FSO Polonez

FSO Polonez
Overview
ManufacturerFSO
Production1978–2002
1988–2003 (pickup)
1983–1992 (Egypt)
1990–1995 (China)
Assembly
Body and chassis
ClassLarge family car[1]
LayoutFR layout
Chronology
PredecessorFSO 125p

The FSO Polonez is a motor vehicle that was developed in Poland in collaboration with Fiat and produced by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych from 1978 to 2002. It was based on the Polski Fiat 125p platform with a new hatchback design by Zbigniew Watson, Walter de Silva and Giorgetto Giugiaro.[2] It was available in body styles that included two- and four-door compact-sized cars, station wagons, as well as commercial versions as pickup truck, cargo van, and ambulance. Production totaled more than one million units, excluding the pickup truck and van variants.[3] The Polonez was marketed in other nations and was popular in its domestic market until Poland joined the European Union in 2004.[4]

The car's name comes from the Polish dance, the polonaise, and was chosen through a readers' poll conducted by the newspaper Życie Warszawy.[5]

In 2021, about 33,000 vehicles were still registered in Poland.[6]

  1. ^ Motor, no. 25 z 24 czerwca 1979.
  2. ^ Jacobs, Andrew James (2017). Automotive FDI in Emerging Europe: Shifting Locales in the Motor Vehicle Industry. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 45. ISBN 9781137407863. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "FSO Polonez". DeviantArt. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  4. ^ "FSO Polonez". Polish Poland. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Famous Polish Cars from the Past". Poland Unraveled. 17 May 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  6. ^ Rygas, Paweł. "Nietypowe fakty z historii Poloneza. Wiedziałeś?" [Unusual Facts from the History of the Polonez. Did You Know?]. Motory Jacza (in Polish). Interia.pl. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2022.