Fiat · 1933–1938

Fiat 518

The Fiat 518, also called Fiat Ardita, was a model of car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat between 1933 and 1938. The name "Ardita" was also used on the six-cylinder engined and more expensive Fiat Ardita 2500 or 527. In total 8,794 518s were produced by Fiat. Additionally the 518 was produced outside Italy: in France by Simca as Simca-Fiat 11 CV, and in Poland by Polski Fiat as well as by PZInż under licence.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Fiat 515|Fiat 507 · Successor: Fiat 1400

All Fiat 518 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Models

=== Ardita and Ardita 2000 === The Ardita with available two chassis, having different wheelbases. Furthermore, there was a choice of two engines, the standard 1.8-litre (Ardita, also known as Ardita 1750) and a 2.0-litre version (Ardita 2000). The short 2,700 mm (106.3 in) wheelbase chassis was coded 518 C (for corta, short) and the long (3,000 mm or 118.1 in one 518 L (for lunga, long). Suspension and braking were fairly conventional, with solid axles front and rear, hydraulic dampers, hydraulic drum brakes on all four wheels and a band handbrake on the transmission. The 518 L chassis was fitted with wider tyres (5.50×17″ instead of 5.25×17″) and a different final drive ratio from the 518 C. Both the 518 C and 518 L were offered from the factory with 4-door saloon and 4-door torpedo bodies. Therefore, the factory body styles available for the standard Ardita and the Ardita 2000 were: Saloon, 4 doors, 7 seats, long chassis Saloon, 4 doors, 5 seats, short chassis Torpedo, 4 doors, long chassis Torpedo, 4 doors, short chassis The saloons had 6 side windows, lacked a centre pillar and had suicide doors at the rear. The Ardita's type 118 inline-four sidevalve engine had a bore and stroke of 78 mm × 92 mm (3.1 in × 3.6 in) and displaced 1,758 cc (107.3 cu in). With a 6.2:1 compression ratio and a single Zenith 36 VIF carburettor it produced 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp). Top speed was 100 and 98 km/h (62 and 61 mph) respectively for the 518 C and 518 L saloons. The Ardita 2000's type 118 A was obtained from the smaller engine by enlarging its bore to 82 mm (3.2 in) (bore and stroke 82×92 mm), displacing 1,944 cc (118.6 cu in). With unchanged compression ratio and carburettor it produced 45 PS (33 kW; 44 hp) at 3,600 rpm. Top speed was about 105 km/h (65 mph). Ardita Coloniale. The

Production outside Italy

=== Simca-Fiat === About 2,200 were built as Simca-Fiat 11 CVs in France, all fitted with the 1,944 cc engine of 45 PS (33 kW; 44 hp). It was Simca's last executive car until the release of the Simca Vedette in 1954. In Poland. A Polish version, the Polski Fiat 518 Mazur was produced between 1937 and 1939 by PZInż in Warszawa under Fiat license. The car has 4 doors and 7 or 5 seats. It used the two-litre Fiat 118 engine (PZInż 157) (45 hp (33 kW) at 3,600 rpm, compression rate of 6,1:1) and a four-speed gearbox. The car weighs 1,070 kg (2,359 lb) and has top speed of 100 to 110 km/h (62 to 68 mph) and has fuel consumption of 11.5 L/100 km (25 mpg‑imp; 20.5 mpg‑US). The 518-derived PZInż 302 was used as artillery tractor by the Polish military.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Fiat 518
Manufacturer: Fiat
aka: Fiat Ardita
Production: 1933–1938
Class: Executive car
Body style: 4-door saloon, 4-door torpedo, 4-door sports saloon
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related: Fiat 527 (Ardita 2500)
Engine: 1,758 cc I4 (Ardita), 1,944 cc I4 (Ardita 2000 and Sport)
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Wheelbase: 2700 mm (518 C), 3000 mm (518 L)
Length: 4035 mm (518 C saloon), 4335 mm (518 L saloon)
Kerb weight: 1185 – (518 C and 518 L saloons)
Predecessor: Fiat 514
Successor: Fiat 1500
sp: uk

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q962789CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_518CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1348250987 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fiat_518_C_Sedan_1933.jpgPublic domain · Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.