In the 1950s in Italy, the market for larger tractors was dominated by crawler tractors. In 1951, Fiat introduced a completely new crawler tractor model, the 55, which had horsepower corresponding to its model number. In 1954, the same technology was utilized to introduce the first large Fiat wheeled tractor, the 55 R.

The engine of the 55 R was a direct-injection, slow-running 6.5-liter four-cylinder diesel. The base version was started with the help of a 2-cylinder gasoline engine. Electric start was an optional extra. It had 5 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. A hydraulic lifting device was not even available as an option at first.

A couple of years later, the power was raised to 60 hp, and the model designation was increased accordingly. In 1958, power reached 70 horsepower, and the engine speed was also increased.

In 1961, the engine displacement was increased to 6.9 liters by increasing the cylinder bore by three millimeters. The power rating was now recorded as 80 hp. In terms of other technology and design, the tractor remained almost unchanged. The 80R was known in Finland as the Fiat 100. Alongside the wheeled tractors, the crawler tractors experienced similar power increases. Their sales were still much more significant in the 1960s than those of the wheeled tractors, whose annual production numbers were around one hundred units.

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