Fiat replaced the Ritmo range in 1988 with the five-door Tipo hatchback.
It took another five years to understand that the market demanded a three-door version as well.

Ercole Espada designed the five-door version of the Tipo five-doors, and Fiat employed him to make the three-door version as well. The car was ready in a short time, but the Italian carmaker had to wait until the 1993 lineup refresh to introduce it to the market.

The Tipo 3-doors featured a new front fascia with slimmer headlights and a horizontal bar on top of the grille, with the four oblique Fiat brand lines. Since it was based on the 1988 model, it still featured a cubist style design, but it was more rounded this time. On the sides, the body-colored door mirrors fitted better than the black ones from the non-facelifted version. Its B-pillar was black, so the 3-door Tipo looked like a hot-hatch. And, with a proper engine in it, it was one.

Inside, the designer followed the straight-lines theme from the exterior and imagined a dashboard with long and flat surfaces. Even the instrument cluster was designed with angular lines with a grid pattern in the background.

Under the hood, Fiat installed a wide choice of engines. There were four gasoline and two diesel versions. The latter was on an ascending trend on the market, and hence Fiat didn’t want to lose those customers. But with the 143 hp 2.0-liter 16-valves engine, it was a genuine contender for the hot-hatch segment.