The history of the Polonez begins at the end of 1972, when a successor to the 125p model was planned. In 1974, an agreement was signed between Pol-Mot and the Italian FIAT group to entrust the design work to the Italian side. That same year, design work began at Centro Stile Fiat. The first prototypes of the car, designated 125PN (Polacco Nuova Polski Nowy), were created as early as 1975.
The name was chosen based on a readers’ poll conducted by the Życie Warszawy newspaper in 1978. The new hatchback body featured modern aesthetics and, for the time, a significant level of safety.
