NF500 / turin

As ever, YouTube seems to come up trumps when seeking out some decent video footage yesterday’s Fiat 500 Abarth unveiling in Turin.

Good to see the hot new Abarth 500 in moving pictures.

While we sit here in freezing cold old Blighty, the folk over at AutoBlog.it have been enjoying themselves at the launch of Abarth’s new Turin headquarters.

No surprise that the event was combined with the unveiling of the new 500 Abarth model, and AutoBlog.it have a tonne of good photos on their website, link after the thumbnail image..

See the full set at AutoBlog.it.

Members of the 500 Wants You website have been emailed this week, telling them to watch the official Fiat 500 website for updates and information on the new 500 Abarth model. The emails are suitably vague and mystic, but say to watch out on Monday and Tuesday 18th and 19th February. The official Fiat 500 website has also been updated with a link to the Abarth website, and other new features.

Monday is also the opening date for the new Abarth headquarters in Turin, so it will be interesting to see what reports come back from there, as well as what will happen on the Fiat sites ahead of the Geneva Motorshow, where the 500 Abarth will be officially revealed to the public for the first time.

Turin is set to host another party in honour of the new Fiat 500 this weekend (14th to 15th July).

“500-Giorno&Notte” is taking place at Mirafiori Motor Village, Piazza Cattaneo 9, Turin.  The event promises 36 hours of extended test drives, live music and DJ sets, special events and much more.

The festivities start 9am Saturday 14th and will run until 9pm on Sunday 15th July.

If you enjoy looking at photographs of the new Fiat 500, then we highly recommend you pour yourself some of your favourite beverage, take a break, maybe put on your favourite tunes and wander over to the NF500 New Fiat 500 Flickr Group.

At the time of writing several contributors have generously shared a total of over 200 images of the new Fiat 500. In the group Photo Pool you will discover varied and interesting photographs of the new Cinquecento. The photographs offer a great mix of interior and exterior portraits, as well as individual takes on the Fiat 500 launch and Birthday party in Turin. There are also some great images from around Italy where the new Fiat 500 has been placed on display this weekend.

So go on, spoil your eyes and take a trip over the NF500 Flickr Group, and if you have some photographs of the Fiat 500 of your own to share, feel free, the more the merrier!

If you missed the Welcome Live! webcast, and couldn’t be in Turin on July the 4th for the launch of the new Cinquecento, or even if you did make it and want to relive those memories, we had a good dig around on video sharing site YouTube Today, and have found what we feel is the best video of the dramatic presentation available. The video, presented below, was shot by YouTube member fabioalfieri. Enjoy the show!

As if to illustrate that the whole motoring world was watching the unveiling of the new Fiat 500 in Turin on the 4th July, Canadian publication Globe and Mail has an in depth article and appraisal of the lavish combined Birthday and Launch Party of the Fiat 500. That’s despite the fact that, at best, the North American markets can look forward to an Abarth version of the 500, sometimes after 2010! Reporter Eric Reguly certainly didn’t let that dampen the sense of occasion:

The riverside launch show of the new Fiat 500 looked like it was inspired by Disney, Cirque du Soleil and Timothy Leary in equal parts. It was clever, fast-paced, surreal at times and always imaginative.

Mostly, it was big, the type of spectacle normally reserved for millennium parties and Olympic opening ceremonies.

You can read his report in it’s entirety at that Globe and Mail website.