This 1955 Fiat 1100 Pick Up is currently owned by international celebrity chef, author, and TV host Jamie Oliver, who is now offering it for sale out of the UK.
The vehicle remains in unrestored original condition throughout, though it has been well maintained over the years, and Oliver is said to have used it mostly for work around the estate with occasional runs to the pub
Fast Facts – Jamie Oliver’s Fiat 1100 Pick Up
- Jamie Oliver is selling his 1955 Fiat 1100 Pick Up, which remains in its original, unrestored condition but has been well maintained. He primarily used it for work around his estate and occasional trips to the pub.
- The Fiat 1100, produced from 1953 to 2000, was a versatile and affordable car, available in multiple versions, including coupes, sedans, station wagons, sports cars, and commercial vehicles like pick ups.
- This Fiat 1100 Pick Up features a 1,089cc inline-four engine, a 4-speed manual transmission, and is finished in green with yellow wheels, and a wood-lined bed. It retains many original features, including a fold-down tailgate and a simple interior.
- The vehicle is being sold with no reserve through Classic Car Auctions in the UK.
The Fiat 1100: A History Speedrun
The production run of the Fiat 1100, including Indian license-built copies, would extend from 1953 right the way through until the year 2000 – an incredible 47 year lifespan. In India today you can still see countless examples on the road right across the country.
Though small, the Fiat 1100 was quite roomy inside, and it was used as a family car by countless Europeans (and some Americans). Image courtesy of Fiat.The Fiat 1100 had been developed as an affordable car that most Italians would be able to afford, even in the difficult days of post-WWII Europe. The cars utilized a simple unibody design, with a 1,089cc inline-four up front sending power back through a 4-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels.
A multitude of versions of the Fiat 1100 were produced, including two door coupes, four door sedans, four door station wagons, both convertible and fixed roof sports cars, and a series of commercial vehicles including panel vans, pick ups, and minibuses.
It’s been said that any mechanic in Italy could work on a Fiat 1000 while blindfolded, being so familiar with the vehicle due to the staggering popularity it enjoyed across Italy.
Today there are many surviving examples of the Fiat 1100, though far fewer than the 1.75 million that were originally produced – not including the license built Indian models which also numbered in the seven figures.
Who Is Jamie Oliver?
Jamie Oliver is a man who needs no introduction on either side of the Atlantic, or anywhere else for that matter. He first rose to fame with the release of his first TV series in 1999, titled “The Naked Chef.”
Above Video: Simple, approachable recipes like these have long been Jamie Oliver’s bread and butter. He’s been credited with getting an entire generation into the kitchen for the first time, and many of them have become passionate cooks in their own right.
Oliver’s popularity was explosive, driven by his approachable personality, but perhaps more importantly by his approachable style of cooking. He would typically use fresh, easy to source ingredients that were prepared simply – a considerable difference from many cooking shows of the time.
Today, Oliver is known as a celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author with millions of followers, an award winning TED Talk, and he’s spent years pioneering programs to get kids (and their parents) eating healthy.
The Jamie Oliver Fiat 1100 Pick Up Shown Here
The pint-sized pick up truck you see here was built on a 1955 Fiat 1100 platform, it’s finished in green over a dark brown interior, and it has bright yellow wheels with chromed steel hubcaps.
The pick up bed in the rear is lined with wood and it has a fold-down tailgate with two sliding bolts to secure it when closed. The vehicle has two seats up front in the cab, and the spare wheel is stored behind the seats.
As you would expect, it has a front-mounted Fiat inline-four, a simple overhead valve, single carburetor engine that sends power back through a manual gearbox to the live axle rear end.
The vehicle remains in unrestored original condition throughout, though it has been well maintained over the years, and Oliver is said to have used it mostly for work around the estate with occasional runs to the pub.Vehicles like this were the workhorses of Italy for decades both in the cities and out in the rural areas, and when well-maintained they can be both reliable and economical to operate.
Jamie Oliver is now offering his trusty Fiat 1100 Pick Up for sale with no reserve through the auction house Classic Car Auctions in the UK. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Classic Car Auctions
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
