NF500 / new baby

During a broad ranging conversation held with Fiat UK head of marketing Peter Newton this week, NF500 sought clarification and reassurance for eager fans regarding the release schedule of the new Fiat 500 in the UK and other markets.

This all began with reports that the phenomenal success of the new 500 in it’s début markets of Italy and France, were orders have exceeded 60,000 cars, would lead to the rest of the World waiting longer as the factory in Tychy struggles to meet demand.  Potential 500 customers have understandably gotten twitchy with this news, wondering if their agonising wait could be further delayed by the veracious appetite of continental consumers.

The good news is that everything is on track for a release early next year, and while country specific allocations may be reshuffled and reassessed to best meet demand (as is common practice in the automotive industry) there is no reason to believe that those who have already managed to place themselves on priority lists at their local Fiat dealer should be waiting any longer than expected.

While discussing pre-orders and waiting lists, Mr Newton suggested that order books for UK Fiat 500 customers are likely to open “not before October” of 2007, by which time prices and specifications for the UK market should all be settled and in place, ready for launch. But many dealers already have lists of customers keen to get their hands on Fiat’s new baby as soon as possible, many taking small deposits to ensure you’re ahead of the queue when the books officially open on the reborn 500.

The immediate sales success of the new Fiat 500 has revived talk of Fiat putting into production a microcar concept first shown in 2005 when the Fiat 500 “Trepiuno” was considered too impractical and expensive to be made by many industry observers.

In 2005 the concept vehicle, rumoured to measure just 2.65 metres in length, was shown originally by Italian motoring magazine Quattroroute.

At the time, Italiaspeed.com reported Frank Stephenson, then the recently appointed head of design at Fiat, wanted to steer away from the “retro” market he’d so successfully won over with his design for the new MINI, and the microcar would include many innovations to enable an extremely compact car to accommodate four people at an affordable price.

Those innovations were rumoured to include Fiat’s trademark all-glass roof and a sliding door for easy access in confined spaces with the 1.3 litre Multijet diesel engine sat behind and under the rear seats driving the rear wheels to allow for a comparatively spacious and flexible interiroir space.

As we all know, this never came to light and recently the “Trepiuno” hit the streets as the new Fiat 500. However, the instant popularity of Fiat’s new baby has lead to rumours of the microcar coming back. How much weight such rumours hold is yet to be seen, but the success of one car does not guarantee the success of another, or indeed mean a manufacturer suddenly has the funds to put a relatively complex concept into production and the one thing Fiat have shown in recent times is sharp business acumen.

That’s the finding of an online readers survey conducted by respected motoring advice and review site What Car?

Respondents to the What Car? poll of visitors to their website voted around 70% to 30% in favour of the 500 as the smarter, more chic car, while defenders of the MINI found themselves well and truly in the minority.

A much as Fiat appear keen to avoid direct comparisons between the two brands, the parallels are obvious, and resounding victories in public votes such as this can only raise a smile among Fiat executives, if they’re not already grinning ear-to-ear thanks to the impressive early demand for the new baby Fiat.

The proof of the pudding is however always in the eating, and it would be interesting to see responses to the same question being asked a year from now, when those taking part will have had the chance to experience the new Fiat 500 first hand.

The full report can be found on the What Car? website, where at the time of writing they are still canvassing for opinions.

Early reports of the first drives of the new Fiat 500 are appearing in the media Today, and it all appears to be a case of so far, so good for Fiat’s new baby.

One of our personal favourites, 4Car, has a great photo gallery, and sum up their positive review by saying:

See one, drive one and you’ll want one.

Can’t get much more glowing than that, although Auto Express come across equally as gushing and state that:

…there’s no doubt that, after 50 years, the 500 is back with a vengeance. Is there a better small car on sale? After our test drive, we seriously doubt it.

CAR Magazine have the Fiat 500 as their cover star, a review and an in depth interview with Frank Stephenson.

So the British motoring press, known for their honesty, and and at times downright cynicism seem to have been well and truly won over by the new Fiat 500’s charms, despite the fact people in the UK will have to wait for a few more months than mainland Europe to get their hands on the car.