FSO 125 1968-1978 Photos, engines & full specs

Even under the communist era, countries and peoples need to have cars. Poland decided to cut a deal with Fiat and produced their version of Fiat 125.

The need for transportation but lack of experience in the car industry made the Polish look on the market for building a car. The communist regime was not eager to buy foreign cars, especially not those produced in western countries. The East Germans had the Trabant and Wartburg. The Yugoslavians bought the license for Fiat 126 (same as the Polish) and the Romanians already started the production of the Renault 8 in 1968. The only two communist countries without car factories were Hungary and Bulgaria. Czechoslovakia had its brand, Skoda.

The FSO 125 was based on the Fiat 125 with small exterior differences on the headlights and grille. It featured round twin headlamps while the Italian brother had them square. Unlike the Italian 125, the FSO featured flat panels for the bodywork, which were cheaper to produce. The design was not a big concern.

Inside, the car featured elements from the former Fiat 1300/1500 model instead of the new Fiat 125. The Polish government didn't want to spend too much on newer designs so they bought the older one for less. Needless to say, but the car featured an old type of dashboard design.

For economic reasons, the chassis was a carryover from the Fiat 1300/1500 model and so were the engines with 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter that offered 60 hp and 75 hp, respectively. Despite being an old car, the vehicle was well built. It lasted on the market until 1991, to deliver all the cars that were already paid by the customers. Usually, a private customer could have wait for years to get one.