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==Future==
==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 {{Auto PS|135|0}} engine, or a hard-core {{Auto PS|160|0}} '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 1960s. 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 {{Auto PS|110|0}} 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.<ref name="italiaspeed.com/2007">{{Cite web|url=http://www.italiaspeed.com/2007/cars/fiat/07/500_variants/1007.html|title=10.07.2007 Fiat 500 to generate Cabriolet and Abarth models, as well as potential Wagon and SUV|accessdate=2007-07-27|work=italiaspeed.com/2007}}</ref>
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 {{Auto PS|135|0}} engine, or a hard-core {{Auto PS|160|0}} '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 1960s. 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 {{Auto PS|110|0}} 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.<ref name="italiaspeed.com/2007">{{Cite web|url=http://www.italiaspeed.com/2007/cars/fiat/07/500_variants/1007.html|title=10.07.2007 Fiat 500 to generate Cabriolet and Abarth models, as well as potential Wagon and SUV|accessdate=2007-07-27|work=italiaspeed.com/2007}}</ref>. A stop-start system is also planned to be offered in the near future on the 1.2 and 1.3 Multijet.<.ref name="evo.co.uk/2008">">{{Cite web|url=http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/218757/fiat_500.html|title=17.03.2008 Fiat 500
Fiat 500 stops, then goes, then stops. Etc|accessdate=2008-03-23|work=www.evo.co.uk/2007}}</ref>.


==Production sold out==
==Production sold out==

Revision as of 20:25, 23 March 2008

"Fiat 500" can also refer to the former Fiat 500 "Topolino", Fiat 500 or Fiat Cinquecento (500).
Fiat 500
Fiat 500 in Piazza San Carlo, Turin
Overview
ManufacturerFiat
Production2007-present
AssemblyTychy, Poland
DesignerRoberto Giolito[1]
(Fiat Stile Centre)
Body and chassis
ClassCity car
Body style3-door hatchback
LayoutFF layout
RelatedFiat Nuova Panda
Ford Ka II
Powertrain
Engine1.2 L petrol
1.4 L petrol
1.3 L JTD
Transmission5 and 6-speed manual[2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase2300 mm (90.5 in)
Length3546 mm (139.7 in)
Width1627 mm (64.1 in)
Height1488 mm (58.6 in)
Curb weight865-980 kg (1907-2161 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorFiat Seicento
Fiat 500 in Piazza San Carlo, Turin.

A new Fiat 500 was announced by Italian automaker Fiat on May 5, 2006.[3] Images of the new Fiat 500 were presented on March 20, 2007, and the car was launched officially on July 4, 2007,[4] 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 [5] The car was displayed in the squares of 30 cities in Italy for the launch.[5].

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 500 is almost identical to the concept car Trepiùno, 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 personalized combinations of the 500 that can be made by adding all kinds of accessories, decals, interior and exterior colours and trims.[6]The car is also available with Blue&Me Navigation system.

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 60s, 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 60s. Both the 500 and the bikes floated on the river.[4]

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 at the 74th Geneva Motorshow in 2004. This car featured a distinctive retro-look, with Fiat hoping to emulate the retro-styled Volkswagen New Beetle and success that the BMW MINI achieved in recent years, with the 500 being 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 Stile Centre.[7]

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.[8] The 500 was awarded with 5 stars by EuroNCAP, succeeding the BMW MINI as the shortest car to have a five-star rating.[9]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.

The Fiat 500 passed the Euro NCAP car safety tests with following ratings[10]

"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.[6]

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."[11]

It is rumored that the 135-horsepower Abarth version will make it to U.S. shores after 2010. The car would likely be sold in U.S. Alfa Romeo dealerships after Alfa Romeo (set to return to the U.S. in 2009) retains a firm foothold in the market.[12]

Engines

Engine of 500

At launch three engines are available: two petrol and one diesel engine. All the engines meet the Euro5 standards.[8] 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 CO2 Notes
1.2 8v 1242 cc 4cyl Petrol Template:Auto PS @5500rpm Template:Auto Nm @3000rpm 12.9 Template:Auto kmh 119 g/km
1.4 16v 1368 cc 4cyl Petrol Template:Auto PS @6000rpm Template:Auto Nm @4250rpm 10.5 Template:Auto kmh 149 g/km
1.3 16v Multijet 1248 cc turbo 4cyl Diesel Template:Auto PS @4000rpm Template:Auto Nm @1500rpm 12.5 Template:Auto kmh 111 g/km
Abarth 1368  cc turbo 4cyl Petrol Template:Auto PS @5500rpm Template:Auto Nm @3000rpm July 2008[13]
0.9 SGE 900 cc turbo 2cyl Petrol 66-81 kW (90-110 PS) Planned[14]

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 Template:Auto PS engine, or a hard-core Template:Auto PS '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 1960s. 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 Template:Auto PS 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.[15]. A stop-start system is also planned to be offered in the near future on the 1.2 and 1.3 Multijet.<.ref name="evo.co.uk/2008">">"17.03.2008 Fiat 500 Fiat 500 stops, then goes, then stops. Etc". www.evo.co.uk/2007. Retrieved 2008-03-23. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 20 (help)</ref>.

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 bestselling 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 2007. With Fiat planning to release the 500 soon in many other countries demand is likely to increase further. To cope with this demand Fiat has announced that production has been increased to 200,000 in 2008. The 500 was launched January 21st 2008 in UK.[16] By 2010 production (including the new Abarth, cabriolet and estate versions) is likely to break the 350,000 barrier. [17]

Production to be started in Italy

As a result of the 500's huge success, Fiat is planning to start production of the car in Italy. This will start in the final quarter of 2008, following the upcoming renovation of the Termini Imerese factory in Sicily. Up to 120,000 Fiat 500s a year may be produced there. Fiat wants to increase production at this plant as currently the plant only makes 100,000 cars a year, despite boasting a capacity of 300,000 units.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Road Test: Fiat 500 (2007-)". channel4.com. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  2. ^ "News/Fiat 500 is here". autoexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  3. ^ "News/03.05.2006 Fiat has planned an international operation known as "500 wants you"". italiaspeed.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  4. ^ a b "News/05.07.2007 in a spectacular blaze of fireworks and entertainment the new Fiat 500 arrived". italiaspeed.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  5. ^ a b "Why Fiat is cool again". The Economist. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  6. ^ a b "News/05.07.2007 IN TURIN THIS MORNING THE FIAT 500 WAS INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD'S MEDIA". italiaspeed.com.. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  7. ^ "The Fiat Trepiuno". carpages.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  8. ^ a b "Press Files/Fiat 500". fiatautopress.com. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  9. ^ "Cars with big aspirations: Fiat 500 and Kia Cee'd". euroncap.com. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  10. ^ "Fiat 500". www.euroncap.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  11. ^ "News/24.04.2007 THE FORTHCOMING FIAT 500 WILL BE HEADING TO THE UNITED STATES". .italiaspeed.com... Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  12. ^ "Fiat might bring Abarth 500 minicar to US market after 2010". autobloggreen.com. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  13. ^ "Press Files 19/02/2008 World premiere of the 500 Abarth". fiatgroupautomobilespress.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  14. ^ "News/09.11.2006 IMMINENT ARRIVAL OF GROUND BRAKING NEW FIAT ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS". .italiaspeed.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  15. ^ "10.07.2007 Fiat 500 to generate Cabriolet and Abarth models, as well as potential Wagon and SUV". italiaspeed.com/2007. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  16. ^ "22.01.2008 LONDON EXTRAVAGANZA MARKS UK ARRIVAL OF THE FIAT 500". italiaspeed.com/2008/cars/fiat. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  17. ^ "Fiat 500 sold out in 3 weeks, prompts extra production". motorauthority.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  18. ^ "13.11.2007 FIAT 500 TOPS WHAT CAR READERS' POLL". www.italiaspeed.com/2007/cars/fiat. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  19. ^ "VIDEO: Car of the Year 2007". www.carmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  20. ^ "9th European Car Body AWARD". automotive-circle.de. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  21. ^ "Fiat 500 is clear car-of-the-year winner". autonews.com. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  22. ^ "News 18 November 2007". design-italia.it. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  23. ^ "20.11.2007 FIAT 500 WINS AUTO EUROPA 2008". italiaspeed.com/2007/cars/fiat/11. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  24. ^ "TG Awards '07". topgear.com. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  25. ^ "Auto 1 von Europa 2008 — autobild.de — 05.03.2008". autobild.de. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
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