FSO Polonez

The FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle produced from 1978 to 2002. The car name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.

Background

The Polonez is a rebodied Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO) built under license from Fiat. The internal components, including a modernized engine, (pistons and carburetor), the chassis, and other mechanical, were from the Polski Fiat 125p, but the body was an entirely new hatchback body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car was meant to be equipped with Fiat's DOHC engines in the 1980s, but financial problems at the time made the purchase of a license from Fiat impossible. This is also why the 125p was produced simultaneously with the Polonez for more than a decade. Moreover, mechanical modernization only took place when it could be applied to both cars. This situation finally changed after the production of the 125p ended in 1991.

An advantage of the Polonez is its passive safety. Crash tests were performed in 1994 according to EU safety regulations so that the Polonez could be exported worldwide. They proved the car to be very safe. The Caro 1.9 GLD hitting a concrete block (without an energy-absorbing metal cage) with 40% of the front at survived very well. All doors could be opened without any difficulty, there were no critical injuries for passengers, and no fuel leakage occurred.

Polonez range

The Polonez range was expanded to encompass a wide range of bodies. These included:

• Hatchback (as originally......
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