[1] When Fiat began marketing the Fiat 128 in 1969 — with its engine and gearbox situated in an in-line, transverse front-drive layout, combined unequal drive shafts, MacPherson strut suspension and an electrically controlled radiator fan — it became the layout adopted by virtually every other manufacturer in the world for front-wheel drive.

[2] This Active Tourer MPV wants to be more stable than a BMW M3, and using the Dante Giacosa-pattern front-wheel-drive layout compacts the mechanicals and saves space for people in the reduced overall length of what will surely become a production 1-series tall-sedan crossover.. – Robert Cumberford, Automobile Magazine, March, 2013[3] Transverse engine and gearbox front-wheel drive had been introduced to small inexpensive cars with the German DKW F1 in 1931, and made more widely popular with the British Mini.

– Dante Giacosa[5]As engineered by Dante Giacosa, the 128 featured a transverse-mounted engine with unequal length drive shafts and an innovative clutch release mechanism — an arrangement which Fiat had strategically tested on a previous production model, the Primula, from its less market-critical subsidiary, Autobianchi.

Ready for production in 1964, the Primula featured the four-cylinder water-cooled 1,221 cc (74.5 cu in) from the Fiat 1100D mounted transversely with the four-speed gearbox located inline with the crankshaft.

By using the Primula as a test-bed, Fiat was able to sufficiently resolve the layout's disadvantages, including uneven side-to-side power transmission, uneven tire wear and potential torque steer, the tendency for the power of the engine alone to steer the car under heavy acceleration.

[7] Born in Rome, where his father was undertaking military service, Giacosa's family roots were in Neive on the southern edge of Piedmont.

He had sufficient confidence to entrust the design of all the mechanical components of the car including the chassis to Giacosa.

Giacosa served as President of FISITA, the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies, from 1967 to 1969 and authored Motori Endotermici (translated from Italian: Endothermic Engines), which discusses diverse features related to internal combustion machines with explanations of their design, construction and function.

The Fiat Topolino was a state of the art two-seat miniature car that soon proved popular when production commenced in 1936.

It was a two-seater and had a 569 cc side-valve engine, but the chassis with independent front suspension using a transverse leaf spring and wishbones and neat packaging was a big advance, with the engine located over the front wheels and radiator behind it over the four-speed synchromesh gearbox, also excellent hydraulic brakes.

Giacosa's subsequently designed the Fiat 508C, replacing the 508 Balilla,[8] the 508C or as it became known as the "Millecento", had a short-stroke 1,100 cc (67 cu in) engine, with overhead valves (the 500 engine had side valves), an outstanding chassis design that earned it a reputation for good handling and ride quality.

Wealthy Italian industrialist Piero Dusio approached Giacosa in 1944 with a request to design a single seat racing car that could be purchased for a relatively low price.

The space frame chassis was designed using steel tubes and the body consisted of light alloy panels - this was the famous superleggera ("super-light") construction technique.

Through a series of models culminating with the 1100R (the 1100D had a 1,221 cc (74.5 cu in) engine), the Millecento remained in production until 1970 and one and three quarter million examples had been produced.

Giacosa used the advantages to produce a four-seat car, although with limited luggage space, that had a reasonable performance from an engine of only 633 cc, due to its low weight of 585 kg and also compact dimensions.

By replacing the transverse leaf spring used in the front suspension by upper links and coil springs of the 1100-103, the mechanical components of the 600 were utilised in a forward control unitary body, removing the front luggage compartment and any trace of crumple zone (similar to the VW Type 2, but considerably smaller), therefore needing only a small increase in wheelbase to accommodate three rows of seats.

In 1960 Fiat introduced the Giardiniera, a 499 cc (30.5 cu in) station wagon with a similar inline twin-cylinder engine as the 500, but with cylinder horizontal.

A version of the Nuova 500 was made by Steyr-Puch in 1957, with their own boxer air-cooled engine and swing axle drive and suspension.

He was cited for his "courageous renunciation of the traditional figurative nature of the automobile through a careful re-examination of all its fundamental elements".

The "500", series was twenty-five years old by 1972 when Fiat introduced their last rear-engined saloon, the 126, a four-seater the size of a BMC Mini on the wheelbase of the 500.