Limited-edition cars herald Fiat's US arrival

Relaxnews
Wednesday 14 July 2010 00:00 BST
Comments
(Chrysler)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Fiat is to sell 500 Prima Edizione Fiat 500 models in the US, the company has announced, ahead of the official launch of the Fiat 500 later this year.

The "First Edition" vehicles will be available only in white, red and grey and will be sold to long-term US Fiat enthusiasts, who will be able to select their model build number for the limited-edition range.

Fiat announced the model at the "Fiat Freakout," a gelato-fuelled annual convention of Fiat lovers organized by Club Fiat-Lancia Unlimited, the main national Fiat enthusiast club.

“The Fiat Cinquecento Prima Edizione was developed especially with the Fiat fans in mind,” said Laura Soave, Head of Fiat North America, who personally presented the opportunity to the Fiat aficionados.

Fiat hopes that the special editions will become collectors' items in the same way the first edition cars such as the Ford Mustang and Dodge Viper are now considered hot property among enthusiasts today.

The reintroduction of the Fiat brand to the US by Chrysler is likely to significantly shake up the small car segment, where Chrysler lags behind fellow Detroit giants Ford and General Motors.

Ahead of the Detroit International Auto Show earlier this year, Cars.com chose the economical Fiat 500 as one of ten cars that could save the US auto industry, pointing out that Chrysler doesn't have a single model which gets better than 31 mpg.

Earlier this month, Chrysler confirmed that it has started the selection process for US Fiat dealers, saying that it will cover approximately 125 markets in 41 states, all selected by growth potential in the small car segment.

The locations will be officially announced in September, ahead of the introduction of the Fiat 500 in late 2010 and the Fiat 500 Cabrio in 2011.

Canadian showrooms are scheduled to receive the vehicles by February 2011.

http://www.ciaofiat.com

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in