When shown at the 1924 Paris Motor Show, the Fiat 509 represented the manufacturers first attempt at producing a car for ‘the masses’ – given that in the mid-Twenties, cars were still very much designed for the wealthy. Naturally, in order to keep the purchase cost down, it was both physically smaller and had a smaller engine than the larger Fiat models from which it took design cues, but it was still capable of transporting 4 adults in adequate comfort.

Also unusually for the time, when most manufacturers produced cars as a rolling chassis and separate coachbuilders provided bespoke bodywork, Fiat decided to produce complete vehicles fitted with their own bodywork. The 509 was offered in a variety of guises during its lifetime – 2 and 4 door saloons; convertibles; 2-door roadster; station wagon and even a taxi landau. The uprated 509A model appeared in 1926 – with mechanical improvements – and the car had competition success in the 1928 Monte Carlo Rally.

Production ran until 1929, by which time it is believed around 90,000 509s had been built.

This right-hand drive Fiat 509A was manufactured in 1929 and fitted with the most expensive bodywork option – the Weymann saloon. This comprised a waterproofed fabric body fitted over a wooden frame – a popular option in the period and used under licence from its designer Charles Weymann by many manufacturers and coachbuilders. Its advantages were its light weight and good soundproofing.

We have no early history for the vehicle until 1974, when an MOT certificate from May of that year indicates a recorded mileage of 0001, from which we deduce that at very least a new or reconditioned instrument had been fitted and quite possibly, significant renovation works had been completed. In 1998 it was acquired by a Jersey resident and re-registered in the island. In use for only a few years, it was taken off the road in 2004 and kept in storage until 2023 when we acquired the vehicle.