Castagna Cinquino, aka another Fiat 500 with a kooky interior
Click on the image above to see a gallery of the the Fiat 500 Castagna Cinquino
Now before you write in and say this isn't a nice interior, notice we didn't say it isn't nice. It is nice. But we do think it's kooky. Castagna is all over the galaxy with its customization choices, but of late has settled on the Fiat 500 for a muse. Castagna means "chestnut" in Italian, and frankly, that's what the interior of this little baby reminds us of.
Outside, the car gets a two-tone paint job and some hand-applied stripes -- the contrasting wheel arches emphasize the car's stance nicely. It also gets a 30-mm lower ride height on Eibach springs, and Brembo brakes with 4-pot calipers on 280-mm discs up front. Under the hood, horsepower has been juiced up to 155, meaning the baby Fiat might crack 120-MPH.
Inside, vintage-finish leather, carbon fiber, and some mocha-colored Alcantara replace the usual fittings. As we said, it's very nice. It's just... very brown. If you're interested, the car is called the Cinquino, the transformation is called "Passion Kit Corsa," and price is, of course, never mentioned. And in case it isn't brown enough for you: Castagna will be happy to make custom-fitted luggage to slot perfectly into the expanded, 40-liter trunk. Check out the hi-res gallery of images below.[Source: Auto Blog Italy]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iOrange 7:48PM (11/27/2007)
I love the interior... I think something is wrong with me.. I 6'2" 190 lbs and love small cars... Bring this stateside!
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Otto Ingineer 8:27PM (11/27/2007)
Mmmm, tasty! Bring it over the pond, quick!
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Brent 8:45PM (11/27/2007)
I really like this car. I was expecting the comments to trash it, but so far I am with the other posters.
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Kattleox 8:47PM (11/27/2007)
I rather like it EXCEPT I think that's a horrible place for the shifter. Aside from that, it looks great.
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Doogs 9:34PM (11/27/2007)
Stateside, please.
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shaofei 9:58PM (11/27/2007)
i use to own a mini cooper. and this car is about the same size as a mini. I really didn't enjoy the mini, it is way too small for real comfort. even if the interior look so fabulous, but lack of room will hunt you. I use to live in LA so the mini didn't feel quite uncomfortable, but now I live in Indiana and the mini is just a pain to drive long distance from state to state. so unless u are sure u want to be squeezed in a tin can this size, then get it.
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Flea 5:31AM (11/28/2007)
I'm afraid this is why FIAT won't be bringing the 500 stateside too soon...one third of US population off the bat won't be able to fit inside comfortably.
and I'm not referring to height...
FThorn 7:20AM (11/28/2007)
Why do you _______ always jump on the fat american stereotype? I watch programming from other countries and we certainly do not have a monopoly on obese folks. I'd say someone else has issues best left to psychoanalysis.
lovice 8:26AM (11/28/2007)
shaofei,
The new Fiat 500 is a segment below the new Mini. The new 500 is an A-Segment car like the Smart Fortwo and Ford Ka, whereas the new Mini is a B-Segment car like the Polo and Fit. In fact, the new 500 is about 3.4 metre in length, which is nearly A foot shorter than the new Mini (which is 3.7 metre in length).
However, because of the new 500's great ergonomics interior packaging (from the new Panda), it's actually got more rear leg room than the longer new Mini. And, more importantly, it's the one A-Segment car on the market today has a five-star NCAP safty rating (mind you the new Audi Q7 scored only four-star in the NCAP crash test).
rick 10:00PM (11/27/2007)
Hell YES, bring it here!
I doubt it will happen since FIAT gave up on us long ago...
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Nick 10:35PM (11/27/2007)
Fantastically cute inside and out, while somehow still having an air of nippiness to it. My favorite modern small car.
Oh, and as far as the stick position is concerned, I've heard it's actually not bad. If you can recall, Honda used the same kind of positioning a little while back in the Civic, and I heard nothing but good things about it (once you got used to it).
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Flea 5:24AM (11/28/2007)
the main reason I think, is it's closer to the steering wheel and thus your hands, so it takes less time to change gear when you need to do it and weren't expecting it.
also, you can kinda see what gear you're in without looking down at armrest-level.
of course, people who are used to have one hand on the steering wheel and one on the shifting knob will find this awkward, but then again, that's a retarded and unsafe way to drive over 15 mph.
Pete 9:38AM (11/28/2007)
Fiat should bring it here but probably won't. Imagine the logistics of setting up the dealer network, servicing, parts inventory, legal hurdles, EPA, etc. and you can see why it's so difficult/impossible. It's too bad. It's an incredible car. And the new Fiats are NOT what were chased out of the US 20 years ago.
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mike 10:14PM (11/29/2007)
Too bad they can't hook up with Subaru.