First employee and driver, then stainless loyal to the Lingotto brand, a British citizen bought his 55th Fiat in almost 60 years
A love is forever. Perhaps it is less and less for people, but for some cars it is still a very current concept. Especially in the case of the Fiat 500, the iconic Italian city car, the absolute protagonist of the collection of David Frankling, 84 year old British renamed “Mr. Fiat” after having bought 55 in almost 60 years. From the first red Fiat 500D bought in 1963, with rear engine and doors against the wind, up to the latest one, a brand new electric 500 in the “Red” version. In between, many other models that have made the recent history of the Lingotto, such as Fiat 127 and 128, Uno and Uno Turbo, Croma, Multipla and, of course, Fiat Panda.
career with fiat
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David Franklin’s long relationship with Fiat began in 1962, after he joined the brand working at the first UK-based Fiat dealer at Wembley. In the same year, he bought his very first Fiat, the iconic first generation Fiat 500D, for 399 pounds (equivalent to about 5,800 current pounds, or about 6,750 euros). During his time with the Italian brand, in which he held increasingly important positions, Franklin also competed in off-road races, winning fourteen occasions. Always with a Fiat: 500, Fiat 500 Abarth, Fiat 1500, Fiat 850, Fiat 850 Coupé and Fiat 850 Idromatic. As if that were not enough, in Fiat she meets the love of his life, born in Milan but moved to the United Kingdom in 1964. They married in September 1966 in Bellagio on Lake Como. The wedding car was a 2300 Familiare, the first Fiat with an automatic gearbox. In 1974 he left Fiat to work in the family business, but his loyalty to the Italian company remained intact. “Fiat has never disappointed me, so I have not disappointed them”. Franklin estimates he has driven around 600,000 miles behind the wheel of a Fiat. “I have driven Fiat continuously for almost 60 years, it is very difficult to say how many miles my family and I have traveled. However, until Covid, me and Michela (the wife, ed) we drove in Italy at least once a year, sometimes twice when the kids were younger “.