Fiat Panda

Fiat is angling to become the world’s greenest car manufacturer – and at the heart of its plan is its promising new Panda Aria.

The model is making its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. And although the five-door machine looks standard on the outside, nearly every component has been radically redesigned in an attempt to reduce the Panda’s fuel consumption and its impact on the environment.

Inside, the seats are upholstered in cotton and linen, and stuffed with woven coconut fibre and biodegradable heating elements. Meanwhile, the body panels are made of a natural resin and treated with opaque paint.

These key changes also see the car’s weight reduced and its aerodynamic performance improved. There are even special tyres from Pirelli, to help reduce rolling resistance.

Under the bonnet, the Panda’s two-cylinder engine is claimed to return up to 90mpg, while emitting only 65g/km of CO2. Other pollutant levels are also reduced, and Fiat says the powerplant will be so clean, it will comply with strict new EuroV exhaust emissions regulations, and even meet the forthcoming EuroVI standards. To improve efficiency further still, the car is fitted with an electric stop-start sys­tem and a semi-automatic gearbox. These combine to make the very most of the engine’s performance.

While on-sale dates for the Aria have yet to be officially revealed, it’s thought the newcomer could arrive in dealers in 2009. Entry-level models would be powered by a 64bhp normally aspirated evolution of the unit, while flagship machines could get a new 105bhp variant.

And the Panda won’t be the only Fiat that benefits from this engine; it’s being developed to drive the all-new 500 as well. Rumours also suggest the firm is working on another small model to sit below the 500. This would revive Fiat’s famous Topolino badge, and rival a new breed of ultra-efficient sub-city cars from VW and Toyota.