FSO Polonez

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 Giorgetto Giugiaro. It was available in a variety of body styles that included two- and four- door compact-sized cars, station wagons, as well as commercial versions that included pickup truck and ambulance uses. With production total of over 1 million units, not counting pick-up and van variants. The Polonez was marketed in other nations and was popular in its domestic market until Poland joined the European Union in 2004.
The car's name comes from the Polish dance, the polonaise and was chosen through a readers' poll conducted by the "Życie Warszawy" newspaper.
Background.
The Polonez was based on the Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO) built under licence from Fiat. The internal components, including modernised 1.3/1.5 Litre engines, (pistons and carburetor), the chassis, and other mechanicals, were from the Polski Fiat 125p, but the body was an entirely new liftback body designed in the early 1970s by Centro Stile Fiat as a new prototype of Fiat. After the Polish side started co-operation with Fiat over a new car, the original design was changed due to Polish requirements. The car was meant to be equipped with Fiat's 2.0 Litre DOHC engines in the 1980s, but financial problems at the time made the purchase of a licence from Fiat impossible. This is also why the 125p was produced simultaneously alongside the Polonez for more than a decade. Moreover, mechanical modernisation only took place when it could be applied to both cars. This situation finally changed after the production of the 125p ended in 1991.
An advantage of Polonez is its passive safety. In 1978, it was the only Eastern European car built to pass U.S. crash tests. Crash tests were performed in 1994 according to EU safety regulations so that the Polonez could be exported worldwide. They proved the car to be very safe. The Caro 1.9 GLD hitting a concrete block (without an energy-absorbing metal cage) with 40% of the front at survived very well. All doors could be opened without any difficulty, there were no critical injuries for passengers, and no fuel leakage occurred.
Polonez range.
The Polonez range was expanded to encompass a wide range of bodies. These included:
There were also many prototypes including: pickup made using rear part of Polski Fiat 125p pick-up, native-looking pickup (without frame in the rear), 4x4 off-roader (Analog), hydro-pneumatic suspension, Sedan (very different from Atu/Celina), 4x4 Truck w/o offroad suspension and van.
Polonez (1978-1991).
Debut.
In May 1978, mass production commenced. The official premiere of the FSO Polonez 1500 and FSO Polonez 1300 took place. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally with a 2-litre Fiat DOHC engine was displayed. In 1979 the FSO Polonez 2000, sold mostly to government officials, appeared. The Polonez 2000 has a Fiat twin-cam engine with 1,995 cc, , a 5-speed gearbox, a 0–100 km/h acceleration of 12.0 seconds, and a top speed. The FSO Polonez 2000 Rally debuted in the Rallye Monte Carlo. In 1980 the FSO Polonez 1300 and 1500 three-door appeared. With the same short front doors as the five-door version, it was produced in 1979–1981 in about 300 units.
In 1981, the FSO Polonez, in an economy version was added. This was sold without black side rubbing strips between the front and rear wheel, chrome bumper strips, rear window wiper-washer, fog lamps, luggage cover, and rev counter. Plain vinyl was used on the seats and in the luggage compartment. At the other end appeared the top version, FSO Polonez 1500 X. This was fitted with the AB 1,481 cc engine of , a five-speed gearbox (final drive ratio 4:3), and a radio. It was sold in the domestic market, usually for U.S. dollar payments.
In 1981 and 1983, the FSO Polonez Coupé with proper three-door bodywork was introduced. It had the usual 1,481 cc engine with and 2,0 DOHC Fiat. It was the first FSO model to feature electronic ignition and fuel economiser owing to a supply of pre-heated air to the suction manifold. Only a few dozen were produced.
In 1983 The Polski Fiat 125p was renamed FSO 125p, after FSO's licence rights to the Fiat badge expired. The new naming system for FSO's models was as follows:
Also in 1983, the FSO Polonez 2.0 D Turbo with an Italian VM Motori HR 488 engine of 1,995 cc appeared. It produces at 4,300 rpm and at 2,500 rpm. Final drive ratio is 3,727, for a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 20,0 s, and a top speed of . Fuel consumption is 7,1/10,6/10,0 l/100 km, approximately 100 cars were produced to this specification.
FSO Polonez - first cars with additional rear-side windows in the C-pillar.
In 1987, the FSO Polonez 1.6 LE appeared. It has a 1,598 cc inline-four with at 5,200 rpm and at 3,800 rpm. Top speed is . There was also the rare FSO 125p 1.6 ME, with the same engine but a top speed of . Very few were made.
FSO Polonez modifications: stamped rear spoiler instead of plastic one, new model labels on the sticking foil, new version coding system with an 'S' supposedly meaning that the car had the additional rear-side windows in the C-pillar, a rule often broken in practice. The versions available were:
1,3 SCE, 1.3 SL, 1.3 SLE, 1,5 CE, 1.5 L, 1,5 LE, 1,5 SCE, 1,5 SL, 1,5 SLE, 1,6 SLE, 2.0 SLE
In 1988, the FSO Polonez 1500 Turbo with AA 1,481 cc engine, at 7,000 rpm, at 3,200 rpm, 8,5 s, appeared. This was a rally version only, built to group A specifications. Following this competition version the FSO Polonez 1.5 SLE Turbo with turbocharged AA engine appeared in December 1989. With a compression ratio of 8.5 to 1, the 1,481 cc inline-four produces at 6,000 rpm, and at 3,200 rpm. The 100 km/h sprint was discharged in 11,0 s and the top speed is . A catalyzed version with was also available. The Turbo Polonez' were built mainly in rally versions (group N), although on special request a Turbo-kit could be installed in mass-produced cars.
In 1989, the '89 FSO Polonez appeared, the face-lift including a rear boot lid lowered to the bumper level, new rear lamps, rear window wiper-washer placed horizontally, and side repeaters placed horizontally near the front doors. In January 1989, the first catalysed Polonezes (1500 only) were shown at the Amsterdam Auto Show. Simultaneously, a version with an Italian FNM-built (Fratelli Negri Motori) turbo-diesel and a five-speed manual appeared (called the "Polonez Piedra 1.3 Turbodiesel"), specifically for the Belgian market. This engine has at 4,500 rpm, enough for a top speed of .
In 1990, the FSO Polonez 2.0 SLE appeared, fitted with Ford's 2.0 litre engine, 12,5 seconds acceleration to 100 km/h and a top speed of .
Polonez Caro (1991-1997).
1991 marked the end of FSO 125p production. Along with this, FSO's 1,295 cc engine ended production. FSO imports to the United Kingdom were temporarily stopped. On the other hand, the facelifted FSO Polonez Caro appeared. It had new headlamps and grille (similar to the design of the FSO Wars, a prototype car supposed to be successor to Polonez), new front and rear bumpers, steering wheel, new rooflet over instruments, and improved front crash safety. Also new was the FSO Polonez Caro 1.9 GLD with Citroën's 1,905 cc diesel engine, , , and a top speed of . The Caro GLD was sold across mainland Europe.
The other versions in pricelist:
(December) FSO Polonez 1.4 GLI 16V with Rover 1396 cc engine, @ 6000 rpm, @ 5000 rpm, 11,9 s, , with or without catalytic converter.
FSO Polonez Sedan prototype - later produced as the FSO Atu - with 4-door limousine bodywork, with completely new dashboard and upholstery (project by FSO), new rear suspension: rigid rear axle with longitudinal wishbones, reaction bars and coil springs. Rear lamps same as in Caro version.
Two prototypes of the FSO Polonez Kombi (station wagon).
The next prototype: FSO Analog 4WD, light off-road car with 4-door pick-up bodywork and four wheel drive.
Export to the UK restarted: FSO Caro (Polonez 1.6 and 1.9 D) and FSO Pick-up (Truck)
Girling-Lucas brakes introduced.
Production of the FSO Polonez Caro 1.9 GLD stopped.
End of export to the Netherlands, the last foreign market for Polonez passenger versions; the last offering in the Netherlands consisted of:
Polonez Caro Plus (1997-2003).
(summer) 
(August) The first Daewoo-FSO Lanos 1.5 S 4d leaves the FSO assembly line.(December) FSO Polonez Caro Plus and Atu Plus 1.6 GSI - with Delphi (Multec XM) multi-point fuel injection, 1598 cc , , ca. , new door handles introduced.
FSO Truck sold in Italy by Daewoo dealer network.
Export markets.
Polonez was exported to many countries, including Netherlands, Yugoslavia, France, Argentina, Bolivia, UK, China, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Syria, Uruguay, Jordan, Norway, Finland, Egypt, Spain, Hungary, Serbia and others. Complete knock down (CKD) cars were assembled by El Nasr in Egypt from 1983 until 1993, succeeding the locally assembled 125p in that market. Assembly for Nasr was actually carried out by Arab American Vehicles. In the late 1980s, a batch of 167 Polonez hatchbacks was exported to New Zealand. They were also exported to Chile and Colombia (in the latter country also used as police cars and taxicabs) from the late 1980s to early 1990s. In some countries the FSO Polonez was sold as FSO Celina, FSO Prima, or FSO Caro.
Imports to the UK ceased in 1997, though sales continued in some parts of Western Europe - including France - for at least a year afterwards. They were withdrawn from those markets due to a combination of more stringent emissions requirements and declining demand.
Dongfanghong.
In China, the Polonez platform was produced by YTO Group as the Dongfanghong/Yituo LT5021/LT5022 series, though with many modifications (trim pieces came from the Volkswagen Santana and power was sourced from locally produced 1.4L engines). These cars were built with locally-made spare parts for imported Polonez - common cars in China during that time, but with many other local parts substituted in (Dongfanghong was also working with Fiat at the time on tractor technology, which may have also influenced the choice of car); a selling point for the vehicles were that their parts were easily interchangeable with Polonez. These cars were not nearly as successful as their actual Polonez counterparts, and none are known to survive today. 
Legacy.
The FSO Polonez suffered from relatively poor performance (except for those models equipped with the Fiat 2.0 DOHC, the Ford 2.0 SOHC, or the Rover 1.4 MPI 16V). Polonez parts were relatively cheap and readily available. After 1992, quality began to increase, especially after 1995 when Daewoo started its cooperation with FSO. Since 1997, the last production models (the PLUS series) offered new features such as air conditioning.
Production ended in 2002, after 24 years. The relatively low price of the Polonez was seen as the main advantage over other cars. But demand slumped, and the last versions of the Polonez produced were the Truck versions, valued for their low price, reliability, and high load capability: up to depending on the version.
The Polonez was a common sight in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in its home country of Poland, but since Poland became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004, the car was rapidly replaced by relatively cheap and tax-free used cars from Western Europe.
For many years the Polonez has been a popular choice for participants in the Złombol Charity Rally. In 2018 around 300 teams (~40% of all teams) used different versions of the Polonez in this event.