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A new Fiat 500 was announced by Italian automaker Fiat on May 5,
2006. Images of the new Fiat 500 were presented on March 20, 2007, and the car was launched officially on July 4,
2007, with 250,000 in attendance. This was the largest launch party held in the last ten years, a testament to the 500's huge popularity
The car was displayed in the squares of 30 cities in Italy for the
launch.
The car is produced at the moment only in Tychy, Poland, by Fiat Auto Poland alongside a sister model, the second generation Ford Ka due for release in 2008, and the other city car in the Fiat range, the Panda.
The
new Fiat 500 2007
The 500 is almost identical to the concept car Trepiůno, presented in 2004. Strictly a four-seater, three-door hatchback and about the same length as the Panda, it is intended to compete both in the city car market and the "fashion car" niche market. The 500 may be badged in different markets as the Fiat 500, the Fiat Nuovo 500, or the Fiat Cinquecento.
The 500 is available with three different trim levels: Pop, Lounge and Sport. Customers can choose also between 15 interior trims, 9 wheel options, 19 decals and 12 body colours. There are over 500,000 different
personalised combinations of the 500 that can be made by adding all kinds of accessories, decals, interior and exterior colours and
trims. The car is also available with Blue&Me Navigation system. Fiat plans to introduce the Abarth version on Tokyo Motor Show 2007.
The launch show
The launch show, which took part in the Turin's Murazzi del Po region, was a huge firework spectacle that also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the old 500 launch. The show was coordinated by Marco Balich, who was also responsible for Turin's 2006 Winter Olympic Games, and was an event never made before for a car launch. Several artists performed during the show, including Lauryn Hill, Israeli dancing group Mayumana and others. In the first part of the show, artists reproduced scenes of the 60's, such as scenes from films by Federico Fellini, a Beatle's show made by a cover band and Marilyn Monroe's iconic Happy Birthday, Mr. President, which became "Happy Birthday, dear Cinquecento" (sung by a Marilyn cover to celebrate the original 500's fifty years). Several bikes also represented the Giro d'Italia competition, filmed by a camera man inside an original 500, just like in the 60's. Both the 500 and the bikes floated on the
river.
The show was broadcast live by Italian Canale 5 and by a live video stream at fiat500.com, which was watched by over 100,000 people online.
Concept
2004 Fiat Trepiuno concept
The design of the new 2007 Fiat 500 is based on the Fiat Trepiuno concept introduced in 74th Geneva Motorshow in 2004. This car featured a distinctive retro-look just like the Volkswagen New Beetle and BMW MINI but may well be substantially cheaper than those cars, with a starting price of €10,500. The basic price is 10,500 euro in Italy; with options 15,000 euro. Trepiuno was designed by Fiat Style
Centre.
Safety
The new 500 has seven airbags (five in the UK-spec models)in all models except the "naked" (sold only in Italy) version. There are also electric aids available such as ABS brakes, ESP (electronic stability program), ASR (antislip regulation), HBA (hydraulic brake assistance) and hill holder
device. The 500 was awarded with 5 stars by EuroNCAP, succeeding the BMW MINI as the shortest car to have a five-star
rating.Fiat also said that the 500 was engineered so that it will be able to achieve a six-star rating when
EuroNCAP starts to adopt this classification.
"500 wants you"
A project called "500 wants you" was launched by Fiat as part of a major online advertising campaign. The project uses the Internet to involve the public in planning the evolution of the new vehicle. The official 500 internet page has been visited by over four million
people.
New 500 in US
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has indicated that the United States may receive the newly designed Fiat 500. “Sooner or later it is a possibility that the 500 will arrive on the American market,” he said, adding “but it will not happen now, probably after
2010."
Engines
At launch three engines are available: two petrol and one diesel engine. All the engines meet the Euro5
standards. The 1.3 Multijet is equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) as standard.
|
Name
|
Volume
|
Engine
|
Fuel
|
Output
|
Torque
|
0-100
km/h,s
|
Top
speed
|
|
1.2
8v
|
1242 cc
|
4cyl
|
Petrol
|
69 PS
(68.1 hp/50.7 kW) @5500rpm
|
102 N·m
(75 ft·lbf) @3000rpm
|
12.9
|
160 km/h
(99 mph)
|
|
1.4
16v
|
1368 cc
|
4cyl
|
Petrol
|
100 PS
(98.6 hp/73.5 kW) @6000rpm
|
131 N·m
(97 ft·lbf) @4250rpm
|
10.5
|
182 km/h
(113 mph)
|
|
1.3
16v Multijet
|
1248 cc
turbo
|
4cyl
|
Diesel
|
75 PS
(74 hp/55.2 kW) @4000rpm
|
145 N·m
(107 ft·lbf) @1500rpm
|
12.5
|
165 km/h
(103 mph)
|
|
0.9
SGE
|
900 cc
turbo
|
2cyl
|
Petrol
|
66-81
kW (90-110 PS)
|
|
|
|
|
Abarth
|
1368
cc turbo
|
4cyl
|
Petrol
|
99
kW (135 PS)
|
|
|
|
Future
Fiat is planning to expand the 500 range far beyond the current hatchback model. The first new version will be the Abarth 500. Powered by Fiat's 1.4 multiair turbo engine, the Abarth will be available with a standard 135 PS (133 hp/99 kW) engine, or a hard-core 160 PS (158 hp/118 kW) 'ss' version incorporating the Alfa Romeo Q2 Torsen C limited slip differential. Fiat was originally planning to unveil the Abarth at the Bologna motor show, but due to unprecedented demand for the 500 Fiat has been forced to delay the official launch of the Abarth 500 until the 2008 Geneva motor show. Sales of the Abarth 500 are likely to start in LHD markets in the Summer of 2008, and will be launched in RHD markets towards the end of 2008.
A cabriolet version is planned, with sales starting in early 2009. Fiat are also likely to go ahead with a 500 estate, in homage to the 500 giardanetta of the 1960's. An S.U.V version is being considered by Fiat too. If it gets the go ahead Fiat will launch this model in 2011. The 500 will be one of the first cars to receive Fiat's new generation of small engines. The all new 0.9 turbo engine will be launched in the winter of 2008. This will replace the 1.2 and normally aspirated 1.4 engines. This engine will be available in 90 and 110 PS (108 hp/81 kW) forms. As these engines are lighter than the engines they replace, performance will be improved. The big plus about these engines is not the added performance, but the extra fuel
economy.
Production sold out
The 500 has enjoyed phenomenal sales success so far. Within 3 weeks of the 500's launch the entire years production of 58,000 had been sold out. To date, Fiat has received more than 80,000 orders for the 500. 40,000 have been sold. Amazingly, the Fiat 500 isn't available yet in many major markets. While Italy obviously has been the 500's main market, (This October 9,000 have been sold in Italy, making it the 3rd
best selling car there) the 500 is gaining a strong following in many countries. Fiat France had received more than 10,000 orders by the end of October.
With Fiat planning to release the 500 in Japan, the UK and Ireland among others, demand is likely to increase further . To cope with this demand Fiat has announced that production has been increased to 200,000 in 2008. It seems likely that demand will still outstrip supply though, Fiat UK have already received more than 6,000 pre-orders for the 500 despite the fact that the 500 isn't to be launched until February. By 2010 production (including the new Abarth, cabriolet and estate versions) is likely to break the 350,000 barrier.
Production to be started in Italy
As a result of the 500's huge success Fiat is adding production of the 500 in Italy. This will start in the final quarter of 2008, following the renovation of the Termini-imerese factory in Sicily. Up to 120,000 500's a year may be produced here. Fiat wants to increase production at this plant as currently the plant only makes 100 thousand cars a year, despite boasting a capacity of 300 thousand units
Awards
What Car? readers' affections 2007
CAR Magazine: Car of the Year 2007
EuroCarBody 2007 award
European Car of the Year for 2008
The World’s Most Beautiful Automobile (City Car and Small Car
category)
AUTO EUROPA 2008
Fifth Gear: Best Small Car 2007
Top Gear: Best 'City Car' 2007
HISTORY
The
classic Fiat 500, a direct descendant of which is set to become an
automotive star in 2006, has just qualified for The Guinness
Book of Records, as, earlier this month, more than 750
Cinquecentisti created the world’s longest one model traffic ‘jam’
at over three kilometres in length!
More
than 5000 enthusiasts gathered at Garlenda in Italy for the 23rd
International Fiat 500 Owners Meeting, to watch 500 Fiat 500 cars create
the largest 500 insignia in the world on the Dei Fiori racecourse at
Villanova d’Albenga. Then, as the ‘convoy’ headed off towards
Casanova Lerrone, it exceeded the two miles in length required to beat
the record.
2007
was the 50th anniversary of the Fiat 500, and it will also be the eve of
the new Fiat 500 launch, so the Fiat 500 Club Italia, organisers of the
event, are calling on Fiat 500 owners and fans from around the world to
start making preparations to travel to Italy for the biggest Fiat 500
event in history.
FIAT
Adventure concept car
Fiat
500 | Bravo
| Doblo
| History
| Multipla
| Panda
| Punto
| Sedici
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