FSO Warszawa
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FSO Warszawa (from Polish: ''
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
'') is an
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
manufactured in FSO factory in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
between 1951 and 1973, based on GAZ-M20 Pobeda. The Warszawa was the first newly designed car built in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
after the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Warszawas were popular as taxis because of their sturdiness and ruggedness. However, they were underpowered for their weight and had high fuel consumption. In total, 254,471 cars were made.


Description


Original M20 model

Named after
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
's capital city
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, the Warszawa was until 1957
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to the
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Pobeda, built under license, which was given to Poland by
GAZ Gaz may refer to: Geography *Gaz, Kyrgyzstan Iran * Gaz, Darmian, village in South Khorasan province * Gaz, Golestan, a village in Bandar-e Gaz County * Gaz, Hormozgan, a village in Minab County * Gaz, Kerman, a village * Gaz, North Khorasan, a ...
at
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's insistence. The engine was the same, side-valve M-20 unit as used in the Pobeda, producing . Exports of the car started in 1954 to countries such as
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
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,
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and
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. In 1956 work began on the development of a new four-speed gearbox. However, it failed in practice and its development was suspended. In the same year, work began on an overhead valve engine that could be used to drive the car. This engine was a copy of the Étendard engine used on the Renault Frégate, and started being put on Warszawa models in 1962. The first major modernization took place in 1957. The new model was called FSO Warszawa M20 model 57, but not long after its name was changed to Warszawa 200. The new model received a restyled front-end section. The powertrain was modified too, the compression ratio was raised from 6.2:1 to 6.8:1 and maximum power crept up to .


Later 223 and 224 model

From 1962 on, the car was equipped with the new OHV inline-four engine with power increased to . This was much more modern than the archaic sidevalve construction used before. In 1964 the body style was changed to a ponton, three-box design by then becoming mainstream in Europe, though the car retained a rather heavy style to western eyes. In 1967 it was announced that Perkins' four-cylinder, 1.76-litre diesel engines would be fitted in export market Warszawas, which were scheduled to debut at the Poznań International Fair in June 1967. On the same year, the smaller Polski Fiat 125p based on the Italian
Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodat ...
entered production and the Warszawa gradually stopped being produced with the last one coming off the assembly line in 1973, with the 125p serving as its successor.


Modifications

The Warszawa was the basis for two rigid
panel van A panel van, also known as a delivery van (United Kingdom), blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind ...
s, the Żuk (made from 1958 to 1997) and the Nysa (made from 1958 to 1994). The gearbox, clutch, and chassis of the Warszawa were also used in the FSR Tarpan. These vehicles led to the basic chassis of the Warszawa being produced until the 1990s. Additionally, there was a commercial variant of the saloon car.


Warszawa Pickup

Development on a pickup (technically
coupe utility A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
) version of the Warszawa was undertaken in response to the demand of Polish cyclists who wanted a light delivery vehicle to transport their bikes including spare parts for mechanics. The pickup could carry two people and an additional 500 kg payload in the back. Several hundred pickups were produced annually, but their production was generally limited compared to other models. In the next years, the pickup underwent the same modernizations as passenger versions and was sold almost exclusively to state-owned enterprises and institutions. The maximum speed for the 223P version was 120 km / h, and for the 224P – 105 km / h. The speedometer indicated that the speed should not be exceeded 70 km / h with the vehicle fully loaded. The truck bed was equipped with an opening tailgate suspended on the lower edge, the side boards were fixed. The floor of the loading space was made of pine boards, and was additionally secured with a tarpaulin spread over an upper steel body.


Warszawa Van

A commercial van model was also produced, making the concept similar to the contemporary
sedan delivery A panel van, also known as a delivery van (United Kingdom), blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind ...
. This modification was called Warszawa 201F (The F standing for Furgon). The car was equipped with two doors, the fuel tank was moved under the driver's seat, the spare wheel was placed under the floor at the rear of the body, which resulted in a relatively large usable area. Access to the cargo space was possible through a two-piece rear hatch, the individual parts of which were hung on the lower and upper edge of the door opening. The car's suspension was reinforced although it only had the payload capacity of 400 kg compared to the 500 kg of the pickup version. A version with side glasses was also produced and was used as an
ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...
regularly. In 1964, production of the modernized 203F and 204F models began. Modernization of the body was limited to the front part only. The other changes were the same as in the passenger versions. In 1965, the van models were withdrawn from the market due to the commencement of production of Warsaw 203-K / 204-K with a station wagon body.


Warszawa station wagon

In June 1965 during the Poznań International Fair, a
station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
version of the Warszawa was presented. The new models were called the 203-K and 204-K (later changed to 223-K and 224-K) and entered mass production at the end of the same year. The design of the body was developed by Cezary Nawrot, while the technical development was made by a team of employees of the Body Design Office, under the supervision of Eng. Stanisław Łukaszewicz. Compared to the sedan version, the roof was extended and the luggage compartment glazing was installed above the rear fenders. The station wagon version was additionally equipped with a fixed roof rack with a load capacity of 40 kg, reinforced suspension and wider tires. The top speed of the 223-K version was 128 km / h, and for the 224-K – 115 km / h.


Draisine

A
draisine A draisine () is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. The eponymous term is derived from the German inventor Baron Karl D ...
of the Warszawa was also produced and was used by the
Polish State Railways The Polish State Railways ( , abbr.: PKP S.A.) is a Polish state-owned holding company (legally a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury) comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway oper ...
, mainly for field trips for inspections. Production of this variant was between 1956–1973. Most draisines were sedan models although pickup models were also built. A small number of station wagons were also built for export markets. The steering system was made for driving straight ahead, and a turntable was mounted under the chassis (a screw jack was used to rotate the trolley on the track, after it was lifted, in order to allow driving in both directions at full speed). With further changes, the rear light was modified (red lights at the front instead of the direction indicators and white light at the rear instead of the stop), the brushes in front of the wheels were installed and the suspension was tied with steel cables (to facilitate lifting the car). The maximum speed was , but due to the long braking distance on the track, PKP regulations then limited it to . The exact number of draisines produced is not known, but together with export production but it is estimated that only 200 of these vehicles were ever produced. These draisines were also exported to
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and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
. In
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, a copy of the Warszawa draisine was also built with advanced changes. These draisines were regularly used in both Poland and export markets until the mid-1990s when they were massively taken off service and scrapped, which leads to only a few handful draisines surviving to this today. Moreover, in recent years, several cars have been independently adapted to non-original draisines by collectors.


Police car

A
police car A police car is an emergency vehicle used by police for Police transport, transportation during Patrol, patrols and responses to Call for service, calls for service. Police cars are used by police officer, police officers to patrol a Beat (po ...
version of the Warszawa was also produced for the
Milicja Obywatelska Milicja Obywatelska (MO; ), known as the Citizens' Militia in English, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic. The MO was established on 7 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Liberation under Chief Co ...
and the
Polish army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
. The last such batch was built in 1972. The police car was based on the civilian version. However, it differed in painting (white or cream body with a blue stripe and Milicja or MO markings), a blue light signal mounted on the roof, and a two-tone siren. Additionally, matte rear and side windows were installed. The police car received the same modernizations as the civilian and commercial models. How many police cars were produced has never been officially stated since it is likely that as these cars were intended for state purposes, production was never taken in records of how many police vehicles were built or registered. In comparison to the special ordered GAZ M20-Pobeda for the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
, this version retained the four-cylinder engine of the Warszawa, as the passenger and commercial models had.


FSO Warszawa 210

A prototype called the Warszawa 210 was built in 1964. It had a 6-cylinder engine and a more modern body reminiscent of then-current car trends in Europe, although it still had the old Pobeda-derived chassis.


Export

Exports of the Warszawa started in 1954. By 1973, 72,834 copies were sent to export markets. The Warszawa was exported to 25 countries located on five continents, and the recipients of the largest number of cars were the countries of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
. According to some sources, the number of cars sent abroad amounts to 81,804 units, which is due to the fact that 8,970 units sold in Poland as part of internal export are included in the statistics.


End Of Production

By the time the Warszawa started production it was already largely outdated since the Pobeda on which it was based on started production in 1946 and had technical features derived from the 1938 Opel Kapitän. Despite successive modernizations over time, the body looked increasingly outdated. From 1965, plans were made to introduce a successor to the outdated Warszawa. Two variants were options, the first was the production of new FSO products – the Warszawa 210 and Syrena 110, and the second was the purchase of a license for a modern foreign model. The second option was chosen, and negotiations with
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
and
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
began. The French offer was rejected due to unfavorable conditions;
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
offered the Poles the 1300/1500 model, but the model was considered too small to replace the Warszawa. Nevertheless, FSO choose Fiat to partner with and decided that the larger
Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodat ...
was more suitable as a successor, although the Polish version still used the lower-cost mechanics of the 1300/1500. Production of the Warszawa continued until late 1973; by that time it utilized many parts from the Polski Fiat 125p. The more compact and modern 125p sold much better than the Warszawa, particularly in export markets.


References


External links

{{Commons category, FSO Warszawa
FSO Warszawa at the IMCDb


– history and pictures (English) 1960s cars 1970s cars Cars introduced in 1951 Executive cars
Warszawa Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greate ...
Pickup trucks Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Station wagons