Channel Your Inner Child With This 1972 Fiat 500 Jolly

The classic Fiat 500 is one of the cutest and most toy-like vehicles you can find on the road, but there is one variant that dials it up to eleven. We are talking about the Fiat 500 Jolly, a special edition of the Italian city car built by Ghia as the perfect companion for your summer vacation. A recreation of the classic is currently listed for sale and it looks as adorable as can be.

The pictured model offered by DD Classics in the UK is not a genuine Jolly but the closest you can get to one. It was built by Italian craftsmen using a real Jolly as a reference and a thoroughly restored Fiat 500 as a base. The pastel blue exterior shade is the most fitting choice for this vehicle, combined with the white/blue top, the whitewall tires, the chrome accents, and the light-colored wicker.

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The 500 Jolly can be easily distinguished from all other 500 variants thanks to its unique style. The roof and the sides have been cut, replaced by chrome tubes and a canvas top. Even the A-pillars are cut short, with the exposed windshield looking like a stylish pair of glasses. The open-air feeling you get from a 500 Jolly cannot be compared with other types of convertibles, since the cabin of the tiny vehicle is fully exposed.

Inside, the highlight is the hand-crafted wicker seats that look nothing like conventional car seats. You can sit on those with your wet swimming suit, although passengers wearing short trousers or bikinis will certainly get a stamp on their skin. Another cool feature is the rattan floor mats sending vibes from the Mediterranean countryside, and potentially matching your hat. Notably, the 500 Jolly comes without any seatbelts or headrests, because safety was not as important to automakers back in the ’60s.

Power comes from the stock air-cooled twin-cylinder 0.5-litre engine mounted at the back, with just 17 hp transmitted to the rear axle through a four-speed manual gearbox. The output doesn’t sound like much, but you can pretty much lift the 500 with your bare hands so not much force is needed to move at an easy-going pace.

Different variants of the Jolly based on the Fiat 500 and the Fiat 600 were sold between 1958 and 1972, with a total of around 400-600 units believed to be in existence and a smaller number surviving today. According to Hagerty, the Jolly gradually became a sought-after classic, seeing its values skyrocketing in the last decade. During the past year, examples of the car have been sold for between $42,500 and $145,600, showing there is quite a demand for tiny summer vehicles.

DD Classics doesn’t mention the price of the recreation model but it will certainly cost a pretty penny. Would you drive such a tiny vehicle on public roads?