Romeo Ferraris Preparing Insane Fiat 500 Abarth with 300-Horses

Once upon a time, not too long ago, 300-horsepower was considered sports car territory. For example, in 1989, the BMW 850i Coupe came with a 300HP V12 under its long hood while the Ferrari 348's V8 also churned out 300HP. Heck, up until 2009, the Ford Mustang GT was powered by a 300HP V8.

Nowadays, 300HP has become something like Five Dollar Foot-long subs with even the smallest of cars like the Fiat 500 reaching the magic output number with a little help from the tuning industry.

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Posted on 05.27 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat Joins Pink Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in the U.S. with Limited Edition 500

The Chrysler Group through the Fiat brand is the latest carmaker to support the efforts of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), which raises awareness of the disease, and provides funding for research into a possible cure.

Fiat's contribution comes in the form of the new 500 "Pink Ribbon" limited-edition model, of which 250 examples will be sold in the United States through the firm's official dealerships beginning from October.

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Posted on 07.33 / 0 comments / Read More

Video: Jennifer Lopez Shakes it for the New Fiat 500C

While we were busy bringing you all the news from the 64th International Auto Show in Frankfurt, Fiat USA released their latest commercial for the newly launched in the States, 500C open-top city car, starring Jennifer Lopez.

This is the first but not the last ad to show the hot 42-year old pop star as Fiat has enlisted Lopez to promote the new 500 in more commercials that will appear gradually throughout the year. If you try hard, you may notice the 500 taking a backstage role in the promo...

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Posted on 13.40 / 0 comments / Read More

IAA 2011: Abarth Turns Fiat's 500 City Car into the 695 Competizione

A new version of the 500 city car was Abarth’s most important model at the 64th IAA. As you can probably tell from its name, the Abarth 695 Competizione is a hardcore version of the normal Abarth 500, and it also pays homage to the company’s race-tuned cars of the past. Read more »

Posted on 06.45 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat 500 by Gucci Makes Chic Debut at Italian Firm's Manhattan Store

The limited edition Fiat 500 by Gucci made its way to New York city and Gucci's fashion store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Appropriately, the two Italian brands brought over fashionistas, tastemakers and catwalk models including a couple of ladies that were disturbingly anorexic skinny (like the one pictured on your right), to create some fuss around the Fiat 500 trimmed by Gucci.

"In the ‘50s, the Fiat 500 created a style revolution when it first hit the road. It quickly became the must-have car of its time," said Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini.

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Posted on 12.53 / 0 comments / Read More

Abarth to Unleash Punto SuperSport and two Special Editions of the 500 in Franfkurt

The Fiat Group’s Abarth division will display three “specialties” based on the firm's Punto supermini, the 500 and 500C softop models at September's Frankfurt Motor Show.

First up is the Abarth Punto SuperSport featuring a “Grigio Campovolo” two-tone color scheme with silver bodywork and a matte black bonnet and roof, along with “SuperSport” decals on the side, the tailgate and the mirrors, plus a set of 18-inch alloy wheels with red brake calipers.

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Posted on 14.53 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat’s Frankfurt Carmageddon: AWD Freemont, 500 “by Abarth” and 500C “by Gucci”, Plus Two New Editions of the Qubo

If you think that Fiat would be content with two premieres at the Frankfurt Motor Show, both of which belong to important segments for the European market, you wrong. Apart from the Nuova Panda and the revised, MultiAir-equipped Punto, the Italian company has a bunch of other models as well.

The Dodge-derived Freemont, which was initially available with front-wheel drive only, now gets an all-wheel drive. It utilizes an on-demand AWD system with an electronically controlled coupling that sends power to the rear wheels only when its slip sensors detect a loss of grip at the front axle.

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Posted on 13.04 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat 500 by Gucci Series Coming to NY Fashion Week

A stylish car associated with one of the most exclusive names in fashion needs the appropriate introduction. And that’s why Fiat chose to launch the 500 by Gucci edition of its subcompact car in the US at next month’s New York fashion week. Read more »

Posted on 06.50 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat May Miss 500’s North America Sales Target in 2011 Due to Delays in Store Openings

Fiat’s 500 sales in North America will likely fall short of the initial target of 50,000 units in 2011, because of the delays in opening new stores. Currently, the brand has opened 100 out of the 130 stores planned for the US this year.

The Italian company chose to open new stores instead of using the existing Chrysler dealer network, in order to differentiate its niche product. However, the original plan, which called for most delaers to be operational by February, failed since at that time only about a dozen were ready.

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Posted on 11.21 / 0 comments / Read More

Rumors: Fiat to Expand 500 Range with New Models Including Crossover

Banking on the success of its new 500 hatch, Fiat plans to enhance the small car's range with a variety of new models within the next two years according to Autoweek.

The first new addition to arrive in North America is the Abarth, the sportiest version of Fiat’s city car that's already available in Europe. The Abarth 500 is powered by a highly-tuned 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder delivering 180HP and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque.

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Posted on 06.31 / 0 comments / Read More

Fail or Win? Lady Drives Fiat Cinquecento with the Handbrake On

While we could understand if someone forgot to release a broken or a loose handbrake that allows the rear wheels to turn around with some difficulty, how can you drive a car on the road with the rear wheels completely locked down and not take any notice?

And that's exactly what we have in this video starring a lady behind the wheel of a green Fiat Cinquecento (which was the 500's predecessor in the Italian brand's range).

Not only did she forget the handbrake on, but she doesn't even pay attention to the young men trying to inform her about the brake. Follow the jump for the video.

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Posted on 13.53 / 0 comments / Read More

Zagato Disavows Scagliarini 504cze, Threatens With Legal Action

Yesterday, we published the news about a limited-production Fiat 500 by American design house Scagliarini Motorsports called the 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata. Scagliarini claimed in a press release that the car was inspired by the 500 Zagato Coupe launched in Geneva last March, and even used the Italian company’s name.

However, Zagato contacted us today and stated that it has no involvement whatsoever with Scagliarini’s project, nor has it granted permission for its name and logo to be used. Therefore, it intends to use all necessary legal actions in order to protect its individual property.

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Posted on 05.01 / 0 comments / Read More

Most US Buyers of Fiat 500 Prefer their Cars Customized – and Expensive

Fiat has returned to the American market after 28 years – and it has done so in style with its colorful city car, the 500. Besides having already sold 7,982 cars since March with 3,038 deliveries in July alone, Fiat seems to be reaping great profits from its small model.

That’s because American buyers apparently like to personalize their 500 by choosing pricier editions and adding numerous options. As a result, prices go up generating bigger profits for the Italian brand.

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Posted on 04.48 / 0 comments / Read More

Scagliarini Motorsports Creates One-off 4x4 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata

American-based design house Scagliarini Motorsports has unveiled its latest creation, the 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata, or 504cze. As the name implies, the car is inspired by Zagato’s 500 Coupe concept that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last March. Read more »

Posted on 11.53 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat 500 by Gucci Goes Topless, Priced from €20k

With the "500 by Gucci" hatchback having already logged some 3,000 pre-orders online, Fiat wasn't about to let a good run go to waste. Today, the Italians announced the release of topless version that goes by the name "500C by Gucci". Read more »

Posted on 06.07 / 0 comments / Read More

Mopar Launches More than 150 Accessories for U.S. Market Fiat 500

Fiat says there's already more than 500,000 ways to modify the 500 city car between paint finishes, graphics, and seat colors, but for those that would like a few more customization options, the Chrysler Group's Mopar brand is adding more than 150 different accessories to the range.

The available parts range in price and style from a simple $21 locking gas cap to a spicy $1,400 body kit. In between options include custom key covers priced at $48, a $399 roof rack and $409 body-stripe graphics.

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Posted on 14.16 / 0 comments / Read More

New Hyundai Azera and Fiat 500 Abarth Confirmed for LA Show

Ah Twitter; the land of 140-characters where you can follow anyone without creeping them out has lately turned into something like a news board for automakers.

Instead of releasing an announcement on their respective websites, Fiat and Hyundai chose the social network to broadcast their 2011 LA Show debuts, which include the 2012 Azera and the 500 Abarth.

Starting from Hyundai, the South Korean automaker that could, will bring to LA the North American market version of its next generation Azera sedan, which has already been launched in its home market as the Grandeur.

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Posted on 14.34 / 0 comments / Read More

Naughty Fiat 500 with a Very, Very Suggestive License Plate

We’ve seen some pretty weird license plates over the years, some funny, some meaningful, some witty and others just plain nasty. No need to explain why you’d be better off staying very far away from the one pictured above.

The…suggestive license plate belongs to a Fiat 500 city car that was spotted at a South African showroom by autoscardesign reader Jeff G.

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Posted on 12.30 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat Marks 500 Launch in China with 100 “First Edition” Models

The first Fiat 500 to make its way into China was presented today in Shanghai by Fiat Group Executive Vice President for International Operations, Lorenzo Sistino.

To celebrate the launch, Fiat crafted a special version named 500 “First Edition” featuring bodywork graphics by five young Chinese designers. The special edition will be available in a limited run of just 100 numbered units ahead of the city car’s regular launch in China on September 15.

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Posted on 13.56 / 0 comments / Read More

Fiat to Display 21.7-liter Mefistofele and 500 by Gucci at Goodwood Festival

Fiat’s major attraction in this year’s Goodwood Speed of Festival, which begins tomorrow, will be the famous Mefistofele. The record-breaking classic, which is based on a 1908 Fiat SB4 Corsa, returns after a decade to Goodwood and will be displayed in the “Cathedral Paddock” area. Read more »

Posted on 12.40 / 0 comments / Read More