When the chairman of Fiat wanted a new yacht tender, he needed only to turn to his designers and engineers to achieve it. The result of Gianni Agnelli’s wishes, offered to the public in limited numbers beginning in 1957, was the “Jolly de Plage,” or Joker of the Beach. Based upon the standard Fiat 500; the Jolly boasted reinforced open bodywork with a cheerful surrey top, wicker seats that would have been at home on one’s patio, and no doors. It was built by Ghia, the noted Italian coachbuilder with whom Fiat enjoyed a long relationship, and so it exhibited excellent build quality and an appropriately high price tag, more than double the cost of a standard 500.

For much of the 1960s, the Jolly was the car in which to be seen at European resorts, favored by members of the space age jet set.

The Jolly offered here is an exceptionally rare model based upon the Fiat 600, running a 28.5 horsepower, four-cylinder engine, as “hot” as a Jolly ever got, and in its day, it was considered an upscale, premium model. It is believed that fewer than two-hundred 600 Jollies were produced, less than half of which have survived.

This particular car is finished in a coral tone, and along with the famous wicker seating has rubber floor mats and a new “Sunbrella surrey top which was recently installed. The Fiat has a manual transmission and is stated to be “mostly original with new paint.” The Jolly sports a solid, rust-free body, BFGoodrich whitewall tires, original Ghia cloisonné badges, and is reported to be well-maintained and unmolested.

The result is a Jolly that is “Riviera-ready” in all respects, and as a bonus, it boasts the most desirable and powerful 600 drivetrain, which is most desired by collectors.