1959 FIAT JOLLY

Details

Fire Engine Red with Red and White Surrey Top. Freshly tuned up and running flawlessly. An absolutely stunning car inside and out. In all, Fiat built approximately 400 Jolly's during the course of their run. At this point, collectors believe there to be fewer than 100 cars remaining due to the ravages of life along the seashore. Don't miss out on the opportunity to own a stunning example! In 1957 famous Italian Playboy Gianni Agnelli was faced with a challenge. He wanted to add a 'land

tender' to his 82 foot ketch, Agneta. It had to be a vehicle that could take on the steep roads that were on the shore of many popular Mediterranean ports, but it had to be light, and even more important was that it had to be fun. He had just the vehicle design in mind. As Chairman of Fiat, the great Italian car builder and conglomerate, he was able to bring the vast resources of his car company to bear on the challenge. He sent one of the current air cooled two cylinder 500 models over to the Ghia Carrozzeria, where his company had a long standing relationship. His instructions were to cut off the top, remove the doors, and install a folding surrey top and wicker seats. But cutting so much structure out of the monocoque body shell meant that some sort of a subframe would have to be added. Ghia solved the problem by incorporating a series of pipes under the skin, and then added chromed exterior pipes for style and even more support. Lead filler was used under the paint to smooth out the modifications. The resulting car was named the 'Jolly de Plage', which loosely translates to 'Joker of the Beach'. That season in the Mediterranean, Agnelli's creation was an instant hit with the 'in' crowd. His friends were clamoring for them, so Agnelli had Fiat & Ghia go into limited production. But many were custom 'hand made to order' creations. A very pricey yachting trinket, 1957 Jolly's sold new for $1,760, almost double the standard 500 model price of $998. Soon Jolly's were found on the streets of Monaco, Cannes, and other major Mediterranean yachting centers. Then the richest man in the world Aristotle Onassis owned three of them. Yul Brenner, John Wayne, Grace Kelly and even Mae West all reportedly owned Jollys. US President Lyndon Johnson used his model 500 Jolly on his Texas ranch.