Limited Edition "Black Jack" FIAT

Fiat has unveiled a new special edition 500 for the European market. It’s called the Blackjack and its name clearly stems from the unique body color with black opaque treatment. The new 500 Blackjack will go on sale in September and will be priced at €13,850 (in Italy).

The unique matte black paint is enhanced by polished elements (whiskers, handles, mirror housings and door-plate) and the 16" alloy wheels are painted in black with a red frame in the center.

The same black color found on the exterior of the car also finds its way into the interior as it is completely blacked out. The only highlights can be found in the burnished silver seams that glisten off of the steering wheel and gear. The black extends into the combination leather and fabric seats unless you want to throw in some color with the option of red seats.

The new Fiat 500 Blackjack is available with all of the engines found in the 500 range combined with a five- or six-speed gearbox. Fiat is also offering the new TwinAir 85HP 0.9-liter two-cylinder turbo petrol.

FIAT of Tacoma's special "Pink Ribbon" edition

Fiat has announced the 500 "Pink Ribbon" Edition that will be limited to only 250 units. For each unit sold, Fiat will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to facilitate their mission of achieving prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.

The Fiat 500 Pink will be based on the 500 Lounge model and will be offered in Argento (silver) and Bianco (white) exterior paint colors. Joining the exterior paint will be a signature dark pink body side stripe with a "500" logo and an accenting "ribbon" in light pink.

The interior will get pink accents to contrast with the Nero leather for the front and rear seats, as well as a signature "500" logo embroidered on the front seatbacks. The same pink and black combination will be used for the steering wheel and the body-color instrument panel bezel. Each unit will also be offered with a pair of uniquely designed Fiat 500 Pink Ribbon key fobs.

This special edition is now on sale and is priced from $22,500 (including $500 destination).

2012 Alfa Romeo Giulietta for Maserati Edition

Courtesy cars are nothing new in the auto industry. Collaborations between two companies have gone on for sometime now in an effort to entice the company’s respective clients in the industry. If you recall, Ferrari once went this route, releasing a limited edition model of the Fiat 500 as a courtesy model for its clients. Now, a couple of other models under the Fiat umbrella will be giving birth to another one of these models in the form of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta for Maserati Edition.

The car will be limited to only 100 units and will be distinguished with a number of styling cues befitting its association with the upper-echelon Maserati. Among these features include a new set of 18" allow wheels with enhanced diamond tooling and a larger set of red caliper brakes. Meanwhile, the interior of the Giulietta for Maserati Edition has been dressed in a “Maserati Brown” Venere leather upholstery with brushed aluminum inserts. There’s also an “Alfa Romeo for Maserati” plaque on the dashboard, to go with aluminum door sill plates with the names “Giulietta” and “Maserati” engraved on each side.

In terms of performance, the Giulietta for Maserati Edition will be powered by the top-of-the-line, 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbocharged Quadrifoglio Verde engine that produces an impressive 235 horsepower.

American Version of the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Is Unmasked

The new Fiat 500 Abarth -- which recently made its debut on American shores -- has a corner on cuteness, so you might not expect a “driver’s car” version. But you probably don’t know Carlo Abarth, who started working with the Italian automaker in 1952. From that point on, Fiat and Abarth were inextricably linked, and Fiat finally absorbed Abarth’s company in 1970. Since then, Abarth has transformed many Fiat pussycats into tigers.
The ongoing Los Angeles Auto Show was the public unveiling of the U.S. specification version of the Fiat 500 Abarth, which is equipped -- as you might expect -- with all manner of go-fast stuff. Clinging closely to the Abarth tagline, “Small but wicked,” the car is powered by the justifiably famous Fiat 1.4-liter MultiAir four-cylinder engine. Equipped with turbocharging and twin intercoolers, the U.S. spec engine will develop 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque. The combination of turbocharging and the unique MultiAir technology results in a 59-percent increase in peak horsepower and a 70-percent increase in peak torque over the 500’s base engine. To deal with the engine’s higher torque, Fiat engineers have specified a heavy-duty five-speed manual transmission with the Torque Transfer Control system.
The heavily revised engine actually necessitated a key design change as well. Because the MultiAir engine requires more space than the standard engine, the car’s front fascia is bolder and is positioned nearly 3 inches ahead of the legendary whiskers-and-logo face that has adorned vintage Abarth models for decades. The blacked-out fascia houses projector-beam fog lamps, and larger side skirts set off the larger 16-inch (or optional 17-inch) aluminum wheels. Both wheel designs display the lacquered Rosso (red) brake calipers.
The interior is highlighted by an Abarth-designed steering wheel that features a thick rim, perforated leather and a flat bottom, something you’d guess many Italians would shy away from. The large concentric instrument cluster houses a speedometer that measures speeds up to 160 miles per hour, tachometer and trip computer, and the instrument-panel cluster brow is wrapped in Nero leather with Rosso accent stitching. The analog turbo-boost gauge has an integrated LED shift light that suggests optimal gear changes. The performance seats feature a one-piece design with large side bolsters, a racing-harness pass-through, and accent stitching and side-thorax airbags. In all, the Fiat 500 Abarth is still adorably cute, but it’s also a small racer with a big attitude.

The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Comes To Jay Leno's Garage

2012 Fiat 500 Abarth

The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth is more than just an economy car with a slapped-on turbo. To ensure that the car could handle the rigors of track-day events and autocross competition, Fiat’s engineers have strengthened the engine’s internals to cope with the additional 59 horsepower, added a beefier five-speed gearbox, revised the suspension tuning and even modified the electronic stability control program to include “sport” and “off” settings for track duty.


Since Jay Leno already owns a Fiat 500, he’s well versed in the capabilities of the Italia
n city car. In this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, Joe Grace, Fiat’s vehicle line executive, stops by with a new Fiat 500 Abarth, but oddly enough Leno doesn’t get any seat-time in the Abarth version.


Leno does compare the two cars, but it’s more bench racing than specifics. We’d have loved to see Leno flogging the Abarth on Mulholland Drive, just to get a sense of what the car is like on the road, but that will have to wait for another time.


On the plus side, this episode does include a nice clip on the history of Abarth, which goes into a bit more detail than we’ve seen in other videos. If you’re not well versed on the evolution of the scorpion logo, it’s worth watching just to understand the passion behind the Abarth brand.

2012 Fiat 500 beefs up looks but not price

A "wicked" Fiat 500? It's hard to imagine the Fiat 500 as anything but cute and Italian stylish. Yet, here it is, the performance version, that will broaden the 500's appeal to more men. To heck with "cute."

Fiat says it's faithful to the "small, but wicked" saying coined for Karl Abarth's cars in the 1960s, where this one gets its designation.

"Bringing the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth to the U.S. enables us to reach out to driving enthusiasts who want Italian performance at an attainable price," said Olivier Francois, head of Fiat brand for Chrysler Group. "With its lightweight, track-tuned handling and purpose-built design, the Fiat 500 Abarth brings to life the legendary racing heritage of the brand and becomes the Italian high-performance car for everyday driving."

To earn its performance cred, the 500 Abarth has a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. It also has a tuned suspension and brake, a race-inspired design and extra technology features.

Sexy 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Ad Gets The Pop-Up Video Treatment

 

By now, you've probably seen the sexy new "Seduction" commercial for the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth -- the one where a humdrum cubicle clone has a close encounter with an Italian supermodel, only to discover that she is, in fact, a car. Now, VH1 has given that clip the pop-up video treatment.

Among the fun facts we learn as the ad rolls by:

* The spot was directed by Luca Maroni, whose name might not mean much in the film world, but he's a fairly big deal where commercials are concerned.

* The office boy is Matthew Rocheleau, who's just getting his feet wet in Hollywood.

* The supermodel is, as you might imagine, a real supermodel: Catrinel Menghia. (Though we have to visit Wikipedia to learn that Ms. Menghia is Romanian by birth, not Italian. Bless you, Wikipedia.)

* Menghia is married to a former Italian soccer champ, which might explain why her accent is pretty spot-on. (Sadly, news reports indicate that her marriage to Massimo Brambati may be coming to an end.)

What the video doesn't provide is a translation of Menghia's spiel, which, for those who care, goes something like: "What are you looking at? Hey, what are you looking at? Are you undressing me with your eyes? Poor guy. You just can’t help it, can you? Is your heart racing? Is your head spinning? Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?" 

But hey, why should we give it all away when you could be wasting a small chunk of your Friday watching this clip for yourself?