NF500 / top gear

No surprise to see the Fiat 500 feature from this weekends Top Gear television show hit YouTube pretty quickly. For those unable to see the show first time around, here’s your chance:

The website of BBC TV car show “Top Gear” has launched an “Uncut” feature, showing sections of the show that didn’t make the TV, mostly due to offensive language. However, one of the first out-takes they’ve included shows a little snippet on the new Fiat 500 (although on screen they show the Trepiùno concept).

Jeremy Clarkson calls the 500 beautiful and Richard Hammond appears equally enamoured, James May on the other hand dismisses the 500 as basically a tarted up Fiat Panda.

Here’s the link. Beware, it’s a bit rambling.

Top Gear have a gushing and glowing feature on the new Fiat 500 now available to read online.

It’s an all out positive review, even the few faults that could be found by the reviewer are brushed under the carpet and washed out with enthusiasm for the baby Fiat, it’s one of the most rose tinted reports on anything, let alone a car, we’ve read for a very long time.  Top Gear is no small fry in the automotive world either, so Fiat will no doubt be delighted with the praise being lavished upon their new creation.

While the article is written by a male reporter, the photos, all nicely shot very much in “fashion magazine” style feature glamorous female models, which will no doubt serve to reinforce the gradual drip-drip effect that ever increases the 500s image as a “girls car”.  But just because it’s small and pretty doesn’t have to  limit the car’s appeal to the fairer sex, does it?

The review also mentions in passing that engineers snuck Top Gear the figures for the forthcoming Fiat 500 Abarth, quoting the 1.4 turbo as kicking out 170lb ft torque and 135bhp.

You can read the full review, titled “Sexy Little Number” on the Top Gear website.