Continuing an occasional series on pick up trucks today’s vehicle is a FIAT Fiorino.

The history of the Fiorino is long and complicated by the fact that at any one time up to 3 different versions of the Fiorino appear to have been in production in plants across Europe, South America and China.

Today’s 1996 model appears to be a second generation model with the first face lift introduced in 1992 that continued in production in Italy until 1996.

The cab and bonnet appear to share some panels with the FIAT Tipo passenger car that was manufactured from 1988 to 1995.

It would appear the platform is a re engineered version of the Brazilian FIAT Uno passenger car which can trace its ancestry back to the FIAT 127 passenger car that was in production from 1971 to 1983.

One advantage of using such a platform would be that the spare wheel was stowed under the bonnet / hood, the added weight of the spare wheel over the front axle would marginally aid traction of this front wheel drive pick up when fully loaded with 500 kgs / 1,100lbs of cargo.

Fiorino, translated Florin, was the currency introduced to Tuscany by Duke Leopold II after the Napoleonic Wars in 1824 to replace the Tuscan Pound at a rate of 1.66 Tuscan Pounds to 1 Florin. In 1859 the Florin was replaced by the Italian Lira at the rate of 1 Florin to 1.4 Italian Lira.

Thanks for joining me on this Tuscan Currency edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !