The Fiat Campagnola is a heavy-duty off-road vehicle produced by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

. Production started in 1951 and it was upgraded in 1974. It was inspired by the

Willys Jeep The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503,According to i ...

Fiat 1101 "Campagnola" (1951-73)

Civilian models

Fiat 1107 "Nuova Campagnola" (1974-87)

The Campagnola was redesigned for launch in June 1974 and in this form produced until 1987. The new vehicle used the petrol engine of the

Fiat 132 The Fiat 132 is a large family car produced by the Italian automobile company Fiat from 1972 to 1981. An updated version of the 132, called the Argenta, was produced from 1981 to 1985. Fiat 132 (1972–74) The 132 was introduced as a replacemen ...

, but with a longer stroke which increased the capacity to 1,995 cc. - the same enlarged engine turned up in the Fiat 132 itself two years later, albeit with twin overhead camshafts. There was a light alloy cylinder head: instead of the twin overhead camshafts of the 132, the engine in the Campagnola had a single side-mounted camshaft driven by a toothed belt, the valve movement being driven by pushrods and rockers. As an option, a Sofim 2.5 litre diesel engine was also available. The large square engine compartment gave easy access to the engine bay which was designed to permit "wading" up to 70 cm deep. The 57 litre fuel tank was positioned well out of range from rocks and flying stones, under the twin passenger seat beside the driver. Torsion bars suspended all four wheels, with two shock absorbers for each of the rear wheels and a single one for each of the front wheels. All six shocks used were of identical specification and thus interchangeable. Road testers from the UK commended the smoothness of the ride over rough ground which evidently compared very favourably with that offered by the

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rove ...

of the time. A military version was introduced in 1976 (AR76) and in 1979, after a new update, it was called AR76.

Engines

Others

Renault derivative

In 1976 the

French army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

was about to replace its Jeeps and several prototype series were made:

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

proposed the P4, an adaptation of the Mercedes G-Wagen, powered by the gasoline engine of

Peugeot 504 The Peugeot 504 is a mid-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1968 to 1983 over a single generation, primarily in four-door sedan and wagon configurations – but also as twin two-door coup� ...

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 8 ...

offered its own version of the Volkswagen Iltis, using the CX Athena engine and renamed as C44. The

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

Campagnola TRM500 was derivative of Fiat Campagnola and used engine of Renault R20. Finally the Peugeot P4 was chosen as new army jeep.

Zastava

The Campagnola was also license-built by

Zastava Trucks Zastava Trucks ( sr, Застава Камиони ) is a Serbian truck manufacturer based in the city of Kragujevac, Serbia. It is a subsidiary of Group Zastava Vehicles which declared bankruptcy in May 2017. In September 2017, the Government of ...

, in Yugoslavia.

References

{{Modern European Fiat vehicles Campagnola Off-road vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Military light utility vehicles Military vehicles of Italy