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Nuova 500 (1957–1960)
At debut the 500 was powered by a type 110.000 479 cc overhead valve, air cooled two-cylinder engine, producing just 13 PS at 4,000 rpm. According to its manufacturer it had a top speed of 85 km/h. This model also features a fabric roof, foldable to the rear of the vehicle, like that of a Citroën 2CV &mdash; rather than the later roof design, which only folds half way back along the roof. The Nuova 500 is one of three models featuring rear-hinged doors

In its original form the Nuova 500 was extremely Spartan. It offered seating for two, the rear bench being completely unpadded and simply covered in carpet; only the quarter windows could be opened, as the front and rear side windows were fixed; the ivory-painted stamped-steel wheels were without hubcaps. Sole concession to exterior ornamentation was a chrome spear running down the middle of the front bonnet.

Notwithstanding the success of later models, initial sales of the Nuova 500 fell well below expectations—especially on its home Italian market. Whilst being the chapest car on sale there, the 500 was criticised for being too expensive for a vehicle that could only carry two people. In fact, even after the hurried late 1957 revisions and price cuts, in 1958 Fiat sold less 500s on its home market than on the German one.

Including the Sport model, in total 181,036 examples of the Nuova 500 were produced from 1957 to 1960.

Nuova 500 Sport (1958–1960)
In mid-1958 Fiat introduced the Nuova 500 Sport, featuring a more powerful engine and a two-tone livery—white with a red stripe along the flanks. Unique to the Sport was a all-metal rigid roof with three longitudinal grooves. A short-open-roof model was added a year later, in 1959.

Coded type 110.004, the 500 Sport's two-cylinder engine had been bored out to 499.5 cc from the original 479 cc (bore and stroke now 67.4 × 70 mm), giving it a very respectable horsepower with the same block: 21.5 PS. Top speed was over 105 km/h.