Fiat Australia is importing a special edition 60th Anniversary Fiat 500 as a tribute to the original cute-as-a-button, and very Italian, Fiat 500. Soon given the pet name of Cinquecento, the tiny four-seater (yes, four!) first went onto the road in 1957.
The 60th Anniversary Fiat 500 is only sold as a cabriolet, it features classic styling cues, with a vinyl dashboard, the vintage logo on the front and a chrome finish on the bonnet.
Its dual-colour body paintwork has a three-layer white for the lower sections of the body, and a pastel ivory for the bonnet and upper body and pillars. The two areas are separated by what Fiat calls a ‘waistrail’ in grey and burgundy. The fabric roof is done in a lighter grey.
Chromed door mirror caps look great. A 560 logo (500-60 years) adorns the door pillars and the chromed sills.
The interior has retro details, with the tubular elements of the seats in ivory leather and contrasting burgundy seams. There are even bespoke dual-colour car mats.
It may be lovely and retro in its appearance, but underneath this 500 is all the latest in technology. The instrument display uses a TFT screen, there’s a 7.0-inch Uconnect touchscreen system with Bluetooth, USB and Aux ports. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be used.
Power comes from the standard 500 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine. Sadly from my point of view the 60th Anniversary is only been imported with an automated manual gearbox, Dualogic Automated Transmission in Fiat-speak. My wife Julie loves this gearbox in her Fiat 500 by Gucci, but I would rather have a three-pedal car…
Fittingly, only 60 60th Anniversary editions are coming to Australia, each will have a numbered limited edition nameplate on the console at the rear of the front seats.
The 60th Anniversary Fiat 500 special edition is now on sale from $28,990 plus on-roads through Fiat dealerships across Australia. The ship bringing them Downunder will arrive in March.
