The interior of a FIAT New 500 R from 1972. You can see the dashboard and the steering wheel of type F, but in black, as well as the new arrangement of the switches on the dashboard, now integrated into the switch that activates the position lights.

In 1972 the latest version was presented at the Turin motor show, destined to close the long-lived and timeless range of the 500s: the 500 R, or rather "Renewed".

The new model replaces the F and L versions, which are out of production, and takes up the canons of the first 500: simplification. The engine, however, is the one used on the 126 first series: the twin-cylinder of the F and L with displacement increased to 594 cubic centimeters. On the new 126 it delivers 23 horsepower at 4 800 rpm, on the 500 R the power remains that of the previous versions: 18 horsepower (at 4000 rpm instead of 4 400) and the torque increases slightly. ) of the New 500 Sport, and together with the very slight increase in torque, the 500 R finally reaches 100 km / h.

The characteristics on the outside are: elimination of all chrome (even in the sills); "Fiat 500" plate with bars superimposed on the rear bonnet; you look for wheels in stamped sheet of the 126, which, due to their shape, do not require chrome cups; Fiat lozenge frieze on the front.