1957. Italy was having a ball. La dolce vita was in full swing and Italians were on the up and up. Along came the original Fiat 500, or Cincuecento, to enliven things that much more. It’s hard to understand nowadays how exciting it is to see a nation get motorized, but the 500 helped Italians along and get over the World War doldrums.
Now, you Americans will be able to get a taste of that fabled time in recent Italian history. Fiat has cooked up an even more retro 500, Called the 1957 Edition, which seems to be an American special.
If you get it, you’ll be able to enjoy Fiat’s Multiair 1.4 16v engine good for 105 ponies mated to a manual or an auto 6 speed. More important than that, this special edition features a brown leather interior with sand colored details. Exterior colors are very 50-ish too: baby blue, water light green and white. The wheels are a modern take on 50s hubcaps and are 16 inches. According to sources, the suspension is calibrated in a more sporting set up. Finally, Fiat logos are done in the style of the 50s.
To be even more perfect I’d have called it Edizione 1957 to complete the Italian-ness. Call me jealous.
It’s nice to see that blue again.
Ditto. And body-color steelies with tiny dog dishes.
My first awareness of anything outside the house was in the late ’50s. The car colors available then will always rule my hypothalamus.
agreed. The green one is very beautiful too. Why anyone would buy this car in plain white is beyond me. Unfortunately, pics of the interior were not included in the article. It’s a trip!
Good Morning, Marcelo!
Yes, the pastel shades of light blue and green are always my favorites. Actually, I’d seriously think of directing my wife’s attention to one of these after checking the crash ratings, but we’d have to drive 150 miles to the nearest dealership.
BTW, the 16″ standard wheels show that Fiat understands American tastes:
Small car + big wheels = Cute :-D
Small car + tiny wheels = Clown o_O
The white walls, what about those white walls?
Good morning Kenmore, lie2me! Know what, I’m one who doesn’t really care for special wheels and whatnot, but these ones are very cool! However, 14 or even 15 would be nicer.
Kenmore, great definition BTW. Now I know the difference, lol!!!
I can post a link to fix that, lol.
http://cdn.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Fiat-500-1957-edition-6-625×416.jpg
I do like the interior. Has anyone had/been in a current 500? Does it feel quality made?
Rode in a rental Pop-level automatic. Better than I thought it would be, certainly equal to the new small Chevy’s. Not sure how it will hold up long term, however.
The only weird part was two average-size guys have their shoulders pressed together. You can feel the narrow much more than in something like a Mini.
“I’m going for a gear change, this will involve man touching!”
LOL one of the funniest Top Gear moments, in that Stratos.
Heh. It’s a good thing they didn’t re-issue the original, much smaller 500 of 1957. In that one, for a gear change the guys would have to know each other really well. I imagine it would work great with a female teenage hitchhiker. BTW, has anyone even seen someone hitchhiking anymore?
I own a ’13 Abarth. It has officially now been the most reliable new car I have bought, 0 issues in 9 months, beating my BMW which had 1. Very solid car. I’ve had the non-turbos as rentals and loved them but I wanted to Autocross it (which it does very well) and the Abarth is the only one allowed to race. No rattles or squeaks, even with the much firmer Abarth suspension. About the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
I LOVE this special edition – make mine green! My biggest disappointment in the Abarth are the lame color choices.
To put the size in perspective, it has just about exactly the same interior room as the ’84 Jetta GLI I drove in college. Probably more back seat room actually. it is no narrower inside than an old Saab 900.
My mother bought a baby blue Simca 1000 in 1965 with blue wheels and white walls. That picture of the 500 brings back a lot of fond memories.
Great car. If it’s the car I’m seeing in my mind’s eye, all modern hatches owe that car a hat tip. The forerunner of the Golf before Giugiaro took the idea and ran with it.
Indeed!
And the Agnelli family members fully embodied the Italian Industrialist-Millionaire-Playboy-Jetset image.
indeed. I can see them in their wooden hull speedboats that were all that at the time. The name of the boat, I can’t remember. Lake Como, Amalfitana coast (is that the right name?). Good times to be an Italian, jetset or not!
The “GQ” and “GUCCI” editions are even more right out of a Sophia Loren movie. Those are chrome trim rings that I thought were white walls. The price looks to be about $20K based on what it comes with. No cabrio option at this point, but it really needs one
i agree, the cabrio specially. I loved the Gucci edition, the seats, the Italian tri-colors, all of it, except for the Gucci tags. That pushed it over the top for me. Too fashionista.
SWEET ! .
I’ve been liking that green already , now I have an excuse to go by the local FIAT Dealer and test drive one .
Did they mention the MSRP ? .
-Nate
you really should Nate! Then write up a report for us all. This news is very recent. I haven’t found mention of price anywhere yet.
I would never consider a 500 but this edition has me thinking. I already drive a Dodge after all…
If only it had the Cruze 1.4T under the hood instead of the Fiat 1.4T.
Honest question: what do you think is wrong with the Fiat Multiair?
It’s not what’s wrong with the Multiair, it’s that the Cruze 1.4T has 33 more horsepower. 138 hp over 105 hp is a BIG difference in a small car. I think the main purpose of the Multiair is to get the CO2 level down below the proposed 95 grams/km in Europe, not power output.
MultiAir does have a lot of emissions advantages, like internal EGR where they can open the intake valve whenever they want on the exhaust stroke. But it also has power and fuel economy gains because the intake valves don’t have to run on a fixed cam profile. Think if it as VTEC, but with many many different profiles instead of just 2.
The 1.4T in the 500 scoots. In the heavier Dart, the main complaint seems to be that it feels sluggish under 3000rpm, which is understandable as it needs to build more boost to move the metal. Once the steam is on, it pulls pretty good in that car IMO.
We haven’t even begun to see the potential of MultiAir yet. Just wait until it’s combined with Direct Injection and Turbocharging.
agreed with danio. Pretty much all engineers i’ve ever talked to seem enamored of the Multiair and see a long career ahead of it. GM’s unit seems more traditional though there’s certainly nothing wrong with it.
It had a ton of development behind it before it was introduced, something like 11 years in the making with Fiat. And that was for the basic version. So they aren’t about to cast it aside. It’s very complex to calibrate, but with time will see more and more improvements.
Having driven the 1.4 in the 500, I found it to be a dog with very poor throttle response – it had to be thrashed to go. Likewise, the 1.4T in the Dart is also very sluggish.
Puhleeze. 160HP/170 lb. ft. for the 500 Abarth and 135HP for the 500 Turbo. Power comes on early and stays on.
I’ve driven the Chevy… some historical perspective: great for a small Chevy, but not in the same class as the Abarth.
Aw how cute. Some women will be excited to purchase it.
Not the ones that work here
guess my name is Marcela then, lol!
Super post, Marcelo. Wish I could’ve gotten that color on my Abarth! Or the green.
Thanks! Always good to see you posting General.
Heh.. then just call me Jennmore.
Although the Jenn-Air corp may be contacting me.
That’s pretty sweet, especially with the historical context. But like the early years of the Miata, people who had no concept of cars like the Elan just derided it as a “chick car” for a decade or so.
Racing stripes, a power bulge on the hood and flame decals take care of that. Did the SEMA shindig have any 500s?
I remember when the first pickups with automatics were called “chick trucks”, and Mercedes SLs with automatics were called “trophy wives’ cars”. It’ll pass.
I bought a 2013 MB E350 BlueTec for my wife and it’s a wonderful, comfortable car, excellent for long drives along the California coast (well, just about anyplace, lol). But it doesn’t put a smile on my face like the one I sport while driving my ’12 Abarth or my ’81 X1/9, for that matter.
Chevy Cruze? Better than a Cavalier. Chevy Sonic? Better than a Chevette. Different strokes for different folks.
i’m not really going to knock on the latest round of small chevies since i’m 42 yrs old and these have been the only chevies that over that relatively long life span have been the only chevies i’ve took a shining to. This Fiat is different. Call me a disbeliever when it came out. It’s made a convert out of me. Like the original, it’s classless in the sense the driver could be anything from a millionaire to a walking, working stiff. Therein lies the cimcuecento’s charm. It’s a car for literally everybody. Everybody with a pulse, non sequitor.
Cost option donut or standard puncture repair kit?
The Gucci was only in black or white – but I liked the concept. Does cabrio add to highway noise & vibration? Would take the powder blue. Is this sourced from the new polski place? There’s an unlucky country in 1957. Much better to be Italy surrendered and half bombed to bits then live under communism or Spanish/Portuguese baby IKE hugged dictatorships. Couldn’t see IKE or RMN together in this car.
From what I’m seeing it’ll be built in Mexico and sold only in the US and Canada.
Nice article Marcelo.
Thanks 28!
A baby blue original:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304868404579193991024131728