The 500 is heading to China with the exclusive “First Edition”: 100 numbered vehicles created by Chinese artists

The 500 is heading to China with the exclusive “First Edition”, a limited edition model with only 100 vehicles produced, numbered and enriched with graphic motifs created by 5 young Chinese designers.
The “First Edition” precedes the official Chinese launch of the 500, set to take place on 15 September this year. Everyone who orders a 500 before the launch will be entered in a prize draw: the winners will have the option of replacing the car they have ordered with a “First Edition”.

The 500 “First Edition” is conceived as a symbol which unites two cultures - Italian and Chinese - through a creative interpretation of the relationship between the two countries, by five young Chinese artists.
The first designer is LeiLei, an avant-garde artist who has won many important awards in China and in other countries. His work features extensive use of elements from national popular culture. The second young designer is Mee Wong, an illustrator and teacher at the Guangzhou Art Institute. Her favourite creative element is the panda, the animal which symbolises Chinese culture. Asian tradition is again the inspiration for the third artist, Benny Luk, a multi-award-winning designer of international fame, who combines graphic and web design. Next is Nod Young, a visual artist with a unique style whose artwork has been exhibited in many countries, including the UK, Germany, the USA, Italy, South Africa and China. Drawing and illustration master Yan Wei completes the lineup. She employs traditional Chinese patterns and her works have been displayed in some of the most famous art galleries of Shanghai, Beijing, New York and Tokyo.

Designed on the basis of the 500 Lounge, the “First Edition” is distinguished by its three-coat pearlescent white body, red leather interior and a unique identification badge displayed on the door pillar. Under the bonnet, a 1.4 litre MultiAir petrol engine, winner of Best New Engine at the prestigious “International Engine of the Year Awards 2010”. Combined with an automatic six-speed transmission, the innovative engine delivers a top power of 101 HP (75 kW) at 6500 rpm and a torque of 133 Nm at 4000 rpm.

As well as the 100 “First Edition” vehicles, the 500 in China will be available in a wide range of versions and special series; next year will see the launch of the 500C and the exclusive special series, “500 by Gucci”. “By the end of 2012, the new saloon version will be produced entirely in China at the Changsha factory along with our partner GAC” Lorenzo Sistino, Executive Vice President International Operations of Fiat Group Automobiles recently announced.

Fiat Panda: 2,000,000 units produced in the Fiat Auto Poland factory

Another historical milestone for the Panda and for the Fiat Auto Poland plant in Tychy, where it is produced. The 2,000,000th Fiat Panda has just rolled off the Polish production line. The car in question is a Cross version finished in Pasodoble Red and powered by the brilliant 75 HP 1.3 MultiJet.

Launched in 2003 and marketed in 76 countries worldwide - from Italy to Russia, Mexico and Japan - the second series of the Fiat Panda is more than a city-car. It is a genuine "platform" on which Fiat Automobiles has created an entire family of cars with the technology and attention to detail of a higher category. This gave us the undisputed and growing leadership in its market segment. In the first six months of 2011, the Fiat Panda was the car with the highest sales in segment A both in Italy, with a 35.3% percent share, and in Europe (EU 27+EFTA), with a 16.6% percent share during the period January - May. Note that almost half of the Pandas produced were sold abroad as proof of how much the model is appreciated around the world. This market success was also confirmed by its numerous awards, including the prestigious title of Car of the Year 2004.

Recently upgraded, the Fiat Panda range includes engines (petrol and diesel) with Euro 5 type-approval. In addition, the customer can choose between different versions (Active, MyLife and Dynamic).

Operative since October 1992, the Fiat Auto Poland factory in Tychy has to date produced 6.2 million vehicles. It is one of the most modern plants in the worldwide automotive industry as also proven by the "World Class Manufacturing" Silver Level certificate. So it is not by chance that the Fiat Panda achieved first place in the city car category in the reliability league table published by ADAC (German Automobile Club).

The prestigious target of Tychy marks a further step in the long history of a model that last year celebrated its thirtieth anniversary and more than six million models sold the world over. For that matter, the "Panda" model is part of Fiat's heritage, which represented a new and unmistakable way of seeing the everyday relationship with the car in automotive history and Italian society: more immediate, more natural, easier. That's why, over time, the Panda has become almost a brand, with strong emotional value, to which Italian and European drivers are always profoundly attached.

500 wins the 12th edition of the 'Compasso d'Oro' ADI award

The Fiat 500 won the Compasso d’Oro ADI (ADI Golden Compass), Europe's oldest and most prestigious design award. An international panel chaired by Arturo Dell'Acqua Bellavitis and made up of industry experts selected the Fiat 500 and presented the trophy to Roberto Giolito, Fiat Design director, who attended the awards ceremony yesterday held in Rome at the Pelanda Museo Macro del Testaccio.

Established in 1954 and held every three years, the Compasso d'Oro resulted from an idea of Gio Ponti and for years was organised by the Rinascente department store to highlight the value and quality of Italian design products as the sector was in its early stages. It was later given to ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale - Industrial Design Association), which since 1964 handles its organisation and supervises its impartiality and integrity.
The almost 300 award-winning projects from more than 50 years of the award's history, together with the almost 2000 selected with Honourable Mention, are gathered and preserved in the Historical Collection of the “Compasso d’Oro ADI” award, which since 2001 has been entrusted to the ADI Foundation. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage declared the collection "of exceptional artistic and historic interest", and as a result included it among the national heritage.

With this prestigious acknowledgement, the Fiat 500 continues to capture attention and confirms its standing as representing the best of Made in Italy because it masterfully combines an innovative and original design with the most advanced technology in the field of engines, safety and on-board comfort.
Additionally, with the prestigious 5-star EuroNCAP and 40 awards it has won internationally to date, the new car has proven that it is not merely a super-compact city car, but an authentic platform upon which Fiat Automobiles is building a whole family of cars with technology and attention to detail worthy of a higher category.
Now at its 12th edition, it is the second time that the “Compasso d’Oro ADI” award has been given to a Fiat model. In 2004 it was the new Fiat Panda that won the coveted recognition, proof that both models - heirs of two icons of the international automotive industry - express the very best of Italy's manufacturing capabilities combined with a design that has often anticipated future trends in the world of automobiles.

Until 25 September 2011, at the Pelanda Museo Macro del Testaccio, the public will have the chance to admire all of the products that took part in the competition and those published in the 2008-2010 triennial in the ADI Design Index yearbook. The yearbook is the award's preselection, totalling nearly 400 new design objects. Also on display until 25 September at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni is the historic "Compasso d'Oro" exhibit, with 300 award-winning products from 1954 until today in the various editions of the award. Both exhibits are part of the activities organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification.

Fiat 500 By Gucci

Hit the road in true Italian style. Introducing the Fiat 500byGucci, the special edition Fiat 500 customised by Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini, in a collaboration with Fiat’s Centro Stile. Available in shimmering black or white with custom Gucci features, this exciting new icon of Italian design is available at our Hassocks dealership now.

Gucci's iconic detailing is in abundance outside and in, with the signature red-green stripe running along the entire exterior and continuing inside on the seats and seatbelts. Step inside and you'll see contrasting ivory and black interiors with bi-colour steering wheel and two-tone leather seats sporting the unmistakeable ‘Guccissima' print.

The Gucci touches are everywhere. The colour co-ordinated alloys feature the interlocking GG and as the final flourish, the cursive Gucci signature
appears on the rear and side door.