We are sure the Fiat 500 brings back memories for those who own/owned this small beautiful package. Reliving memories is what Fiat has gone for with the new Fiat 500. This introduction is to celebrate the iconic car that came in 1957, and so a commemorative model has been showcased at the LA Auto Show. It will be the North American market which gets this 2014 Fiat 500 1957 Edition.
This limited edition Fiat 500 has a novel exterior, it will come in three classic colours, a Bianco-painted roof and vintage FIAT emblem which pays homage to the historic Fiat Nuova 500.
The vintage look continues inside with ivory trim and brown leather seats, ivory contrast stitching and ivory-on-grey door panels. Brown leather door armrests and shift boot match the seats, while the special ivory leather-wrapped steering wheel is hand-stitched with brown leather on the 'inner ring' and, of course, the retro-style Fiat logo. Each 1957 Edition will also come with a commemorative brown key fob featuring an ivory '1957' logo.
The car is as Italian as it gets and the 1957 Edition gets improved handling with the help of sport-tuned suspension and all-season performance tyres as standard. Completing the look are throwback Fiat badges on the front fascia and rear liftgate.
Powering this edition is the 1.4-litre MultiAir engine and the C514 five-speed manual transmission. Additionally, an optional six-speed automatic transmission with driver-selectable gear changes is also available. In Sport mode, the automatic transmission offers a more aggressive shift schedule and throttle map for improved engine responsiveness.
The Fiat 500 when released originally in July 1957 had been the “right car at the right time”. This sentiment could not find resonance in the Indian markets when the new Fiat 500 was released here in the latter part of the previous decade. The reason partially being that at the price that it came for one could easily buy a sedan. The Indian market, as we all know, does think big is beautiful and expensive and small equals affordable and cheap. So the Fiat 500 failed to get many takers. However, Fiat is not to blame completely as the car was bought into the country as a completely built unit and import taxes only made matters worse. The car has been discontinued in India for quite some time now.
