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 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.The car is also available with Blue&Me Navigation system.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Fiat chief technology officer Harald J. Wester revealed there are two new small cars in the works and the 500 minicar will be sold in North America, although he didn’t give a timeline. He also confirmed the car would be produced at either a U.S. plant or one of Fiat’s existing facilities in South America.
| Name | Volume | Engine | Fuel | Output | Torque | 0-100 km/h,s | Top speed | CO2 | Notes |
| 1.2 8v | 1242 cc | 4cyl | Petrol | 69 PS (68 hp/51 kW) @5500rpm | 102 N·m (75 ft·lbf) @3000rpm | 12.9 | 160 km/h (99 mph) | 119 g/km | |
| 1.4 16v | 1368 cc | 4cyl | Petrol | 100 PS (99 hp/74 kW) @6000rpm | 131 N·m (97 ft·lbf) @4250rpm | 10.5 | 182 km/h (113 mph) | 149 g/km | |
| 1.3 16v Multijet | 1248 cc turbo | 4cyl | Diesel | 75 PS (74 hp/55 kW) @4000rpm | 145 N·m (107 ft·lbf) @1500rpm | 12.5 | 165 km/h (103 mph) | 111 g/km | |
| Abarth | 1368 cc turbo | 4cyl | Petrol | 135 PS (133 hp/99 kW) @5500rpm | 206 N·m (152 ft·lbf) @3000rpm | Jul-08 | |||
| 0.9 SGE | 900 cc turbo | 2cyl | Petrol | 66-81 kW (90-110 PS) | Planned |
December 9th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
hello my name is juan bernal enteresan’m buying a fiat but I live in the U.S. and that price is as could bring to the United States thanks JB