Pandamonium in London

On Thursday evening this week, (20 July), Pandamonium broke out in southwest London’s Battersea Park, as Fiat Auto UK staged a fun-filled summer party with a difference.

Held to celebrate the extraordinary success of the Fiat Panda, over five million of which have been sold since the original car’s launch in 1980, this was a lakeside party that promised watersports as well as automotive heritage.

Managing Director Giulio Salomone welcomed a plethora of distinguished guests, including Sir Peter and Lady Osborne, Count Adam Zamoyski and Emma Sergeant, Caroline Charles and Enzo Apicella, to the boathouse grounds on the side of the lake, where doyens from the art, design and fashion worlds enjoyed live Italian Baroque music, along with fine Italian food and wine.

Nevertheless, the stars of the evening were not to be found among the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the grissini or the salumi, because revellers were introduced to a talented engineer called Maurizio Zanisi, and his personal creation: Panda Anfibio!

With a supporting cast of official factory cars, including Panda Monster, Panda Alessi, Panda 4x4 and Panda Rally, Zanisi’s self-built Panda Terramare 4 brought a new twist to Panda’s widely acclaimed ‘top dog’ City Car status as he made last minute preparations for a cross-Channel bid the following day!