Fiat’s new 500
Newswheel staff :: 21 March 2007 :: Filed under Hatchback, Fiat, Europe & UK
[Click on an image to view]
They did the decent thing...
When Fiat wheeled out the petite but perfect Trepiùno concept back in 2004, it looked like a no brainer for the transition to full production. This, surely, was exactly the type of chic and sophisticated city car the Italian firm did better than everyone else. And precisely the sort of car Fiat needed to be making to secure the company’s long term future and resuscitate its flat-lining brand. Three years of umming and ahhing later, Fiat has done the decent thing and revealed the final production version of the new 500, due out later this year…
Production 500 (top) pretty much a ringer for the Trepiùno. Shame the only changes that have been made slightly spoil the concept’s purity. Chrome accents and fussy rims we can do without.
At first blush, the new 500 appears to be a virtual dead ringer for the 2004 concept. Almost every detail, from the shut lines to the glass house and all the major panels are extremely close to the Trepiùno. Predictably, where the production car does deviate slightly (scope the dodgy chrome detailing, naff alloys and more conventional door handles). Also worth noting, on the production car, is the slightly longer wheelbase and consequently marginally larger rear quarter glass.
Anywho, the new 500 is being launched to chime neatly with the 50th anniversary of the original Nuova 500, which first appeared in 1957. To be produced at Fiat’s facility in Tychy, Poland, the new-age 500 keeps the faith with extremely compact overall dimensions, measuring 355 cm long, 165 cm wide, 149 cm tall and sporting a wheelbase of 230 cm.
Three engine options are on the table, a 75 bhp 1.3 16v MultiJet turbodiesel and two petrol engines, a 69 bhp 1.2 8v and a 100 bhp 1.4 16v. Cog swappers take the form of five- or six-speed manual gearboxes.
The 500 goes on sale on the Continent in July. Back in Blighty, we’ll have to hold until early next year. Over and out.
Posted 02 April 2007, by Marco