FSO Polonez Caro

Thursday 5 March 2015
The FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle that was produced from 1978 to 2002. The car's name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.
1991 marked the end of FSO 125p production. Along with this, FSO's 1,295 cc engine ended production. FSO imports to the United Kingdom were temporarily stopped. On the other hand, the facelifted FSO Polonez Caro appeared. It had new headlamps and grille (similar to the design of the FSO Wars, a prototype car supposed to be successor to Polonez), new front and rear bumpers, steering wheel, new rooflet over instruments, and improved front crash safety. Also new was the FSO Polonez Caro 1.9 GLD with Citroën's 1,905 cc diesel engine, 50 kW (67 hp), 120 N·m (89 lb·ft), and a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). The Caro GLD was sold across mainland Europe.
The other versions in pricelist:
FSO Polonez Caro 1.5 GLE - 60 kW (80 hp)FSO Polonez Caro 1.6 GLE - 64 kW (86 hp)FSO Polonez Caro 2.0 GLE - Ford's 77 kW (103 hp) engine and gearbox from the Ford Sierra (approx. 1,000 units)
1992 FSO Polonez 1.5 GLI, 1.6 GLI with ABIMEX single point injection, with or without catalytic converter.
1993 (August) Polonez after the next facelift: front and rear track 60 mm (2.4 in) wider, fresh air inlet moved from hood to the front of the windscreen, better front and rear wipe-wash kinematics, longer arms and larger wiped area, changes in the dashboard: circular speedometer and rev counter, four instead of two fresh air outlets, illuminated switches and remote headlamps shaft regulator.
FSO Polonez 1.4 GLI 16V with Rover 1396 cc engine, 76 kW (102 hp) @ 6000 rpm, 127 N·m (94 lb·ft) @ 5000 rpm, 11,9 s, 178 km/h (111 mph), with or without catalytic converter.
1994 FSO (Prima) 1.4 GLI 16V - race car with Rover 1396 cc engine, 92 kW (123 hp) @ 7200 rpm, 130 N·m (96 lb·ft) @ 6000 rpm, 205 km/h (127 mph), took part in Dutch race competitions.
FSO Polonez Sedan prototype - later produced as the FSO Atu - with 4-door limousine bodywork, with completely new dashboard and upholstery (project by FSO), new rear suspension: rigid rear axle with longitudinal wishbones, reaction bars and coil springs. Rear lamps same as in Caro version.
Two prototypes of the FSO Polonez Kombi (station wagon). The next prototype: FSO Analog 4WD, light off-road car with 4-door pick-up bodywork and four wheel drive.
Export to the UK restarted: FSO Caro (Polonez 1.6 and 1.9 D) and FSO Pick-up (Truck)
1995 The next prototype of the 4-door FSO Polonez Sedan introduced on the 1995 Poznan Motor Show - the car had new a dashboard (see 1994) and new rear lamps.
Lucas brakes introduced.
1996 (February) First series of the new FSO Atu 1.6 GLI sold - produced from December 1995 to February 1996. (June) Mass production of the FSO Polonez Atu 1.6 GLI and FSO Polonez Atu 1.4 GLI 16V, very few cars in FSO Polonez Atu 1.9 GLD specification with Diesel engine. The FSO Atu renamed to FSO Polonez Atu after protests by the ATU insurance company.
Production of the FSO Polonez Caro 1.9 GLD stopped.
1997 (March) FSO Polonez mass production of the new Caro Plus and Atu Plus - the new front grill, bumpers, new dashboard.
End of export to the Netherlands, the last foreign market for Polonez passenger versions; the last offering in the Netherlands consisted of:
FSO Prima (Polonez Caro) 1.6 GLIFSO Prima (Polonez Caro) 1.4 GLI 16VFSO Celina (Atu) 1.6 GLI

Technical data:
- engine: 4 cylinders
- capacity: 1481 cc
- horsepower: 82 HP
- gearbox: 5+1
- top speed: 160 km/h