Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Fiat 500 - First official pictures break cover!

Bellissimo! Just as we were promised at the 2004 Geneva Show, the all-new 500 remains faithful to the Trepiuno concept which stirred quiet a fuss with its retro-looks that were inspired from the legendary 500 of the 50’s. Based on a slightly modified version of the Panda platform, the modern 500 follows in the steps of BMW’s MINI; while its historic predecessor was built to fulfill basic needs for transportation, this one is more of a niche city car. And just like the “Bavarian” MINI, the Fiat 500 will offer a wide range of customization options and extras thus allowing buyers to personalize their vehicle. –Continued: Click “Read More…” below

The new 500 will go on sale in July where it will be offered for starters with Panda’s 1.2 & 1.4 16v petrol engines delivering 60 & 100 Hp respectively and the 70Hp strong 1.3 turbo-diesel. As Fiat has already announced, next year we’ll see the addition of the “anti” Cooper S –albeit significantly cheaper, Abarth version. Although this is pure speculation, we’ve been hearing rumors that it’ll be fitted with the Grande Punto Abarth’s 1.4 T-Jet engine that pumps out 150Hp. Later on, Fiat will also add a Cabrio version, though we don’t know for sure whether it'll get a soft-top or a rectractable hard-top.