[11] Front-wheel drive had previously been introduced to small, inexpensive cars by BMC, firstly with the Mini in 1959 and then with the larger 1100/1300 series in 1962.

[15]: 486 [4] The 128 sedan and estate underwent a small refresh in 1972, featuring revisions on the grille, bumpers, dashboard and steering wheel plus addition of a brake servo.

[15]: 540  1974 saw the launch of the 128 Special, with rectangular headlights, chrome accents, extra equipment, better seats and upholstery, plus availability of a 1290 cc engine, producing 60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp).

At this time, the wagon was renamed "Panorama" and received a single rear side window of a somewhat smaller area than the earlier split unit.

The two were closely matched on fuel economy, where both were outrun by the Ford Escort 1300 Super also included in the comparison, here in its four-door version.

Sales of imported cars in the UK were in the first stages of a sharp rise in their market share at the beginning of the 1970s, with Fiat and likes of Datsun, Renault and Volkswagen being particularly successful.

The Fiat 128 Rally was a sporty, 1.3-litre-engined version of the 128 two-door saloon, introduced at the 41st Geneva Motor Show in March 1971[18] and produced up to 1974.

[17] Other mechanical improvements were the addition of a vacuum servo, an engine protection plate, better tyres, new gear ratios for the 4-speed transmission, a higher capacity battery and an alternator in place of the dynamo).

At the front there was a black radiator grille, carrying the round Fiat emblem typical of the marque's sports cars; split bumpers joined by a tubular steel bar; and halogen headlamps and bumper-mounted auxiliary lamps.

The interior was upholstered in black leatherette, and the dashboard housed upgraded instrumentation: a tachometer was standard equipment, and water temperature and oil pressure gauges took the place of the ashtray, relocated to the centre console.

[20] At the October 1972 update of the 128 model range, the Rally received new upholstery (leatherette with cloth seat centres) and a black plastic protection to the front bumper tube.

Since Fiat had to pay a commission to Bertone for every X1/9, it was decided to provide some internal competition in the form of the updated hatchback coupé 128 3P.

The pricier "SL" (for Sport Lusso) was distinguished by quadruple round headlamps, a specific grille, steel sport wheels without hubcaps, chromed window surround trim, door handles and fuel cap, and black decorative striping along the sills and across the tail panel.

Inside it gained a leatherette-wrapped steering wheels, perforated leatherette upholstery, extended four-gauge instrumentation, loop pile carpeting and black headlining.

The two engines were developed from the units found in the 128 saloon and 128 Rally respectively, and both were fitted with twin-choke carburettors and a two-piece exhaust manifold.

In 1983 the car received a facelift with new headlamps, tail lamps and front grille, which was marketed as the Fiat Super Europa.

[25] For South Africa only, a pickup version was also developed by Fiat in Italy to contest that country's popular "bakkie" category.

[27] Built in the plants of via Monginevro in a semi-handmade way (these custom-built cars were not assembled in a chain) and in a very limited number (less than a hundred), it cost about 1,500,000 lire in 1969.

In 1975, the two models underwent a slight restyling (new black bumpers, wider) and equipped with the 1290 cm3 - 60 HP engine of the contemporary Special sedan.

The car was a Fiat 128 Coupé equipped with 20 DieHard (12-inch deep cycle marine) batteries, and an electric motor.

It had a totally new 5-door hatchback design, with an extra strong passenger cell, but used the mechanicals of the standard 128 with 1290 cm3 engine.