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Davide puts the spot on Fiat 500 Custom Models - Part 4: Ghia Jolly 500
- Year of manufacture: 1957
- Displacement: 479 cc
- Body type: Beach vehicle
- Derived from: Fiat 500
- Manufacturer: Fiat with Ghia Conversion
- Number of cars built: unknown
The 500 Jolly can be considered one of the most fashionable of the customised cars, but also the most successful and well-known of the Jolly Ghia versions.
It was presented at the 1957 Turin Motor Show and immediately attracted the attention of the famous and the rich, who used it for short drives at seaside resorts, as a “dinghy” for their luxury yachts or on golf courses.
It was presented at the 1957 Turin Motor Show and immediately attracted the attention of the famous and the rich, who used it for short drives at seaside resorts, as a “dinghy” for their luxury yachts or on golf courses.
Aristotle Onassis, the owner of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, Leopoldo Pirelli, Yul Brynner, John Wayne and even Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco owned a 500 Jolly, proving that the little gem was also perfectly at home on the coveted corniches of the Côte d'Azur.
By the way, the Italians call the Jolly “spiaggina”, meaning beach vehicle. But why? Until then, this word actually referred to the most classic of all sun loungers, the minimalist folding beach chair made of wood and canvas with an adjustable backrest.
By the way, the Italians call the Jolly “spiaggina”, meaning beach vehicle. But why? Until then, this word actually referred to the most classic of all sun loungers, the minimalist folding beach chair made of wood and canvas with an adjustable backrest.
In the 500 Jolly, Ghia, a name that enjoyed absolute prestige in the industry at the time, reinforced the car body by inserting higher rockers and replacing the original seats with ones made of woven wicker in holiday style that could be used even if the swimming trunks were not yet dry. They gave the whole car a nautical touch by fitting it with steel bumpers and side pipes that resembled the handrails of fast motorboats.
It is believed that around 500 of these cars were made, but there is no certainty as the Ghia registers have been lost due to various changes of ownership (Ghia is a Ford brand today). Unfortunately, numerous fakes of this car are circulating, as it is relatively easy to transform a normal Fiat 500 into a glitzy and desirable ‘spiaggina’ with no historical value, whereby a saloon (perhaps of modest historical value, but still an icon for us enthusiasts) is irreparably altered.
The original 500 Jolly is often the figurehead at international auctions of historic vehicles, where the occasional example turns up that belonged to a prominent personality, such as the Jolly that was owned by Yugoslav President Tito and sold for almost 100,000 euros at an auction in London in 2017. In the USA, other original Jollies were sold at prices between eighty and one hundred thousand dollars! Really a gem, but on the other hand, the 500 Jolly was indeed born noble.