then there was the Sporting model with an 1.1-liter fuel-injected inline four with an extra hot 53 horsepower, cribbed from the entry-level Fiat Punto.
The car featured here is one of those hot-mini-hatch Sporting models. It’s got a lower ride height, a front sway bar, 13" alloy wheels, and a shorter ratio gearbox. Obviously this car has seen better days, but a properly sporty city car for $600 is pretty great. Besides, it’s got red seat belts, just like a Porsche GT3. Of course it’s a sports car. Poland Stronk.