Evaluation: Rare Siata Spring and the last model built by the company. Essentially just a Fiat with a retro body on top, it’s a far cry from the gorgeous Siata roadsters of the 1950s. Good paint but dull brightwork. The grille surround chrome is a little wavy. A little grubby underneath. Lightly worn seats. A cute enough little car that would make a neat beach cruiser and could fit into parking spaces that your VW Thing can’t.
Bottom Line: Sold at Bonhams’ “Quail” online sale last year for $6720. – Società Italiana Auto Trasformazione Accessori, aka SIATA, always borrowed heavily from the Fiat catalogue but built some of the most gorgeous small sports cars of the 1950s. Siata’s glory days were way behind it by the end of the 1960s, however, and the Spring was the final nail in the company’s coffin. Siata was bankrupt by 1970.
A silly thing with a pointlessly huge grille (the Spring is based on the Fiat 850, a rear-engined car), the Spring nevertheless appeals to people who love automotive eccentricities. And unlike some eccentric cars, the Spring is very affordable and prices aren’t much different than the Fiat it’s based on. This one sold at Bonhams’ “Quail” online auction last August for just $6720 and brought essentially the same price a year later.
Where this car is interesting is the model played a major role in the1971 iconic film, “TRAFFIC” by the infamous French director, actor and visionary, Jacques Tati. A masterpiece of film still studied today.