Meet all the 500s!

Here’s one for the Fiat family album! It’s the entire new 500 line-up – brought together for the first time.

As our exclusive main picture shows, the range has something for everyone as the Italian brand seeks to maximise the appeal of its retro city car.
Auto Express has already been impressed with the top-of-the-range model, and only last week we reported how this year’s production run has sold out. Company bosses hope this is only the tip of the iceberg, and that a series of additions will help to propel the tiny hatchback up the sales charts.

First, UK buyers will get the regular three-door, with an entry-level car priced from less than £11,000. It will hit UK showrooms in January, joined by flagship models designed to take the fight to the new MINI. The range will then be expanded with the addition of a hot Abarth variant, a cheeky cabrio and a practical estate.

The sporty Abarth will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, and go head-to-head with the MINI Cooper S when it arrives here in 2008. A trio of 1.4-litre turbocharged engines set the hot hatch apart from lesser models, and the basic version will deliver 135bhp. A more powerful S variant comes with 150bhp and the scorching 595 SS is expected to offer an impressive 200bhp. Uprated brakes and firmer suspension will ensure all the Abarths stop and handle as well as they go, and the sporty models also get a host of visual tweaks.

Flared wheelarches accommodate bigger alloys and the bodywork will benefit from a rear spoiler and lower, more purposeful side skirts. Inside, the Scorpion-badged cars come with supportive bucket seats and generous standard equipment. Prices for the trio of tuned 500s are likely to start from around £15,000.

Sun lovers will also be catered for because bosses have confirmed plans for a 500 Convertible, which is expected to hit the road in 2009. It will build on the retro-inspired looks of the standard car with the addition of a traditional fabric hood.

Its space-saving design is cheaper and more compact than the latest gen-
eration of folding metal roofs, and should allow room for a pair of rear seats. The convertible will get the same high-quality interior as the tin-top, but there will be even more scope for per­sonalisation. That’s because customers are expected to get a range of coloured hood fabrics to choose from on top of the 12 paint colours and 19 sticker combinations already available.

If you want more practicality to go with the 500’s glamour, a three-door load-lugger will feature an extended roofline to boost practicality. As with the Sixties original, it’s expected to bear the name Giardiniera, and will provide more room for rear passengers and a decent boot.

Like the convertible, the Giardiniera will share its engine line-up with the regular hatch, so buyers will have the choice of an entry-level 69bhp 1.2-litre motor, a 100bhp 1.4-litre unit and a 75bhp 1.3-litre Multijet diesel.