Fiat cars

2011 Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato

Next to the 500 by Gucci, Fiat also brought the 500 Coupe Zagato to the Geneva Motor Show. This 2+2 concept was created by the Italian company in cooperation with Zagato and is inspired by the namesake predecessor built in the 1950 by the famous Italian coach-builder.

The concept comes with a completely revamped exterior style and a more aggressive appeal. In addition, the unique shape of the roof features the characteristic "double hump", the true emblem of Zagato, teaming the lowering of the car with retaining excellent interior comfort. The concept will be distinguished by burnished chrome exterior elements, 17" "chrome shadow" wheels with a brand new double spoked shape and synthetic inserts.

The concept is powered by a TwinAir engine that delivers a total of 105 HP and 155 Nm of torque at 2,500 rpm.

UPDATE 03/15/11: While it was first introduced as a concept, the quirky Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato may be green-lighted for production soon. Designed by legendary Italian design house Zagato, the stylish concept Fiat 500 could be designated with a ’limited edition’ tag, and even better, could also make its way in the US. If these prove to be accurate, there’s no telling what kind of changes will be made from the concept version, although as a limited edition model, we can expect it to keep some of custom features that makes this Fiat 500 Coupe stand out from the rest.

Hit the jump to read more about the Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato.

2011 Fiat 500 by Gucci

The Fiat 500 is living proof that a high-end lifestyle doesn’t always mean driving the biggest and most powerful four-wheeled machines on the planet. Thanks to the 500, you can still enjoy the finer things in life while not having to sell your soul for the name of luxury. The marketing boys over at Fiat have found a new way to infuse these two tenets in one small and cute package by striking a partnership with noted Italian luxury brand, Gucci.

Seeing as both groups are celebrating anniversaries of some sort this year – Fiat is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy whereas Gucci is celebrating its 90th birthday - it seemed like a logical move to join forces and, well, celebrate together, all in the name of the red, white, and green. The special edition 500 was born from a collaboration between Fiat’s Centro Stile and Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini. The car will be on the stand at the Geneva Motor Show together with a Gucci pop-up store within the Fiat stand.

UPDATE 05/09/11: US fans of the Fiat 500 by Gucci will be happy to know that the Italian automaker has approved the availability of the special edition hatchback to the US market. Featuring several styling cues inspired by the world-famous fashion house, the 500 by Gucci is a true collector’s piece for any fan of both brands. Also, Fiat has released a set of new images for the car posing with - what else? - a hot model. Good times all around!

Find out more about the Fiat 500 by Gucci after the jump.

2011 Geneva Motor Show Preview

The biggest international auto show of the 2011 calendar year is getting closer and closer to opening its doors when the event kicks off on March 1st, 2011. Unlike recently concluded auto shows we’ve had since the calendar turned to 2011, the Geneva Motor Show is always the one that gets our juices flowing. Not that those other events weren’t any good, but Geneva brings out all the goods. All the big boys come out to play at this event, so much so that making this preview took more days than we expected because everyday, a new model was being announced as attending the event.

Now that the Geneva Motor Show is less than two weeks away, we feel like it’s time to give you a sneak peek on what cars to expect at the event. A lot of brands that routinely skip other auto shows will all be in attendance at the Geneva Motor Show, proving that without a shadow of a doubt, this Swiss spectacle is one of the most important - if not the most important - events in the automotive calendar.

Hit the jump to check out just who will be in attendance when the show opens its doors on March 1st, 2011.

2011 Abarth 500C Anniversario by Romeo Ferraris

At the end of 2010 Romeo Ferraris unveiled the Abarth 500 Estremo, but now the company is celebrating their 25th anniversary and an occasion like that calls for a much more stylish and special vehicle: the Abarth 500C Anniversario.

The car is painted in a two-toned fully chromed exterior paint, which captures the attention with its unique reflections, but does not dazzle in the sunlight, as the percentage of chromium does not exceed 60%. The top is painted in silver chrome, while the lower is painted in red. The exterior kit is finished by a new set of 17" wheels wrapped in high performance tires.

Under the hood, the 1.4 liter turbocharged engine has been tuned with a new air filter, turbocharger (this also includes turbo accessories), a downpipe with fresh catalytic converters. The result is an increase of 63 HP up to a total of 203 HP. The competition kit is finished with new Brembo parts (280 mm rotors and four-piston calipers for the front axle).

2011 Chicago Auto Show Preview

Fresh off of the 2011 North American International Auto Show, the next major auto event is ready to kick off in a little over a week’s time at the Windy City in Chicago. From February 9th-20th, the Chicago Auto Show will be the center of the automotive universe - in the US, at least - and is expected to draw a sizable number of manufacturers from all over the world.

Here at Topspeed, we make sure that you’re on top of everything as it pertains to these type of shows and just like Detroit, we’re here to give you a low-down on what cars to expect at the Chicago Auto Show.

We’ve compiled a list of cars that are scheduled to make their production debuts in Chicago, and to give you a better idea of what models to expect, we have the full low-down on all attending brands and the respective models that they’re expected to unveil next week.

Details after the jump.

2011 Fiat Freemont

As Fiat turns over a new chapter in their partnership with Chrysler, the Italian automaker is getting ready to introduce a new member to their already growing family, the Fiat Freemont SUV.

The Freemont, which is based on the Dodge Journey, is one of the first vehicles to be born out of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance and is set to make its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show with sales expected to begin sometime around the latter part of the year.

Pricing for the Freemont is still being kept under wraps with Fiat opting to release spec details of the new SUV leading up to its debut in Geneva this March. The Freemont is set to be produced at the company’s Mexican plant of Toluca where it will share the same roof as that of another Fiat vehicle that’s also making its way north of the border: the US version of the Fiat 500.

UPDATE 02/15/11: Fiat has just released more photos of the Fiat Freemont, particularly the SUV’s pretty spacious interior, including that impressive center console with chalk-full of unique features. Check them out in the gallery after the jump.

UPDATE 04/09/11: Fiat has finally opened the Freemont up for sale in Italy. Details on the prices can be found after the jump.

Details on the Fiat Freemont after the jump.

2011 Fenice-Milano La Dolce Vita Gold and Diamonds 500C

Okay, just reading the name of this car should make everyone wonder just how much it is going to cost, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that. First let’s introduce the car. The Abarth 500C is typically no more than about $25,000 and features lots of little goodies, like that four cylinder inline engine that delivers a weak 140hp. Now add a tuning package from Fenice-Milano that consists of a little bling bling, and now this expensive ride starts to sparkle.

Just how expensive is this little car? Well, take the base Abarth 500C, add 24k gold inserts and an Apple iPad Supreme Edition made out of 24k gold and diamonds, and now you got yourself a $660,000 vehicle. That’s right, that is what a Chinese customer ordered and paid for this bedazzled 500. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Intriguing? Hell yeah!

Hit the jump to read more about the Fenice-Milano La Dolce Vita Gold and Diamonds 500C.

2010 Abarth 500 Estremo by Romeo Ferraris

A standard Abarth 500 develops a total of 135 HP, but how about cranking it up a few notches and almost doubling the output? The package capable of this comes from Romeo Ferraris and is called the Estremo (that’s Italian for extreme). Their package develops a total of 260 HP and can be ordered for both coupe and convertible versions.

The car is painted in Blu Pozzi, an exterior color reserved for supercars like the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB. The exterior also gets ice cap chromed mirrors, opening vertical doors, and "260 hp Far" applied on the hood and tailgate .

For the interior, the tuner is has chosen tobacco colors for the grain leather coating for the sports seats and all the plastic parts (instrument panel, door panels, rear panels, pillars). The sun visors and surface of the trunk get special carpeting and Alcantara.

In order to obtain the 260 ponies, the tuner has modified the parameters of the ECU and replaced most of the standard components of the engine compartment with high-performance products (turbine, injectors, pistons, camshaft, flywheel intercooler and front).

Fiat 500 makes artsy US debut at Exhibitalia in Miami

With the increasing number of tuned-up and special edition Fiat 500s being released recently, it didn’t really come as a surprise to us that Fiat was going to do something unique with the 500 to introduce itself to the US market.

And wouldn’t you know it, they actually did.

The setting was the four-day Exhibitalia event in Miami where Fiat was on hand to participate in its first American art exhibit. During the four-day event, the Italian automaker displayed an array of vintage and new Fiat 500 models, showcasing the model’s iconic Italian design.

Fiat’s involvement at the Exhibitalia event at the Art Basel in Miami also included the participation of a number of renowned artists and two student teams from the University of Miami, all of whom worked on the car as their “inspiration and canvas” in the creation of their artworks. While others opted to create designs using certain body panels of the little hatchback, one such artist – Christian Balzano – decided to use the whole car and turn it into his own personal Fiat 500 Art car.

As far as US debuts are concerned, you have to hand it to Fiat for doing its part to ensure splashy debut for their popular 500 hatchback.

Short Press Release after the jump.

2010 Abarth 500 Monza

The Fiat Abarth 500 has become one of the more popular hot hatches to sprout special editions these days and this Abarth 500 ‘Monza’ edition is no different. Limited to only 10 units, this limited run hot hatch pays tribute to the legendary Italian racetrack just north of Milan.

Though it’s not as fancy and as flamboyant as many other special edition 500s we’ve seen in the past, the Abarth 500 Monza’s combination of sound and simple aesthetic interpretation and surprising performance power makes it a real collector’s dream. The fact that only ten people in the world can have a chance to own one makes it that much more enticing.