<p>Fiat's take on the affordable post-war European people's car was quintessentially Italian in execution. The role the Nuova 500 needed to fill was purely functional, and yet, its designer, Dante Giacosa, gave the world a style icon. Aside from racing variants tuned by Abarth, the original 500 topped out at 18 horsepower, so acceleration was never brisk.</p><p>Like the Citroën 2CV of France, the Mini of the UK and the Volkswagen Beetle of Germany, the Nuova 500 mobilized a nation, but it did so with undeniable panache.</p>