Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Ferrari Edition.

If you own an Italian masterpiece adorned with a prancing horse, your good fortune is likely tempered with a few mechanical or electrical maladies. If and when that happens, most of us would expect an expensive loaner to take our minds off of our troubles, but team Ferrari has a "better idea." Fiat has created 200 special edition 500s that are done up to Ferrari standards, including red paint, a top notch sound system, electric sunroof, automatic climate control, a black steering wheel with red stitching and 16-inch aluminum wheels. Although the stock, 100 hp 1.4-liter engine remains, the exhaust has been tweaked to provide a bit more growl. Since Fiat is keeping its run of limited edition 500s to a minimum, the automaker will also provide a numbered kick plate to show off where each model falls in the production run.

While the "Ferrari Edition" 500 is a sweet limited edition model in its own right, we're not sure if we would dig getting one as a temporary replacement for our Scuderia. Call us snobs, but the Quattroporte or a Alfa 8C Competizione is as low as we're willing to go.

[Source: Carscoop]

The Ford Ka has been a prime example that the Blue Oval can be successful at making little cars, even if they kind of look like basketball shoes. After 12 years of service, it's time to shake things up a bit. The next Ka shares mechanicals with the stylish Fiat 500, and after scoping the first unofficial pics from Auto Express, the Ford will be just as cute as its Italian sibling. Designers did manage to heavily differentiate the Ka from the 500, skipping the rounded lines in favor of edgier lines and details that reinforce Ford of Europe's styling language. Think micro-Fiesta, and you've got the picture.

Since it's for European consumption, it'll have no less than three powertrains from the get-go, with a 68 hp 1.2L, a 100 hp 1.4L, and a 1.3L, 50 mpg diesel. Rumor has it that a hotter Ka ST is on its way as well, with 150 hp coming from a turbocharged 1.4L engine. Interior refinement over the outgoing model comes courtesy of better materials and improved ergonomics.

We're still a few months away from the Ka's official unveiling at the Paris Auto Show in September, but we like what we see so far. Besides, if it's good enough for Bond, it'll be good enough for us. The Ka will be produced in Poland and it'll go on sale in Europe by the end of the year.

[Source: Auto Express]

Fiat has confirmed it will be producing a convertible version of the 500 and although a launch date has yet to be announced, Fiat brand styling director Roberto Giolito revealed that the model is on its way... at some point.

Giolito also announced that the 500 cabrio will feature a fabric roof, and not a retractable hard-top, citing improvements in materials that remove many of the drawbacks associated with cloth roofs. The entire Fiat group does not include any hard-top convertibles, although several have been reported to be in the works, including the upcoming Ferrari California. However, the more expensive MINI convertible, which the 500 cabrio will invariably target in the marketplace, also uses a fabric top.

[Source: just-auto.com - sub. req'd]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth Asetto Corse

Fiat is in attendance this week at the famous Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy and it brought with it a whopper of a small car to impress the crowd. On hand is the Fiat 500 Abarth Asetto Corse, a full race version of the little iconic car that sports a screaming 200-hp turbocharged 1.4L four-cylinder that also produces 220 pound-feet of torque. Power is routed through a six-speed gearbox on its way to a set of 17-inch track white ultralight racing wheels that totally look the part. Make no mistake, this is a real race car and a special one-make championship series is being planned that will put it on the most famous race tracks across Europe next year. Only 50 will be made, however, so entry is exclusive.

While we don't know the price yet, your bag of Euros will get you a 500 that's kitted out with an aerodynamic package that adds a front spoiler, big rear wing, fender flares at all four corners and two new hood-mounted air intakes to feed the turbo. The interior has been stripped to save weight, which now stands at just 2,050 lbs., and a racing roll bar has been installed to protect the driver who now sits closer to the center of the car to improve weight distribution and driving feel. The Asetto Corse gets big Abarth badges all around and a pastel grey with red striping livery. The one on hand at the Mille Miglia is No. 00/49 and a pre-production prototype, so there are still plenty left for those who've always wanted a 500 race car.


[Source: World Car Fans, Italiaspeed]

Click above image for a gallery of the Novitec Fiat 500

Fiat's retrolicious 500 is designed to transport people with panache, if not punch. Novitec's specialty is both bringing the punchbowl to the party and then spiking it. Sure, the tuner tweaks the likes of Alfa and Ferrari, but the everyman isn't left out either, as evidenced by the new collection of mods it's now made available for the Fiat 500.

500 drivers can add a subtle front chin spoiler, new wheels and tires, and suspension updates to improve the car's already appealing looks. On the performance side, Novitec has come up with an exhaust upgrade and a pair of power packages. The 1.3L Multijet turbodiesel gets bumped from the stock 70 horses to a stouter 83, and the 1.4L gasoline engine gets an even more substantial boost. In standard form, it makes 100 horsepower and 96 lb-ft of torque. With Novitec's supercharger, it jumps to 131 horses at 5,200 rpm and 126 lb-ft of torque at 6,200 rpm.

Yes, these numbers are topped by the upcoming 500 Abarth (quite dramatically, in fact -- the Abarth makes 155 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm), and the factory hot hatch probably makes more sense for new shoppers looking to combine the 500's looks with better power the moment they drive away from the showroom. with the Novitec mods, however, early adopters who grabbed the huggable little hatchback as soon as it arrived now have some power options of their own, too.


[Source: Novitec]

Since its debut last year, the new FIAT 500 has been one of the most talked about small cars in Europe. Now people in Berlin can share their thoughts on the 500 with th everyone in the immediate vicinity. A pair of billboards installed near the former Checkpoint Charlie reflect the words of passers-by. Along with videos and other messages, the 3,100-square foot boards also invite viewers to send a text message to a special number. The messages then scroll across a 65-foot wide ticker on each board. Presumably the messages are moderated in some way (either human or automated) before they appear on the boards, otherwise this PR stunt could get very interesting.

[Source: Fiat]

Click above to view Castagna's Fiat 500 wagon in hi-res

Unrelenting. That's the only way we could describe the Fiat group's assault on the MINI with more models than a Victoria's Secret photoshoot. While its sister brands Alfa Romeo and Lancia prepare their new retro-hatches to out-flank their Anglo-Saxon opponent, the Fiat division itself is branching out the 500 like a willow. Following the original hatch came the Abarth sport model, which will be followed by the cabrio, and then, as sources indicate, a longer wagon variant. The latter will target the new MINI Clubman, but without all the weird doors.

We got our first look at a Fiat 500 wagon in the ramp-up to this year's Geneva Motor Show, where carrozzeria Castagna showed off its wood-sided Cinquocente estate. Like its MINI wagons, which the coachbuilder crafted ahead of the factory's Clubman, Castagna's woodie wagon previewed the vehicle that may revive the classic Giardiniera nameplate used on the original 500 estate. Rather than stretching the wheelbase, the overhang will simply be extended, reducing costs and retaining the same front end as its more compact counterpart. Aluminum roof-rails are also tipped to join the more utile package, which could hit the market as early as 2010.

[Source: Auto Express]

Click above for high-res gallery of the O.CT Fiat 500

Fiat's neo-500 has been warmly embraced by tuners, and Austria's Oberschider Chip Tuning (O.CT) has turned its focus to the teeny tiny 'talian. The car is purposely designed to evoke the 1960s, so why should the performance numbers be any different? Even with tuning, the horsepower from the 1.3 liter diesel is still under 100, though a bump from 75 to 90 is useful. Even better, torque goes up to 133 lb/ft from 107 in stock tune. It's enough to whack a full three seconds off the 0-60 time, though Corvettes will have covered a quarter mile in the same amount of time. Of course, speed is only part of the equation, and there are wheel upgrades in several colors to punch up the visual ante, too. With all the tuner support popping up for the 500, anticipation for the car's arrival in the U.S. market is beginning to reach Episode 1 levels.


[Source: Inside Line]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth

Nestled between designer-edition Bugattis, drop-dead drop-top Alfas and suped-up Maseratis, it'd have been all too easy to miss something as small as the new 500 Abarth. But that would've been a big mistake, because the scorpion-emblazoned, hot little retro number is one of the most compelling sports models on display at this year's Geneva show.

This version packs a 135hp turbo four – not exactly Veyron-beating power, but promises to be plenty to shoot the turbocharged mini-fridge around every corner in Rome like a carnival ride. Plus the Fiat performance division from its new factory in Turin is working up a 160hp kit that also kicks the visuals up a notch, but as you can see in the gallery below, the scorpion's venom is already thoroughly laced with grappa. Press release after the jump.

Click image for photo gallery

This morning, we brought you a Fiat-provided doodle showing a super-deformed 500 Abarth meant to give us a gist of what to expect when the Italian automaker pulls the cover off the Scorpion-emblazoned performance variant. What we didn't expect was that we'd be seeing official images on the same day we posted the sketch. Thanks to Carscoop (and one of its generous readers), we've got exactly that.

The first four (of many, we're sure) official images show the Nuova 500 dressed in the equivalent of a tracksuit and running shoes, with a full bodykit consisting of a new front spoiler, side skirts, and rear bumper with a nifty-looking diffuser insert through which a pair of rolled exhaust tips peek. Black, Scorpion-emblazoned 5-spoke wheels with silver and red accents sit inside the hot hatch's flared fenders, while the endlessly-cool Abarth shield adorns the nose, rear quarters, and hatchback lid. Flashes of red make their way onto the rearview mirrors, brake calipers, and side stripes, too. Inside, the leaked cutaway drawing shows us read seats with matching door panel inserts. The whole thing is very butch...like a little bulldog puppy, and it's bound to be one of the stars of the show when the doors are thrown open in Geneva. We can't wait to see it in person.

[Source: Carscoop]