New Fiat 500 C in the UK

Having made its international public debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March, the new Fiat 500 C, a convertible version of the iconic Fiat 500, goes on sale in the UK on Thursday 2 July – with the UK being the first market in the world to receive the vehicle.

The stylish new Fiat 500 C pays homage to the original 1957 fabric roof Fiat 500, but today’s thoroughly modern interpretation offers customers innovative solutions in terms of mechanical design, engines and comfort.

The Fiat 500 C’s introduction is thus absolutely in line with the authentic Fiat tradition of giving customers access to segment firsts in terms of content and technology, and comes just 18 months after the UK launch of the Fiat 500.

Fiat’s Centro Stile created the 500 C by interacting with the many international communities of Cinquecento enthusiasts – notably the 500 Wants You website – thus reinforcing the position of the model as a car for the people, by the people.

Starting from the basis of the highly successful hatchback, the introduction of a soft top version does not change the winning characteristics of the model, such as its four comfortable seats and its comprehensive safety equipment, but it does add new functions that heighten enjoyment, including easy access to the boot even when the soft top is fully open, thanks to a clever system of parallelogram hinges.

Another strong point of this original convertible version is its exceptional climate and acoustic comfort. Thorough aerodynamic research means that turbulence experienced on the move with the roof open has been reduced to a minimum, allowing full enjoyment of fresh air and the company of fellow passengers.

The decision to re-interpret the original design in a modern idiom, with an electric sliding roof that retains the shape of this classic vehicle, makes the Fiat 500 C less of a seasonal product and one that can be enjoyed the whole year round. In short, all these features make this new vehicle one of the most successful convertibles in the modern city car segment.

The Fiat 500 C soft top stands out for its elegant electrically controlled movements and its impressively finished and carefully selected technical features, from the glass rear window to the third brake light built into the soft top itself. Available in three colours (ivory, red and black), the clever soft top is matched with various paint finishes, including three new creations: a pearlescent Ragamuffin Red, a Tech House Grey typical of high performance supercars, and Goth-Metal Blue.

The new Fiat 500 C has an exclusive feel to its interior, which is embellished with top quality desirable fabrics, including optional Frau leather upholstery, and a long list of market-dependent standard and optional features: from automatic climate control to its innovative Interscope HiFi System, from the Blue&Me Map portable navigation unit to a smart wind-stop, and a new collection of customisable options.

New Fiat 500 C retains the same dimensions as the hatchback (355 cm long, 165 cm wide and 149 cm high) and shares all three of its lively, economical, low emissions power units: the 75 bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel engine combined with a five-speed manual gearbox, together with the 69 bhp 1.2 litre and 100 bhp 1.4 litre petrol engines, both available with manual or Dualogic semi-automatic robotised gearboxes. Each Euro5-compliant engine offers different qualities, but all three are defined by a lively yet sophisticated feel.

The commercial launch of Fiat’s latest convertible ensures that the Fiat 500 continues to be much discussed, and confirms its status as an Italian style icon, able to win over the public and critics worldwide. Clear evidence of its success are the 30 awards it has won worldwide, the 11 million internet users who have visited its website (viewing a total of 200 million pages) and more than 360,000 customer orders for the vehicle received in the 59 markets where it is now on sale.

This is all the more impressive when it’s appreciated that more than half this vehicle’s sales have been recorded outside Italy, (50 per cent elsewhere in Europe and 8 per cent in the rest of the world). In each country where it has been launched, the Fiat 500 has generated enormous interest: in Japan, for example, there have been more than 5,000 orders. It should also be recognised that 80 per cent of Fiat 500 customers select the most expensive features and 90 per cent ask for the Blue&Me system.

In short, as an expression of Italy's pre-eminent automotive design, the Fiat 500 is not merely a super-compact city car, but a real platform upon which Fiat Group Automobiles is building a whole family of cars with advanced technology and great attention to detail. The new Fiat 500 C represents another step forward in this direction.