Fiat 125p for KGHM

42 centimetres lower than an ordinary Fiat 125p: that difference defines this car. The conversion changes the proportions of a familiar body. Its height draws attention because this particular dimension was adapted to a specialist use rather than to passenger-car styling. The vehicle was commissioned by KGHM, a mining company, to meet the needs of a mine. It is an example of adapting a production model to conditions different from those on an ordinary road.

Lowering the car was intended to let it fit through mine tunnels. The available space above the vehicle was decisive. Its low outline reflects restricted overhead clearance, rather than an attempt to create a sporting version.

The starting point was the Fiat 125p, produced from 1967 at Warsaw’s FSO factory as a four-door saloon. The model also formed the basis of other utility versions. In the KGHM example, however, one particular requirement governed the change: the car had to be considerably lower than the road-going version from which it came.