In May 1953 polish government and the Polish Workers' United Party (PZPR, the ruling party) decided that Poland should have it's own popular, economical car. The engineers were to use as much parts from Warszawa model (produced on licence of russian GAZ M20 Pobieda) as possible. That was hard to do because Warszawa was a big and heavy car and the new model was supposed to be smaller . The engine was a two-stroke 746 ccm, 27 hp unit, used earlier in fire engine pumps. It was mounted in front, together with the gearbox and clutch. Body was supposed to be wooden, but eventually bonnet and wings were made of steel. Roof was wooden, filled with fibreboard and covered in artificial leather. In the early models the trunk could only be accesed from inside, after folding the rear bench. Doors opened backwards (we call it hencatcher's doors).
December 1953 saw first pre-prototypes of the car. In 1957 the FSO factory issued first 100 cars. Mass production began in 1958 as FSO Syrena 100 ('syrena' means 'mermaid' and it's the symbol of polish capital city, Warszawa).
In 1960 Syrena 101 was presented. Applied changes included: new telescopic springs, smaller wheels, second front wiper.
In 1960 Syrena competed for the first time in Rallye Monte Carlo. Those were ordinary production cars, with no particular modifications. Syrena finished on 98th place. Not that bad, considering that only 150 of 300 cars made it to the finish that year .In 1962 began production of Syrena 102; changes: shorter trunk lid, new sills and rear lights. There was also offered model 102S with 3-cyl. east-german Wartburg engine and gearbox, because supply problems were typical for polish factories.
Syrena 103/103S from 1963 had the engine's output increased to 30hp. New features were also: redisigned front air intake and new exhaust system.
Syrena 104 produced since 1966 had a rear-mounted fuel tank, fully synchronized gearbox and, most of all, a new engine. It had 842 ccm and produced 40 hp. The car also gained a new heating and ventilation system and could finally be registered for 5 people (instead of 4). It still wasn't the best car you could think of: 120kph, 0-80kph in 29s, 10l/100km.
In 1971 production moved from FSO to FSM in Bielsko-Biala. A new model 105 was introduced, its main modification being normally-opening doors. It also had bigger windows.
The last model was 105Lux produced 1974-1983. The gear shift was moved to floor (earlier in the steering column) and driver got a side mirror. Luxurious, wasn't it?
Altogether 561.541 Syrenas were produced. Apart from the main line 100-105L, there were also other models, like Bosto van or R20 pick-up, together with many interesting prototypes that never made it into production. These I will cover in a separate post.
The photos show: prototype, 101, 101 inside, 102S