It was 50 years ago, on 4th July 1957 that Fiat introduced the "Nuova 500", the cheeky little rear-engined replacement for the Topolino. With an eye on history, Fiat has chosen the 50th anniversary of that date to launch the new 500, which goes on sale in Europe immediately after that launch. Those of us in the UK will have to wait a bit longer with sales expected to start early next year (2008).
We've known about the 500 for some time now. The Trepiuno concept car shown at the
2004 Geneva Motor Show was so well received that Fiat just had to build it. In the same way that the MINI captured the essence of the 1950's Mini, so Trepiuno captured the essence of the Nuova 500. That rounded shape, the cute little round eyes (headlamps) and the clamshell bonnet; they were all in place - yet at the same time up to date.
Some things have changed since the Trepiuno was shown. The concept only had three + one (Trepiuno can be loosely translated from Italian as 'three plus one') seating with just an occasional space behind the driver, where as the new 500 has seats for four. And of course just as the VW Beetle changed from a rear-engined car to front engined, front-wheel drive, so has the new Fiat 500. The new 500 has also grown; the thought of a Nuova 500 being put through the Euro NCAP tests doesn't bear thinking about. It's still very compact though - just 3550mm long and 1650mm wide - but bear in mind that this is larger than the last "500" - the '90s Cinquecento - and a full 250mm longer than the Trepiuno concept.
The new Fiat 500 is built in the appropriately named Tychy plant in Poland and uses engines familiar to Fiat owners and fans. The 1.3-litre 16v Multijet turbodiesel engine develops 75bhp, while two petrol alternatives (a 1.2-litre 8v developing 69bhp and 1.4-litre 16v developing 100bhp) will also be available from the start. Both five- and six-speed gearboxes will be available depending on the engine.
The new 500 is sure to appeal to the same buyers who have made the MINI such a success. It's just a shame we in the UK will have to wait so long.
Trevor Nicosia - 23 Mar 2007
