Zastava 750
The Zastava 750 is a supermini made by the Yugoslav car maker Zavod Crvena Zastava in Kragujevac. It was a version of the Fiat 600 made under licence from 1962 and was slightly longer than the original Fiat model. The Zastava 750 has a engine, also available in a more powerful 750 SE variant and later upgraded to. It is the smallest car ever made by Zastava. Later on during production, in 1980, the Zastava 850 was introduced. It is nearly identical to the Zastava 750 but the engine had a larger capacity. The Zastava 850 is harder to find than the 750 model, but both are still widely available in former Yugoslavia.
The Zastava 750 is widely known by its nickname "Fića" in Serbian, "Fićo" in Bosnian and Croatian, by "Fičo" or "Fičko" in Slovene, and by "Fikjo" in Macedonian. The nickname comes from the main character of a comic published by the newspaper Borba during the first years of the car's production.
Development
The Yugoslavian-built Zastava 600 was a version of the Fiat 600 built under license. Production of Fiat-badged cars commenced in 1955, and the model was upgraded with a larger engine in September 1960. It received the Zastava 750 badge in 1962. The 750 retained frontal suicide doors until 1969. Later it got bigger front lights, auto-adjusting brakes, seat belts, slightly improved interior and many other small improvements. The later Zastava 850 had many improvements from the original model, but it retained the same 600 body style. The 750 used a 767 cc engine, with at 5400 rpm and torque of at 3600 rpm in the 750 SE. The later 850 received an 843 cc version providing and a useful dollop of extra torque.Production of the Zastava 750 ended on 18 November 1985. The car's popularity increased in the last few years, partly from the low fuel consumption and very cheap price as a second-hand vehicle. Also, it is becoming a symbol of nostalgia, and many youngsters who need a cheap utilitarian vehicle with a bohemian status symbol buy this car as a second-hand vehicle. Because of that rise in popularity, prices have risen in the last couple of years and many fan clubs have emerged.