Mighty mouse

The formidable and cheeky successor to the Topolino and the Cinquecento, the Fiat 500 is back.

Exactly 50 years after resident genius Dante Giacosa marked the re-ignition of post-war Italy with the bubbly, carefree, popular and much loved (Nuova) 500, It returns. On Thursday, Fiat took the wraps off the new 500, a car that's been preceded by almost as much hype as we've ever seen for a car.

This is the third 500 in Fiat's history, and if the previous two "� the first one was the pre-world war Topolino and t he second was also known as a Cinquecento (Italian for 500) "� are anything to go by, this one's going to firmly restore Fiat's glory days.

The round, cheerful look continues, and while the compact 3.5 metre car looks modern, it is undeniably a 500. The new Fiat has a whole bunch of cues from the old car that mark it out as a 500, including a series of vintage paint colours that'll have the 2007 model look like 1957 instantly. The 500 logo, for instance, appears on wheels and hubs and the headlamp shape and 'grille' is designed to re-create the 'whiskers and logo' unit.

Fiat says the car reinterprets the values of the old 500 and takes the help of the scores of fans who came to Fiat's 500wantsyou.com website to give feedback and ideas about the new one. Compact as the car is, Fiat were clear that they wanted it to be the safest small car in the world.

The 500 is designed to get 5 stars in the strict EuroNCAP crash test and should be able to get 6 stars when that new grading system is introduced. The European spec 500 comes with seven airbags, including a knee airbag, which is a compact car first.

The tiny 500 also has ABS, EBD (electronic brake force distribution), a sophisticated stability program, ASR (anti slip regulation), plus a Hill Holder (for uphill starts) and hydraulic brake boost for emergency stops. The 500's suspension format has a independent McPherson strut layout at the front and a semi-independent torsion axle configuration at the rear. The combination is not new to Fiat, and the company is promising outstanding handling (another 500 trait) and great comfot.

At launch, the 500 comes with a staggering range of choice. There are, for instance, three launch engines "� two 'fire' family petrols (69 bhp 1200cc and 100 bhp 1400cc) and one diesel (yes, that amazing 75 bhp 1300cc Multijet).

There is a choice of five- and six-speed manual gearboxes, and a five-speed 'robotised' one will be available with the petrol engines in the near future. The 100 bhp petrol is expected to bounce the 500 past 100 kph in a sprightly 10.5 seconds, while both the other motors will post 12 and a bit second 100 kph times.

But what truly boggles the mind is the choice. Fiat says, at launch, the 500 can be had in 500,000 variants. There will be four trim levels, three engines, 12 colours, nine types of wheel rims (with a choice of 15- or 16-inchers). Fiat, of course, adds all of the rest of the customisation options to this to generate the rather large number.

There are original sticker schemes for the sides, bonnet and roof, a whole bunch of chrome add-ons. One curious item is a 'fragrance diffuser' which will live up to its name, you get to pick from three factory-fresh scents. Then there's the infotainment part. There's a phone holder, iPod and USB jacks, 12V sockets... the list is nigh endless. Perhaps our favourite, and the most evocative are covers for the new 500 which have a picture of the old 500 on them.

The car certainly appears to live up to the buzz, which is appropriate, because the Fiat top management has been talking about how the 500 will be to Fiat what the iPod was to Apple. Watch out for a first drive report in the August issue of BSMotoring, due at the news stands on July 25, 2007.