65 Years of the Fiat 2300

09 July 2026

The Fiat 2300 celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, and I have craved one ever since a television screening of the 1966 Peter Sellers vehicle After the Fox, during my youth. Towards the end of the film, the police arrive in a 2300, and I instantly craved this fine machine.

Fiat 2300

Further screen appearances in the B-film The Big Switch, and the dire ITC series The Adventurer, only increased my desire to one day own a 2300. The 12 reasons listed below are justifications for why such a Fiat should join my fleet... 

  1. Its Pininfarina styling. Fiat claimed the 2300 Berlina (saloon) was “a noble vehicle for city or open road” - and they were right.

  2. The sound of its 2.279cc six-cylinder engine.

  3. A specification that includes all-disc brakes, separate reclining backrests for the bench front seat, an elaborate heating and ventilation system, a full array of instruments, and even a hand throttle.

  4. Not to mention the side window demisters, the multiplicity of courtesy lights, a separate fan to demist the rear screen, and those quad headlamps.

  5. The 100-mph top speed is more than enough for the autostrada.

  6. The Fiat 2300 was quite a favourite of the UK automotive press.  Motoring Which concluded the Berlina was a better all-rounder than the Jaguar 2.4 Mk.2.

  7. Autocar believed “a buyer in that price range who wishes for something rather different might well find the 2300 just his cup of cappuccino”. 

  8. Motor Sport found the 2300 “a remarkable combination of compact, fully-equipped, high-performance luxury car at a very modest price".

  9. At £1,437 17s 9d in 1962, the Fiat 2300 Berlina may have been more expensive than the Wolseley 6/110 at £1,266 or the Humber Hawk at £1,204, but your friendly local Fiat dealer might tell you it was £52 cheaper than a Jaguar 2.4 Mk.2.

  10. They could further point out that the Fiat 2300 cost £5 less than a Slough-built Citroën ID19 – and over £500 less than the Lancia Flavia Berlina. 

  11. If I were feeling especially grandiose, I might opt for the long-wheelbase 2300 ‘Special Saloon’ - “a fine car which lends itself to ceremonial and similar occasions”.  

  12. The 2300 Lusso, the Special Saloon’s 1963 replacement, is equally tempting - the standard Berlina bodywork with the addition of power-assisted steering, overdrive, and separate air conditioning for the front and rear seats. Just the car to make an entrance in Rome’s Via Veneto...

With thanks to Stellantis Media for permission to use the images in this blog.