As its name implies, the heavily modified Italian hatchback gains a new layout with a mid-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive. Of course, such a radical change is not an easy task with the company having to re-engineer the entire vehicle.
Among other changes, the rear seats of the production model were dropped to create space for the engine while there’s also a new rear suspension set-up and a high-performance braking system with 335mm front- and 305mm rear- discs coupled with four-piston calipers.
Read more »
Scheduled to go on sale this May, the new 2012 500C will be offered in two trim levels, the base Pop that is priced at $19,500, and the better-equipped Lounge, priced at $23,500. According to Fiat, the 500C is the only four-seat cabrio in the U.S. market. However, Fiat’s definition of a ‘cabrio’ is loose -to say the least- given that the 500C comes with full frame doors and columns, simply adding a rollover canvas top in place of the metal roof.
According to the Dutch press release, the 500 was gutted and modified with a roll cage, new fuel tank, and an integrated limiter to ensure the right speed. Check out the stunt and interviews in the video below.
Read more »
Two of the three factors which will help American manufacturers' sales stem directly from the tsunami in Japan a month ago: factory shutdowns have limited parts/vehicle availability, while the yen gained value as the Japanese are expected to repurchase some currency for disaster mitigation.
Read more »
Today, our pondering came to an end as the Marketing and Communications director of Autopolis Luxembourg dropped the first real life shots of the car in our mailbox. We believe Fiat should have released these photos instead of the 'chop from the beginning, but we'll give them props for keeping a close eye on the web-o-sphere and swiftly reacting to our post.
In this case, we didn't find a press announcement, but that doesn't necessarily mean the story is not true. However, the picture that has been floating around on several websites has definitely been doctored, and we say this not only because the colors are off, but mainly because we found the original image. Hoax or not, we must say that the 500 Abarth looks awesomely cool in those traditional racing colors.
*Update 1: Un point to the folks at Auto55 for sending in the official press release from Fiat Belgium (added after the jump) confirming the Gulf model - but not the photo, as we've already proved.
*Update 2: The guys from Autofan e-mailed the press photo in its original compression. Apparently, Fiat mastered the photoshoped image...
The starting point of the build is a Fiat 500 Convertible Abarth. As the car's name suggests, at the unnamed client's request, there is abundant use of gold. On the outside, the golden pearlescent white painting includes 24K gold particles while the precious material also adorns the body trim and wheels. The electric fabric roof top is finished in black.
The Detroit Show Mopar 500 appears to be far less impressive than the concept shown by the same division at last year's SEMA gathering, with the overall styling bringing to mind the accessories found on Mopar's "10' Limited Edition Challenger". Details and photos after the jump.
Expected to go on sale in March 2010, were hoping it’ll look pretty similar to Audi’s funky Metroproject Quattro Concept, although it is expected to be more compact; think along the lines of its competitors – the MINI & Fiat 500.
Powerplants will include a (what’s the point?) 86bhp 1.2L, a 122bhp 1.4L and a 170bhp turbocharged unit. Diesel fans will be given a choice of 1.6L or 2.0L oil-burner.
[Source: Autocar]
