So, something's happening on July 4th then?

Yup.

Something to do with Fiat?

Yep.

A facelift of the 500 hatchback perhaps?

That's right.

Ah, good. Any more details.

Er, no. Not as such. Fiat has been reminding us how the original 500 was launched into a hungry Italian market on July 4th 1957, that it was defined by Dante Giacosa (genius) to be cheap to build and run, that the canvas roof was there to save weight not be a convertible and that for 490,000 Lira, all you got was two cylinders and 13hp.

That didn't stop 3.6 million of them being sold and of course, Fiat repeated the trick in 2007 when it produced the current 500, paying close homage to the original. Since then, 1.5 million have been sold and this year sees the first major update of the car.

So what do we know about it?

Not actually all that much. Fiat is being tight-lipped with the tech details but we know that the exterior styling will only be lightly tweaked. Bigger changes are likely inside - the 500 will get a uConnect touch screen and some electronic updates that will allow options such as keyless entry. It doesn't look as if there will be any significant engine changes although the existing units will probably be upgraded slightly to keep their CO₂ levels under control.

Neil Briscoe - 11 Jun 2015