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Sometimes, one of the most interesting stuff that you find in automotive shows aren’t new cars, but the innovative ways in which the car manufacturers decorate their stalls with. Earlier this month, Fiat unveiled the new 500X crossover at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. And while the 500X is surely an interesting car, something more fascinating that caught our eye was the wooden master body of the Fiat 500. This is the same master model which was used to make the dies for the first generation Fiat 500 in 1957!
Designed by Dante Giacosa, the master model is made of solid mahogany and is usually housed in Fiat’s Centro Storico in Turin, Italy. While Fiat usually sends out the examples of the early models for auto shows around the world, this master model is rarely taken out of the company’s headquarters.
This actual master model was used as a template to shape metal body panels for Fiat 500s between 1956 and 1964. Even nowadays, such master models are used by hobbyists and collectors to recreate body panels for restoring old cars. While modern techniques have replaced this method of manufacturing, for obvious reasons, such pieces of automotive history are definitely a sight to behold.
