Although this cute small aerial ladder truck (‘Autoscala’ in Italian) looks like a fire engine, it was built for a different purpose. A local electricity company in Austria used this Italian-built conversion of the Fiat 600 Multipla for the maintenance of street lamps. It was quite dangerous to climb the (manually operated) ladder, especially when it reached its full extension of nine metres, as the heavy 3-piece wood and steel ladder equipment made the tiny vehicle rather unstable, despite the extendable struts.
The ladder truck was manufactured by an Italian company called Fabbrica Scale Lamera in Induno Olona, Varese, which is still in operation today. Only a handful of these vehicles were made and this is probably the best-surviving example. It was restored around 2005 and is in full working order. The original drawings of the ladder equip- ment are still kept with the car.
Introduced in 1956, the Fiat 600 Multipla was a larger version of the 600 saloon. It could carry up to six passengers and is considered by some to be one of the first MPVs. It was produced until 1969. The Multipla type designation was revived in 1998.
Engine
767cc four-cylinder
Power output
29hp
Ladder extension
9 metres
Special details
Unique conversion