Mongho 650

Four years after the Aruanda, Fissore showed a second piece on 500 underpinnings at the 1969 Turin show – this time the opposite of a city car: a low, wedge-shaped coupé for two. The design is by Aldo Sessano, who had opened his own studio in Turin in 1968; the leaflet names Paolo Vian as his collaborator, and the interior came from Fusina.

The chassis remained that of the Fiat 500, while Nardi took the twin-cylinder engine out to 650 cc and 29.5 hp – good for 135 kilometres an hour. At three metres long and only 1.12 metres high the car looks like a shrunken grand tourer. The paintwork followed Glasurit techniques and products; six finishes were offered, from «giallo impero» to «verde irlanda». Only this one car was built. It has survived and is red today.