An aphrodisiacal beauty : New Cinquecento (Nuova 500)

The new third generation 500, had to be a nostalgic reinterpretation of the old 500, yet be completely new. Like its predecessor, this one too is called Cinquecento (pronounced: chin-que-chento), meaning 500 in Italian. Perhaps the most hyped car of the decade in Europe.

"‘So, you put in lots of green mint toothpaste, which goes to the brakes, which in turn powers the car? Sheer genius!’ ‘How much power should it have? 22,000 horsepower? Perfect.’ ‘Talcum powder mixed into the paint? That way the car will smell nice and fresh? Wow, you’re quite something!’ ‘You’re saying we should make it run on water? Brilliant! It’ll be a smash hit.’ These were some of the inputs that the new (Nuova) Fiat 500’s designers gave to Sergio Marchionne" ... Pablo Chaterji

Well, this time around Fiat decided not to go to it's usual fashioners. They handed over the design boards to kids and asked them to sketch their wits. The idea was to get to the design that was innocent yet mischievous.

And the real treasure was yet to come. With the most stylized launch show ever, Fiat showed what this car means to them. As many as 100 thousand people drove down to Turin to see the truly grande launch ceremony held on the river Po. Did I mistype that? No, this extravaganza took place on the river, not on its banks. (I've recordings of the show. You can request a copy if you want). Enough about the launch. Let's get down to our business. The number business, of course!

So under this tiny little car's nose you get a 1242cc petrol source of power that whips 69 horses and a 1368cc twin-cam version of the same engine which gives you access to 100 horses. If you are for a diesel motor, it will offer a 1248cc, 75 bhp turbodiesel MultiJet (yes, the one in our own diesel Swift).

Let's go inside. Aah! Am I in a Mayback? Well this may sound exaggerated. But honestly, this is what you'll feel when you see its ivory interiors with drops of orange here and there. A touch of luxury and elegance continues from the chrome outside the car to the the decidedly retro dials in the instrument panel.

Sweet, how much do I pay for it? Frankly, you can't buy it because Fiat has no plans to bring it to India in the near future. And even if you plan to get one in Europe, it's not a cheap buy for sure. You will be shelling out at least 14,000 Euros to get one in your garage.

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