The small car sector is currently buoyant, even if electrification has helped drive prices upwards. Even so, margins remain slim and the ever-present threat of more affordable rivals from China arriving to undercut the more established names. That’s why consolidation has been the way forward for legacy brands for the past decade, bundling together collective development, design, manufacturing and marketing know-how so as to leverage the economies of scale.

Along the way, these newly conjoined brands have had to dig deep into their psyche and find the things that really made them stand out. The Stellantis portfolio is one of the broadest – Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, RAM and Vauxhall – and in amongst that accumulated automotive know-how you have some true classics upon which to draw.

Fiat revealed its Grande Panda back in 2024 and we first drove it early the following year. It arrived hot on the heels of a newly revitalised longstanding rival, Renault, who have found favour and sales success with their electrified re-boots of the Renault 4, Renault 5 and Twingo.

With the Grande Panda and forthcoming coupé variant – currently understood to be called the Grizzly – as well the evergreen 500, along with the 600 and Topolino, Fiat’s small car portfolio is more than ready to go head-to-head with Renault. The brand is the biggest seller in the Stellantis portfolio, helped along by its commercial vehicle arm, which specialises in motorhomes and ambulances, amongst other things. It’s also unafraid to make U-turns – the 500 and 600 will both get manual petrol variants as part of a drive to recapture a lost sector of the market in the wake of stalled electrification plans.

Visually, Fiat certainly seems to be keeping pace, revealing a relatively compact city car with strong shades of the Giugiaro-designed original. That’s not the whole story, however, because all there are pointed call-backs to the neatly folded metal of the tiny first-generation car (manufactured nearly a quarter of a century from 1980 onwards), the Stellantis accounting system dictates that it shares a platform with many siblings.

Under the skin is the ‘Smart Car Platform’, underpinnings that you’ll also find in the Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall/Opel Frontera. Keeping it in the family, it’s closely related to the e-CMP (Common Modular Platform) used in cars like the Vauxhall Mokka-e, Alfa Romeo Junior, Jeep Avenger, Fiat and Abarth 600e and many more. It explains the proportional relationship between all these cars, despite the different branding, surfacing, brightwork and trim.

To be fair, Fiat probably has the most to work with it comes to shaping endearing designs out of awkward shapes. The Jeep is a little too small, the Citroën a little too staid and the Alfa too upright to get the most from the proportions. Fiat, however, has always made a virtue of getting the most space out of a shape, extolling the joys of boxy forms. The stance works well, with angular lights neatly delineating the corners and a playful sense of detailing that taps in the company’s current ‘La Dolce Vita’ sloganeering.

That does mean that Italian clichés are leaned on a little too heavily, think ice cream hues and beach umbrellas, with a scattering of Easter Eggs around the cabin of the car itself. The latter is a regrettable trend, much favoured by Stellantis, wherein little design details are playfully ‘hidden’ to bolster brand identity. Bold flat colours and strong graphics are now the mandated Fiat house style, seen everywhere from interior trim to advertising.

The Panda is now finally available in the UK. So how does this modern-day version of the original ‘pocket utility vehicle’ stack up? Rather nicely, is the answer. We explored both EV and hybrid versions, and while the latter didn’t have the characteristic EV zip, it benefitted from being a whole lot lighter. At 4m long and 1.6m tall, the Grande Panda has more in common with a small SUV than a true hatchback.

The BEV has a projected range of 199 miles but that’s a little optimistic, especially given the small 44kWh battery used on this platform. It’s not a long-distance runner, more of a specialist in short hops, like the original, and this is where the combination of retro looks, space and simplicity really excel.

As well as that upright exterior and strong graphical application, the interior is rather charming. Physical controls have been prioritised, and the combination of reinforced plastics, translucent panels and bamboo-derived fibre wrap on the glovebox come together create a pleasing and tactile place. Attention to detail is especially strong, from the dedicated Panda typography on the digital dash through to the oddment tray below the glovebox, just the place for parking tickets, loose change and disposable chopsticks.

Squint and you can even detect a hint of Memphis in the pop colours, geometric forms and wilful asymmetry. Of course, this is all a clever concoction, with everything down to the naming conventions carefully chosen to evoke an innate ‘Italian-ness’. Even the body colours – Limone yellow, Lago blue, Passione red – play the game. The car comes in three trim levels, Pop, Icon and La Prima - enthusiasts will relish the 16” old school white steel wheels on the Pop.

The Panda even uses a regular key that you have insert and turn to start the car, a total throwback (and not in an unpleasant way). With a manual petrol on the way – and those hard-wearing steel wheels and black plastics – it’s like being transported back to the 1980s heyday of the hatchback. It’s taken a while, but Fiat’s version of Panda diplomacy should find favour with markets around Europe, undercutting long-established rivals like the Renault 5 without losing any of the charm.

Bamboo trim and Easter Eggs aside, the Panda is taking Fiat back to its roots and building a small car for everyone. Just like the originals – and the two generations that followed before the Grande Panda arrived – it’ll look great once it has accumulated a few scuffs and dents and the rich patina of urban life inside and out.

Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid, from £18,995, Fiat Grande Panda Electric, from £20,995, Fiat.co.uk, @Fiat_uk

These days, like never before, Milan Design Week finds itself as a creative focal point for a number of different industries, not just furniture and interiors. The irresistible draw of pure, concentrated creativity – and the eyes, lenses and social media accounts of the world’s media and content creators – ensure that making a Milanese splash is a PR no-brainer, bolstering the connection between creativity and commerce in as direct a way as possible.

Activations varied wildly, from traditional car reveals through to immersive experiences, bespoke commissions and the welcome opportunity for car makers to spread their reach and showcase some real cultural clout. Big names were in evidence – Audi enlisted Zaha Hadid Architects and Mini continued its long-running partnership with Sir Paul Smith.

Chinese brands were also in evidence, including Nio with its firefly city car, and Lepas, which used Milan Design Week as the backdrop for its European launch of the forthcoming Lepas 6, a sister car to the Jaecoo 7.

Admittedly, some of these displays could have taken place anywhere, demonstrating how Milan Design Week has effectively become a handy waypoint on the international exhibition trail, bolstering the role of a traditional auto show with way more buzzy, creative surroundings and attendees. Other brands chose to dig deeper into the context, playing up the Italian connection and the city’s rich backdrop.

We’re biased, of course, but the real automotive stars of Milan Design Week 2026 were Wallpaper’s quartet of Fiat Topolinos (see our editors’ Milan blog for more, and Fiat’s small car-focused exhibition), resplendent in the liveries of our recently relaunched Wallpaper* Travel Guides. Aside from these delightful four-wheeled tchotchkes, read on to find out what else made mobility news this year in Milan.

Range Rover ‘Traces’

Range Rover’s Milan installation at Galleria Meravigli was a comprehensive assemblage of the art and craft component of the British manufacturer’s more luxurious offerings. Overseen by Storey Studio, the ‘Traces’ exhibition starred the newly released Bespoke Pearl of Tay edition Range Rover, alongside a selection of contemporary Scottish crafts curated by Bard, the Edinburgh store and gallery founded by James Stevens and our very own Hugo Macdonald.

Bard’s selection of sparkling, earthy and authentic crafts was billed under the heading ‘Memory and Material'. The pieces on display mirrored the attention to detail and materiality used in the Pearl of Tay car, a demonstration of Range Rover’s ability to move freely in the same rarefied circles traditionally occupied by Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

These were joined by two more galleries, or chapters, ‘Memory and Colour’ and ‘Memory and Motif’. The former incorporated a film and projection by Felipe Sanguinetti, reflected across a series of mirrors, to trace the inspiration and emotion behind colour choices (one of the big USPs for clients using Range Rover’s Bespoke service).

‘Memory and Motif’ featured works by four artists, Hvass & Hannibal, Lisa Rampilli, Petra Börner and Jules Julien, transformed into embroidered pieces by the Range Rover Bespoke Materiality. These were then presented in a series of champagne-gold mirrored vitrines, connected to the first chapter by a continuous soundscape composed by sound designers Father.

The final space, ‘Memory and Material’, culminated in the Pearl of Tay car, alongside the 14 objects chosen by Bard. With black gravel underfoot and a rippling installation above, the space was both geometric and nature-inspired. This is the second consecutive year Range Rover has gone big in Milan. ‘Traces’ also included a café space, furnished with icons from Gubi’s collection of contemporary design.

RangeRover.com, @RangeRover

‘Origin’ by Audi x Zaha Hadid Architects

Are we living in a post-pavilion age? Audi clearly thinks not, enlisting well-established pavilion-wielding provocateurs Zaha Hadid Architects to create its installation, the ‘Audi Origin Pavilion’. Described as a portal to the company’s new design era, ‘Origin by Audi x Zaha Hadid Architects’ marked the German manufacturer’s 13th year of participation at Milan Design Week and celebrated not just the introduction of a new design language but also the company’s debut in Formula 1.

The structure was a classic slice of ZHA parametric whimsy – the practice uses the pavilion form as a testbed for software, design and structure. Located in the courtyard of the former Archiepiscopal Seminary on Corso Venezia, ‘Origin’ was a silvery spaceship of a structure, flanked by the Audi R26 F1 car and the new Audi RS 5. The structure’s matte metallic skin was very ‘Audi’ in its referencing of industrial processes, cutting-edge materials and sober perfectionism.

Audi.com, @Audi

‘Mini: A Garden of Curiosity with Paul Smith’

Moving away its focus on urban and domestic design prototypes, Mini dived straight into its most warm and welcoming collaboration of recent years, a partnership with Paul Smith. The venue was a ‘Garden of Curiosity’, hosted in the grounds on the Palazzo Borromeo d’Adda.

Not just a welcome contemplative spot to duck into away from the Milan madness, the ‘Garden of Curiosity’ was a spot of British whimsy, with delectable design presented by way of Lewis Carroll, Gertrude Jekyll and impeccable tailoring.

The House of Mini on Via A Manzoni was built around the latest Paul Smith Edition of the evergreen city car. Colour was, of course, preeminent, with a dedicated Colour Theory Room inviting visitors to compose their own Smith-style panoply of stripes.

There was also a listening room, replete with recordings of Sir Paul’s thoughts on colour theory, both set among the verdant surroundings alongside a Mini Cooper Convertible Paul Smith Edition. In the main courtyard, the automotive display consisted of three cars, starting with the original Paul Smith 40th Anniversary Mini classic from 1998, the pared-back Mini Strip and another contemporary Paul Smith Edition.

Mini.co.uk, @Mini

PaulSmith.com, @PaulSmithDesign

Lexus ‘Space’

Another Milan stalwart, Lexus presented a clutch of installations, including its own ‘Space’ and ‘Discover Together’ presentations at Superstudio Più. The automotive centrepiece of ‘Space’ was the six-wheeled Lexus LS Concept, set before a 360-degree screen that animated the car and its sumptuous interior.

This cinematic experience was paired with a group exhibition under the banner ‘Discover Together’. Included was the ‘Visible Invisible’ tearoom by Kyotaro Hayashi and Yumi Kurotani, ‘Wearable Space’, a coat emblazoned with fibre optics shaped by Guardini Ciuffreda Studio and ‘A Moving Sanctuary’, Random Studio’s reimagining of the automotive space as a serene, relaxing retreat.

Working with its own design team, the company also exhibited ‘The Crafted Cosmos’, a precision piece of crafted woodwork overseen by Shingo Yamashita, the company’s wooden model craftsman.

On display in the same space was another concept, the LS Micro 1 personal mobility machine, and the Lexus Catamaran autonomous luxury yacht concept first shown at last year’s Japan Mobility Show.

DiscoverLexus.com, @DiscoverLexus

Kia Vision Meta Turismo

Kia’s installation involved a collaboration with Bcomp, a Swiss company working in renewable, bio-based fibre composite material. Bcomp has contributed its ampliTex material to the interior and exterior of the Kia Vision Meta Turismo concept car, on show for the first time in Europe as part of the ‘Resonance of Opposites’ exhibition in Milan.

The Vision Meta Turismo was originally unveiled as part of Kia's 80th anniversary celebrations last December, an all-electric GT Crossover with an airy, lounge-inspired cabin replete augmented-reality windscreen. The concept foreshadows the evolution of the company’s already very distinctive design language.

The work with Bcomp is part of Kia’s ongoing search for sustainably sourced materials that can work just as well on exterior forms as well as interiors, conforming to all necessary safety and strength requirements.

According to Bcomp’s Nicolas Samson, senior sales manager of automotive interior, the project ‘shows that natural fibre composites are not only a design statement, but also a realistic solution for both interior and exterior applications’.

Kia.com, @KiaUK

Bcomp.com, @BcompLtd

Škoda’s ‘Sculptural Space’

Working with Spanish architect designer Ricardo Orts of Ulises Studio, Škoda went all out on playfulness with an exhibition entitled ‘Ooooh, that’s EpiQ!’. Rather than channelling the spirit of 1970s British sex comedies, the theme was colour, form and family-friendly entertainment.

Cars on display included the new Epiq EV (in bold camouflage) alongside a soft-bodied counterpart, the Epiq Sculpt – modelling clay was one of the key stylistic themes. The entire courtyard of the Palazzo del Senato was filled with illuminated inflatable forms that spilled out through the colonnades to create space for meeting, coffee, talks and even yoga classes and a soft play area.

Škoda-Storyboard.com, Škoda.co.uk, @SkodaUK

Ulises.Studio, @Ulises.Studio

Pininfarina at ‘10 Years of Open-Air Motor Shows’

Two of the centrepieces on the ‘10 Years of Open-Air Motor Shows’ exhibition on Via Tortona came from the studios of Pininfarina SpA. The event, which celebrated a decade of Andrea Levy’s urban motor show format in Italy, featured the Battista Nino Farina from Pininfarina Automobili and the one-off Honda HP X, originally shown at the 1984 Turin Auto Show in 1984. Restored and updated by Pininfarina itself, the HP-X resurfaced in all its 1980s glory at the 2024 Monterey Car Week.

The show also featured a presentation on the new JAS Tensei project, one of many automotive commissions being undertaken by the Italian design consultancy.

Pininfarina.it, @Pininfarina_official

500 Spiaggina by Garage Italia Customs

Away from the ‘Ciao Futuro! show at Magna Pars’, another facet of the Fiat empire showcased its latest venture into restomod design. Founded by Fiat family scion Lapo Elkann, Garage Italia Customs ventures into uncharted creative territory, transforming the company’s compact models into bespoke objets d’art.

For 2026, Garage Italia is showcasing its Icon project series, which focuses on the classic Fiat 500. In the company’s hands, the original 500 becomes the all-electric 500 Spiaggina. Shown in Milan in the context of the immersive Urbano Mediterraneo installation, the Spiaggina was represented in two editions. The first was inspired by the pink walls of the Palazzo Avino hotel on the Amalfi Coast, a one-off EV completed with custom fabric Pergola roof by Mariaflora.

A second Spiaggina was out on the streets for the duration of Design Week to celebrate the work of Milanese creative consultancy 10 Corso Como. The logo-spotted bodywork evokes the organisation’s branding and HQ, with jacquard fabric interiors by Mariaflora. Finally, Garage Italia also showed a 500 Spiaggina with a livery that embodied the diversity and colour of Design Week, with a white striped exterior and an interior featuring red Bonacina rattan seats.

Garage-Italia.com, @GarageItalia

The first VW Golf, Fiat Panda and Maserati Ghibli; the 1970s Lotus Esprit immortalised under water in James Bond’s The Spy Who Loved Me and the ‘gull-winged’ 1980s DeLorean DMC-12 in Back to the Future; the elegant early 1960s Alfa Romeo Giulia GT and super-practical late 1960s Suzuki Carry; or the mid-1970s everyman Hyundai Pony that kickstarted the Korean brand and the late 1970s BMW M1 supercar: Giorgetto Giugiaro created them all.

These design classics – most of which were developed by Italdesign, the design and engineering company he co-founded in 1968 – sit within a list of 300-plus production vehicles, dozens of concept cars, as well as cameras for Nikon, keyboards for Bontempi and even a type of pasta.

At the forefront of car design for five decades, Giorgetto Giugiaro sold the last of his shares in Italdesign to the VW Group in 2015 and set up GFG Style with his son Fabrizio in Turin to offer automotive, architecture and industrial design services. Now 87, Giugiaro is still chairman of the company and had a chat with Wallpaper* during a recent visit to the UK.

Giorgetto Giugiaro on car design then and now

Wallpaper*: What are your views on artificial intelligence?

Giorgetto Giugiaro: When technology is able to support your ideas, you can exploit it. Can artificial intelligence do better [than humans]? Maybe, but there always needs to be someone responsible. Design is not democracy. You need one person to decide. But I have to admit, that staying on the beach and pressing a button and the job is done [is appealing].

W*: You predicted over a decade ago that future cars would be more comfortable with easy-to-grasp functionality. It seems the first part of that prediction came true, but not the second. Why is so much of today’s car design user experience so bad?

GG: To ‘fish’ for a greater audience, car makers try to add more features. And for some, the user experience becomes worse. As a parallel, there are so many features in cars nowadays that we don’t have at home. So of course we are not used to them.

The touch functions on a car can also be dangerous. The interaction between human and car is so much faster. Before, you needed to move a stalk or push a button. Now you move close [to a screen with your fingers] and you’ve already activated something. Looking at some futuristic interiors there’s no need to go to Disneyland because everything is already inside the car, with lights and more. There is too much.

W*: You say good design needs to be ‘honest’ for the public to accept it. Do you think some modern EVs are not honest enough and that’s partly why they’re not being accepted?

GG: It is a commercial problem in that there needs to be financial advantages for the manufacturers. And [for consumers] there’s a shortage of information and a psychological problem: when you choose a product, you want it to say something about you.

W*: Given the variety of engines and motors that customers can choose today, plus greater safety legislation, do you think you ‘had it easier’ designing cars in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s?

GG: [Chuckles] Contrary to what you think, the more rules there are, the smarter the product can be. You have to think harder. When aerodynamics started to be taken seriously, it was a problem for designing cars, but over time it helped to improve the product.

W*: Why do you think your Lotus Esprit design has stood the test of time (beyond its role in several 007 movies)?

GG: It is the simplicity of the whole and the proportions. It’s the same with a man’s or a woman’s face, the proportion between the parts and the simplicity of the lines. This gives the beauty, the power to last. Looking at the car now, I realise it didn’t get so old.

W*: What do you think of Apple’s design work on the iPhone?

GG: This device made us lazy, so we don’t even remember the phone numbers of our friends and families anymore. And it removes our time to create, as we look at what other people are doing and because it does everything.

W*: …but you still have one!

GG: [Everyone laughs] It does help me talk easily with friends in other parts of the world. And it makes me think: if we have a device so powerful today, what will humankind be able to do in another 50 years?

GFGStyle.it, @GFG.Style

Fiat is 125 years old. Founded in July 1899, the company recently held a series of celebrations for itself at the iconic Lingotto building in Turin, designed by Giacomo Matté-Trucco and completed in 1923. As part of the anniversary events, the company released this special edition of the fantastic Fiat 500e, the all-electric variant of the dainty reboot of the 500 that still makes up the bulk of the company’s sales.

Billed by many (ourselves included) as one of the best city cars on the market, this new edition has been developed in collaboration with none other than Giorgio Armani, one of the icons of Italian fashion. As Armani turns 90, he has delivered the goods with this ultra-chic iteration of the 500e, which presents the second collaboration with the brand (a one-off 500e was revealed back in 2020).

Fiat 500 Giorgio Armani: impeccably tailored

Made in Turin, the new 500e Giorgio Armani is available in two different colour ways, Dark Green and a ceramic ‘Greige’, an Armani-special blend of grey and beige. With tasteful colours in hand, the chic silhouette of the 500e is further enhanced by the special wheel trim, which feature a stylised ‘GA’ logo, a graphical design that stands apart from conventional wheel design.

Inside, the little Fiat has been given a sumptuous interior that belies its scale, with fresh patterning on the seat inserts, along with laser-cut wood on the dashboard. The material approach is intended to evoke the art of tailoring, and everything is finished off with Armani’s own signature on the dashboard. Other kit includes the premium JBL audio system and a glass roof.

Fashion and automotive design pairings come along every so often, from the heady days of Lacoste’s classic collaboration with Peugeot back in the 1980s, to Paul Smith’s work with Mini. The Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani is a welcome addition to the canon.

Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani edition, details at Fiat.com

The venerable Italian coachbuilder Castagna Milano has turned its attention to Fiat’s tiny new Topolino, the cute-as-a-button derivative of the Citroën Ami electric quadricycle. Although both originals have character in spades, Castagna Milano has ramped up the detailing, inspired by the original Fiat 500 Jolly from the 1950s, to create a bespoke electric runaround designed for silent seaside travel.

Fiat Topolino Spiaggina by Castagna Milano

The Jolly was an original Fiat 500 transformed into an ultra-light beach car at the behest of Fiat’s CEO, Gianni Agnelli – something that was an aesthetic match for the family yacht, the 82ft Agneta. (The Fiat 500 Jolly Spiaggina Icon-e saw it reimagined in 2019.)

Built by Ghia, the Jolly had a striped canvas roof and wicker seats. It became a cult vehicle, with around 400 built, as well as rivals in the form of the toylike Vignale Gamine and the Bonacina Spiaggina, with its woven rattan seats made by the legendary furniture company.

Castagna Milano’s Spiaggina blends the Bonacina aesthetic with a nautical look inspired by Riva yachts and other upscale Mediterranean pleasure craft, with teak and chrome detailing, a striped canvas roof and seat inserts that mimic the wicker feel of the original. The company also offers an extended version, adding 30cm of length to turn the strict two-seater into something a tiny bit more practical, with an extended rear deck and storage compartments.

The Milanese firm has carried out similar conversions to modern Fiat 500s and even Minis in recent years, but the transformation of the Topolino is their tiniest creation to date.

Fiat 500 Spiaggina by Garage Italia Customs

If that’s not quite to your taste, there’s another way of getting an electrified dose of retro Riviera style. Garage Italia Customs, the esoteric workshop founder by Fiat heir Lapo Elkann in 2017, will produce a customised original 500 with a full electrification package.

The Fiat 500 Spiaggina by Garage Italia Customs is a beautifully crafted piece of kit, using modern upgrades (the powertrain, a digital recreation of the 500’s minimalist instrument panel) and newly installed components to make create a zippy four-seater.

Customisation options are focused on the colour and trim, with the Bonacina-built rattan seats that can be left raw or specially painted, and the furniture maker can even make a rattan picnic box to fasten to the rear of the car.

Fiat Topolino Spiaggina, from 25,000 euros, Carrozzeria Castagna, CarrozzeriaCastagna.it

Fiat 500 Spiaggina by Garage Italia Customs, from 72,000 euros, Garage-Italia.com, @GarageItalia

The Fiat Grande Panda is the brand’s new entrant into the hard-fought B-segment car category – the slot one smaller than ‘C’ for compact and one of the toughest spaces to make an economic space for a well-finished, high-specification vehicle, even more so if it’s electric.

Nevertheless, Fiat built its reputation on small cars, even if the micro scales of the original 500 and even the first-generation Panda have long since vanished from our roads. The Grande Panda is just under 4m long, small by modern standards, and splices the aesthetics of Giugiario’s classically tailored original with the bubblier proportions of the Mk3 and Mk4 models that replaced it at the start of the new century.

Fiat Grande Panda: recapturing the brand's small-car heyday

The most recent iteration of the Fiat Panda was a solid performer, even if it was slightly underwhelming in terms of design. Fiat is no doubt hoping that the new Grande Panda will bring with it some of the sparkle and zest that accompanied the revived 500 and has continued to this day with the Fiat 500 EV (a bit of heritage-infused zip that’s still notably absent from the rest of the company’s range).

For a start, the Grande Panda is being positioned as a ‘world car’, something that’ll suit someone in practically every market. That means flexibility, with a pure EV and hybrid version available, sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Olivier François, Fiat’s CEO and Stellantis Global CMO, describes the new model as a ‘real Fiat’ on account of it being ‘perfectly suited for families and urban mobility in every country’, recapturing a USP from the company’s 1980s small-car heyday.

Underneath the clean lines is a modular platform, the STLA Smart platform, which should allow for much greater flexibility when dealing with regional demands and desires. The new model has been shaped at the Centro Stile in Turin, and is distinguished by solidly modelled flanks, dot-matrix-style LED lighting (a hint to the style recently revived by Hyundai) and a bright palette of basic colours.

The most obvious homages are to the Panda 4x4, an uprated version of the Mk1 model that garnered a cult following for its ultra-compact go-anywhere ability. Distinctive ‘Panda’ branding is moulded into the sills, and the wheelarches are also exaggerated, housing X-shaped wheel designs.

Fiat is following in its own footsteps here, but also ensuring that companies like Renault, with its forthcoming 5 E-Tech don’t get all the glory. On basis of these initial images, it looks set to do the business.

Fiat Grande Panda, price tbc, Fiat.co.uk, @Fiat

Expanding the appeal of the 21st-century version of the Fiat 500 smash-hit city car has not always been easy. The 2012 five-seat 500L and seven-seat 500L MPW (or Living) models never quite kept the proportional charm of the smaller 500 and consequently failed to ‘chart’ in the same way. 

So Fiat’s designers ripped up it and started again. The all-electric three-door 500e, with its closed-mouth, smiling front lights with raised-eyebrow light signature was a tidy kick-off point for the five-door 600e, which now replaces the 500L in a much smarter suit.

Fiat 600e

The keys to the 600e’s improved proportions over the 500L are a slightly longer body and a significantly lower roof, sitting on a shorter wheelbase, while the 600e’s width remains almost identical. The result is transformational. Where the 500L always looked a little dumpy – and the seven-seat MPW even more so – the 600e appears taut, together and potentially agile.

It has a longer nose than the smaller 500, with its front ‘mouth’ partially opened and a more pronounced horizontal eyelash added to its headlights, but it still retains the 500’s basic rounded character and sense of fun. It’s a good-looking relation.

The interior exudes that feeling too. There are lots of non-threatening ovoid shapes and distinctly stitched comfortable seats, derived from the ‘Fiat’ word mark repeated within the central area to form a pleasingly padded abstract pattern. But the stand-out detail on the LaPrima trim level is the two-tone centre console storage cover. It unfolds in measured stages and the mottled leather-look grey cover is complemented by a turquoise blue faux suede underside, below which there’s plenty of room to place a smartphone on a wireless charging pad. 

The effect is unusual for a car interior, but very Fiat at the same time. The 10.25in central infotainment screen is simple to pair with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and regular USB and USB-C charging points are also available.

In the back, there’s a USB-C charger in the centre and although it’s quite tight for knee room, scooped out ceiling spaces on the left and tight ensure decent headroom for four, if not quite five passengers. The boot isn’t large, but this is still after all, a small 4.17m car. The load floor can lower and the rear seats split-and-fold to provide more space.

A good driving position is easy to attain and the dashboard and window line both sit quite low, so the view out is good. While the interior door cards do feel a little plasticky, your eye is drawn away from them by the padding on the doors’ armrests, and the material cost savings probably do enable the car to start at a decent price.

That positive visual perception is backed up – to an extent – by the 600e’s road-going ability. Although the steering is extremely light at low speeds, as you drive faster and with more spirit, it tightens up well. The auto selector Drive button has a B setting for extra regenerative braking and there are three drives modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – as is now commonplace on modern cars.

Overall, the 600e can more than keep up and handle, but it’s far from a racer – the Abarth 600e version due later this year will cover the sportier side of things. And nothing bleeped or flashed at me from the dashboard for minor perceived road safety infringements or issues throughout the test, which was refreshing. In the 600e you appear to be able to self-determine.

The 600e’s 54kW battery is good for a 254-miles range and is on sale now. But if you’re not quite ready for the full-electric plunge, the Italian brand is also offering a 100hp 48V Hybrid version from June 2024.

Fiat 600, hybrid model starts at £23,965, 600e EV from £29,995, Fiat.co.uk, @Fiat_UK

Whether restomods, retromods, exacting recreations or simply something new and unusual that embodies the quintessence of a specific original, here are nine novel examples of how to update the classic spirit of Italian cars.

Restomod Italian cars: classics reimagined

EVO38 by Kimera EVO38

Now that the revival of the Lancia brand is well underway, interest is stirring in the manufacturer’s well-stocked cabinet of modern classics. No less than four different companies offer updated variations on contemporary models. Of particular interest to enthusiasts is the newly announced Kimera EVO38, a high-performance recreation of a car that never existed. 

Lancia’s EVO37 was one of the most ferocious of all the Group B rally cars, a terrifying category of the sport defined by unadulterated raw power. Cancelled in 1986 following a series of fatal accidents (for drivers and spectators), the cars from that era have lived on as a collection of automotive unicorns. The original EVO37 won the World Rally Champion in 1983 and also sired 200 road-going versions (as required by the regulations). 

Kimera, however, has taken upon itself to build the successor that never was, an all-wheel drive, road-going version. Dubbed EVO38, it’ll be low-weight, high power and very low volume – just 38 will be built, at a presumably higher price point that the 37 examples of the EVO37 Kimera previously built for €480,000.

Kimera-Automobili.com, @Kimera_Automobili

MAT Stratos

Yet another Lancia rally car returned for the 21st century. This time, the underpinnings of the MAT Stratos are rather different from the mighty Gandini-styled original (working for Bertone). Beneath the lightly updated wedge-shaped bodywork of the handful of cars built at the turn of the decade by Manifattura Automobili Torino, lies a Ferrari F430. 

This particular reincarnation had a long gestation, and the New Stratos had to make do with a rather outdated donor vehicle after Ferrari withdrew direct support. It’s still a welcome revival of one of motoring’s most dramatic forms.

ManifatturaAutomobiliTorino.com, @manifatturaautomobilitorino

Maturo Stradale

Lancia’s Delta model stood in stark comparison to the Stratos. Introduced in 1979, the year after the Stratos went out of production, it was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro; the creases were still sharp, but the overall form favoured right angles, not origami-like folds. By the 1980s, the Delta’s racing variant was once again winning rallies and once again inspiring a classic performance road car. The Lancia Delta HF Integrale fleshed out Giugiaro’s neat box with big arches for a wider track and fat tyres, rally-car acceleration and a rather fragile constitution that required constant maintenance.

Dutch manufacturer Maturo specialises in restoring original cars, but it also builds this, the Maturo Stradale, a ground-up restomod that swaps out the panels for carbon fibre replicas, with a roll cage at its heart. Lighter, more powerful and far more robust than the original, a Maturo Stradale is a bespoke creation that’ll set you back around £400k.

MaturoCars.com, @MaturoCars

Thornley Kelham Outlaw B20GT

Our final re-fettled Lancia is Thornley Kelham’s Outlaw B20GT, an upgraded and aesthetically enhanced version of the fabled Lancia Aurelia B20GT, the progenitor of all modern grand tourers. Lancia built the B20GT from 1951 onwards, with stunning bodywork designed by Ghia. In the hands of Gloucestershire-based specialist Thornley Kelham, this svelte Italian GT becomes the Fuorilegge (‘Outlaw’), with revised bodywork inspired by American hotrod culture.

The company built its first Outlaw in 2015, with a planned run of nine unique machines. The first six were powered with uprated Lancia engines, but the final three – still in build – will have Alfa Romeo V6s.

Fuorilegge.co.uk, ThornleyKelham.com, @ThornleyKelham

Totem Automobili GT

Totem Automobili describes itself as a ’tailor-made handcraft supercar manufacturer’, based in Venice and focused, laser-like, on what are perhaps Alfa Romeo’s most beautiful cars, the compact 105 and 115 Series Coupés that the company built in various configurations from 1963 to 1975. Available as high-power Giulia Sprint GT, GT Junior and racing GTA models, the original was shaped by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone (before he set up on his own).

Totem Automobili clearly knows the power and reach of this particular machine and has created three restomod versions that update the specs but keep the aesthetics as pure as possible (although they’re all longer and wider than the compact originals).

As well as the sleek GT Super and storming GTAModificata versions, Totem also makes the GT Electric, a hugely powerful GT EV with a projected 500km range and supercar-killing acceleration. All petrol-powered Totem GTs have a V6, with the ultra-light, wide-bodied, carbon-fibre GTAModificata putting out an impressive 810hp. Just five will be made, with the GT Super offering a more refined driving experience that evokes the grace and simplicity of its 1960s forerunner.

TotemAutomobili.com, @Totem.Automobili

ErreErre Fuoriserie Giulia

Another Italian homage to Alfa, Turin-based ErreErre Fuoriserie splices old and new in a more literal way with a recreation of the 1962 Giulia saloon. Billed as the ‘first retromod of a four-door sedan’, it evokes, rather than replicates, the spirit of the 1960s, with a contemporary Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio serving as a donor car.

That takes care of performance, but the style component has been put through a blender of post-war design influences. ErreErre has chamfered the smooth curves of the modern Alfa into an approximation of a 1960s suit, with an abrupt tail, new retro-style front end and bespoke interior. Just 33 cars will be built, with prices starting at €400,000.

ErreErreFuoriserie.com, @erreerrefuoriserie

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival

The rebirth of Bizzarrini focused first on this, the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, an exacting recreation of the Italian company’s 1960s road/race car. Although focus is shifting to the forthcoming Giotto supercar, the company’s facility in the north of England will still hand-build this meticulous machine, with every last nut and bolt carefully matched to the car that won its class at Le Mans in 1964. Priced from a heady £1.65 million, the Corsa Revival is an indication of the seemingly limitless value of original classics. 

Bizzarrini.com, @BizzarriniDesign

Breadvan Hommage by Niels van Roij Design

Dutch designer Niels van Roij has mastered the art of the tailored automobile, working on badges as diverse as Fiat and Range Rover. True automotive one-offs, each car is designed and built according to coachbuilding tradition, often responding to a whim or suggestion to do something out of the ordinary – a Tesla or Rolls-Royce shooting brake, for example.

This is the Breadvan Hommage, a one-off rebodied Ferrari 550 designed to pay homage to another unique car, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ of 1962. This machine – the creation of Giotto Bizzarrini himself – got its nickname from the aerodynamically pure but rather commercial-looking appearance of the long roofline. In building a modern version (revealed in 2021), van Roij and his client demonstrate a respect for history as well as a certain sense of humour.

NielsvanRoij.com, @NielsvanRoijDesign

Fiat 500 by Silent Classics

Finally, a more modestly scaled and attainable project in the shape of the iconic Fiat 500, courtesy of British company Silent Classics. As the name suggests, the North Dorset-based workshop specialises in transforming existing classics into electric vehicles, with Bentleys, Daimlers and Datsuns all receiving the high-voltage treatment, along with a smattering of pre-war cars.

Silent Classics’ Fiat 500E (not to be confused with Fiat’s modern EV of the same name) retains the car’s scale, looks and sheer delight, with an all-new powertrain giving up to 100 miles of range and rather more zip than the original. Complete cars are available from £50,000, with limitless options for those that like their luxuries down-sized. 

SilentClassics.co.uk, @Silent_Classics

This round-up of 24 transportation design innovations for 2024 is driven by curiosity rather than any attempt to be comprehensive. The following machines – whether wheeled, winged or just seats or buildings – are all dedicated to making mobility just a little bit easier, more elegant and, hopefully, more efficient. Some are practically in the bag, while others may be subject to slight delays. Read on to discover some of the many ways we’re hoping to get around this year.

Transportation design innovations to expect this year

Lotus Emeya

Lotus’ Eletre SUV was a hugely credible start to the company’s latest revival. 2024 will see the launch of the Lotus Emeya, a four-door sports EV that’s aimed squarely at the current market leader the Porsche Taycan. Sharper styling, innovative tech and graphics and sharp handling are all promised. 

LotusCars.com

Porsche Panamera 

The latest version of Porsche’s mighty Panamera amps up the electrical content for more range and performance, all the while refining the design of the company’s original four-door sporting GT. The outgoing generation was one of our favourite fast four-doors, and the new model looks set to exceed it in every respect. 

Porsche.com

Volkswagen ID.7

Another big saloon, albeit cut from a slightly less sporting mould, Volkswagen ID.7 is the latest model in its all-electric line-up. With a projected range of around 384 miles, the ID.7 is set to be one of the longest-legged EVs to debut this year. 

Volkswagen.co.uk

BMW i5 Touring

BMW’s i5 Touring is the first application of electrification to the company’s traditionally styled estate cars. While estates have been overlooked for too long in favour of SUVs, there’s also an EV estate on the way from Audi, signalling a slight but significant shift in the scale of aspirational cars. 

BMW.co.uk

Hyundai Ioniq 7

Previewed by the Ioniq Concept ‘Seven’ from 2021 (shown here), the forthcoming Ioniq 7 is pitched as the Korean company’s flagship SUV model. Closely related to Kia’s EV9, the Ioniq 7 will be spacious and flexible, as well as distinctively designed.  

Hyundai.co.uk

Cupra Tavascan

Cupra is ploughing ahead with its conversion to a pure EV company. Next up is the Tavascan, a fast-back compact SUV that’s the most coherent representation to date of the Spanish company’s strangely gothic form language. 

CupraOfficial.co.uk

MG Cyberster

As the first electric convertible sportscar to market, the Cyberster is going to attract a lot of attention. Considerably larger than the compact MGs of old, the Chinese-owned brand is still hoping to capture some of their original magic. 

MG.co.uk

Polestar 4

Polestar previews its products well ahead of time, so the shape and style of the 4 is no surprise. Following on from the Polestar 3, an SUV, the Polestar 4 is an SUV coupé, a crucial stylistic distinction that gives this car an elegant silhouette. 

Polestar.com

Volvo EX90

Also incoming from Sweden is the new Volvo EX90, a seven-seater SUV that looks set to embody all the archetypal Volvo qualities – safety, practicality, steadfast style – in an all-electric package.  

VolvoCars.com

Fiat 600e

The upcoming Fiat 600e is much more than an upscaled 500e. Sharing a platform with Jeep’s accomplished Avenger, this modestly sized EV uses Fiat’s friendly design DNA for a more practical everyday proposition. 

Fiat.co.uk

Citroën ë-C3

Billed as the first ‘affordable European electric car’, the Citroën ë-C3 channels the spirit of its stripped-down Ami microcar and Oli concept. With an upright stance, simplified visual language and sub €25k price, the company is positioning this as a 2CV for the 21st century. 

Citroen.co.uk

New Mini EVs

The electrification of Mini gathers pace in 2024 with electric versions of the Mini Countryman and Cooper on the way, along with the Aceman crossover SUV. 

Mini.co.uk

Volocopter Air Taxi

While all the four-wheeled debuts are signposted way in advance, innovations in aerial transport rarely commit to fixed timescales. Air taxi start-up Volocopter has vouched to have a service up and running for this summer's Paris Olympics; will this prove over-ambitious? 

Volocopter.com

CityAirbus NextGen

Airbus Industry’s CityAirbus NextGen is still very much a prototype machine, but 2024 should see this all-electric, four-seater eVTOL aircraft take its first flight. The eVTOL market is crowded with concepts but the backing of Europe’s largest aeronautics company makes this one to watch. 

Airbus.com

Wisk Aero

US air taxi developer Wisk Aero is assembling the production prototype of its sixth-generation aircraft in California with a view to flying the fully autonomous four-seater craft sometime this year. Wisk’s strategy of skipping human pilots altogether is markedly different from potential competitors. 

Wisk.aero

Hill Helicopters HX50

Compared to the futuristic forms proposed by the eVTOL companies, Hill Helicopters is somewhat conventional. Building a traditional rotorcraft from scratch is still a tall order, and the UK-based is focusing on first-time buyers with its sleekly designed five-seater.

HillHelicopters.com

Passenger Terminal, Mumbai

Also coming online late this year are the passenger terminals and control tower at Mumbai’s new D.B. Patil International Airport. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in the firm’s characteristic expressive modernist style, the pavilion-like terminals will be surrounded by lakes and feature voluminous curved roofs. 

NMIAirport.co.in

LAX APM System

Although mass transit and the United States go together like oil and water, Los Angeles Airport has made an effort with its new automated people mover (APM) system. Linking LAX’s terminals with transport nodes outside the airport itself is a start, but in a country where Disney World’s monorail system is allegedly the 9th largest mass transit system, don’t expect any Elizabeth Line-style grand gestures.

LAWA.org

Lufthansa Allegris seating

Lufthansa passengers will finally get an uplift in every class in 2024, as the company rolls out its long-awaited new Allegris seating systems. First and Business Class customers flying the airline’s newest A350 and 787 will get the upgrade this summer. 

Lufthansa.com

Air New Zealand Skynest

Air New Zealand runs some of the longest-haul routes in the world. To make the journey fly by, the company is rolling out its innovative Skynest bunks for passengers flying to New York and Chicago, both 15-plus-hour routes. The pod-like system, designed by Kate Cameron-Donald and Zoe Wenn, offers six bunks that can be pre-booked for a chunk of in-flight sleep.

AirNewZealand.com

Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air

We’ve already previewed the sleek Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air electric speedboat, a collaboration between the sports car maker and the historic Austrian boatbuilder. This year will see first customer deliveries of this super watercraft. 

FrauscherxPorsche.com

Blue Innovations Group R30

Another electric boat to watch out for is BIG’s R30. A 30ft cabin cruiser, the R30 is designed for the big time, pitched at pleasure boat users seeking a multifunctional vessel with zero emissions, with a flexible interior and deck configuration. On-board solar helps top up the battery. 

BlueInnovationGroup.com

BMW Motorrad CE 02

Following on from the launch of the CE 04, BMW Motorrad is branching out with another electric scooter, the CE 02. With a chunkier, more stripped-back style, this is a bike aimed at riders of every ability. 

BMW-Motorrad.co.uk

Stilride 1

Stilride’s debut electric scooter is diametrically different in style to BMW’s offering, with an expressive body formed from origami-inspired bent steel. The Swedish company says the Stilride 1 will get around 120km of range, while its clever construction saves material, waste and labour. 

Stilride.com

Electrification isn’t just about mainstream autos; some of the most intriguing products of the last 12 months took modern batteries into new territories, from travel trailers to motorbikes, speedboats, pick-up trucks and even classic car conversions. Find out more in our top 10 transport design stories of 2023…

Top 10 transport design stories of 2023

01. TELO Pick-Up Truck

One of the USPs of fuseproject’s TELO is that it’s tiny, relatively speaking, cramming go-anywhere practicality into a stubby EV frame that’s shorter than a (modern) Mini. 

READ MORE

02. New compact camper vans

The renaissance in camper van and RV culture continued apace throughout 2023, with compact designs that double up as everyday drivers making a particular impact. 

READ MORE

03. Living Vehicle HD24

Californian company Living Vehicle launched the HD24, a home from home that also doubles up as an office on the move. Meticulous multi-functional design make this machine a highly desirable mobile des-res. 

READ MORE

04. Electrogenic 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II

Electrified classics are everywhere right now, but kudos to Electrogenic for applying the tech to a true vintage machine. This one-off 1929 Rolls-Royce has been transformed over 18 months, replacing the original monstrous engine with a battery pack without compromising its majestic stance.

READ MORE

05. Bentley Blower Jr

At the other end of the scale is this pocket-sized Bentley, shrunk and electrified by the Little Car Company. At 85 per cent scale, it’s still a sprightly two-seater. 

READ MORE

06. Fuell Fllow Motorbike

Electric touring motorbikes have yet to have their moment, but Fuell’s futuristic Fllow was a bright sign of things to come, mixing fast charging with a long range and plenty of performance. 

READ MORE

07. Fiat Topolino

Fiat’s tiny Topolino has yet to go on sale, but we’re eagerly awaiting a go. Based on the cracking little Citroën Ami, the Topolino truly captures the spirit of small Fiats of the distant past. 

READ MORE

08. Pebble Flow

If there was an award for the most sophisticated travel trailer of the age, the Pebble Flow would snap it up. With embedded electric power – to lessen the load on the tow vehicle – the four-berth Flow would light up any weekend away.

READ MORE

09. Renault Twingo by Sabine Marcelis

Renault continues to play with its icons and Sabine Marcelis’ take on the classic original Twingo followed Mathieu Lehanneur’s Renault 4 based Suite N°4, and Pierre Gonalons’ stylish Renault 5 Diamant. The French manufacturer will soon return to its roots as the king of small cars. 

READ MORE

10. Candela C-8 Polestar Edition

As a way of showcasing their power packs, Polestar fitted out the Candela C-8 hydrofoil with its hefty batteries. The resulting Polestar Edition blazes a trail for luxury electric watercraft. 

READ MORE

So you want to be an Instagram star? Consider investing in a vintage Fiat 500 Jolly beach car. An adorable sky-blue model from 1959, with wicker seats and an open roof, went up for auction at this year’s Zoute Sale in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. Prior to the sale, it took a few last trips through town, as delighted bystanders smiled, waved, and snapped photos galore.

The beach community known as Knokke Le Zoute was having one of the year’s busiest weekends, thanks to the annual Zoute Grand Prix, a four-day high-end car, art, and lifestyle festival in early October that includes a BonhamsCars auction of vintage and classic cars, an exhibition of new top-of-the-line contemporary cars, a three-day classic car rally, and a GT tour.

Buckle up for the Zoute Grand Prix

The Fiat Jolly had competition for attention – seemingly every other car on the road that weekend was a collector’s item, and the quiet atmosphere was punctuated by the muscular growl of revving engines. At the luxury La Réserve hotel, teenage boys, ‘car spotters’, circled the parking lot, cameras in hand. A particularly excited group gathered to photograph a Bugatti Chiron with German plates. One spotter, from Luxembourg, explained that an alert about the car had gone out on social media. ‘You don’t see many like this,’ he said, kissing his fingers appreciatively.

But fine cars are never an unusual sight here; even a young woman working in the hotel lobby pulled out her phone to show off her family’s two Porsches. Asked whether anyone here drives a Subaru, she just laughed. ‘This is Knokke.’

Commonly referred to as Belgium’s Saint-Tropez, Knokke-Heist was settled at the beginning of the 20th century by three families who catered to British tourists by building a golf course, tennis courts, stables, and white villas with red tile roofs. 

Today, Knokke counts 33,000 inhabitants and 110,000 owners of second homes. Name a monarch or billionaire, and he (or she) is probably here. People are drawn not only by the favourable tax code, but also by 11km of sandy beach, high-end shopping, Michelin-starred restaurants, and a thriving art scene. The town’s art deco casino boasts an astonishing 360-degree mural by Belgian Surrealist René Magritte, measuring 70m wide by 7m tall (soon to be restored as part of a major facelift by TAB Architects and Barozzi Veiga).

The town contains 90 art galleries in just two square kilometres. Perhaps its most prestigious dealer is Guy Pieters, the Belgian son of a house painter who opened his first gallery in Knokke in 1981, knowing he would find collectors nearby. One of his longtime artists is Wolfgang Volz, Christo’s exclusive photographer, who was in town to show his photos of the wrapped Arc de Triomphe. ‘I didn’t know how to spell Knokke,’ said Volz. ‘Now I’ve had about five solo exhibitions here.’

Another artist in Knokke for the weekend was Princess Delphine of Belgium, only recently recognised as part of the royal family after her father, King Albert II, was obliged by the courts to take a DNA test. She drove the last leg of the auto rally in a BMW 507 roadster (lent by BMW from its heritage fleet), just like the one Elvis Presley acquired when doing his military service in Germany. 

Female drivers were definitely a minority in the Zoute Rally, which attracted 250 historic cars and typically has a waiting list. A woman named Patricia, from Antwerp, took the wheel of a red 1963 Jaguar E-Type, while her male partner navigated. When asked why she got to drive, she smiled: ‘Because it’s my car.’

The Zoute Grand Prix was founded in 2010 by two brothers, Filip and David Bourgoo, who owned an Audi-Bentley dealership. Believing that motor shows had grown too big and no longer attracted the right people, they displayed a new car in central Knokke, in front of the Louis Vuitton boutique. Sensing an opportunity, Ferrari asked them to build a marquee for its new products. Other brands followed. ‘Ten years ago, we had to beg to sell cars in Knokke,’ said Filip. ‘Now they’re queuing.’

Collector’s items, contemporary and classic

Visitors paid €75 for a ticket to enter the Grand Prix’s two beachside pavilions. In the Prado Zoute pavilion, 21 car manufacturers showed their latest models, from the Lamborghini Revuelto to the Ferrari Purosangue four-seater. Around half were electric. The car drawing the biggest crowds was the fully electric Rolls-Royce Spectre that customers had just started receiving that very week. The beautiful beast weighed 3 tonnes, with a choice of 44,000 paint colours, and a price tag of €525,000. Product expert Ed Drake said that the car’s bespoke road sound (to alert pedestrians to its presence) was recorded by an orchestra imitating the sound of a Rolls-Royce accelerating.  

Tucked away among the collector cars was the new Rimac Nevera, the young Croatian brand’s first commercial automobile, which has set the record as the world’s fastest electric production car: 0-100 km/h in 1.81 seconds. Brand manager Bernard Van Bellingen said they sold one car this year – a special version, to a buyer in Belgium, for €2.4 million – and that the year’s second sale ‘will arrive’.

There are cars that people drive, and those that sit pretty. The latter, 96 collector cars, were on display in the Zoute Gallery pavilion. Many had barely ever touched asphalt. All of them hit the block on Sunday at BonhamsCars’ tenth annual Zoute Sale, which has quickly become one of the world’s most important auctions of rare collection cars. Ruinart Champagne flowed freely, poured by servers in Magritte-inspired bowler hats. 

Several cars (notably supercars and hypercars), sold for close to one million euros or more, receiving audience applause each time they hit the milestone. An immaculate 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder with less than 400km on the odometer doubled its bottom estimate to reach €1.2 million. ‘Who woulda thought?’ said the auctioneer, Maarten ten Holder, managing director of BonhamsCars, as it blew past one million.

Surprising rarities included a 1997 SAAB EX prototype, a one-of-a-kind car made for the company’s 50th anniversary. A collection of eight different Aston Martins from 2010 were all painted the same tangerine orange colour – a special request by the original owner. A 1956 Bentley S-Type Continental was formerly driven by Helmut Newton. And a 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante once cradled J.Lo’s bottom in her ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ music video. Love may be cheap, but this car ended up being a steal at just over €40,000.

The star of the sale was a stunning beige 1959 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Tour de France’ with all original parts, owned for 37 years by Swiss racing driver Plinio Haas. It went for slightly below its estimate, €4.83 million (including premium), to a North American client, pushing the day’s total sales to more than €27 million, a record for BonhamsCars.

And the little blue Fiat Jolly? After a round of lively bidding, it sold for an impressive €155,250 to a bidder from the United Arab Emirates.

Zoute Grand Prix, ZouteGrandPrix.be, Cars.Bonhams.com

In 2013, Ron Arad visited R Proietti, a London-based specialist repairer of original Fiat 500s. Arad explained that he was looking for a selection of Cinquecentos in a variety of colours, and was planning to crush them flat. Unsurprisingly, proprietor Stefano Proietti was not immediately on board. Summoning his considerable if mischievous charm, Arad explained that he too was a 500 lover and that his intent was to immortalise the cars, as a pressed flower eternalises an ephemeral bloom. Arad won Proietti over and he took six cars to a specialist in the Netherlands who could flatten them to his satisfaction. 

These became the Pressed Flower series, part of the 2013 ‘In Reverse’ exhibition at the (Arad-designed) Design Museum Holon near Tel Aviv. The show explored the relationship between physical and digital design and making, and between the flat sketch and the 3D model. ‘Normally you make something from a drawing into something three-dimensional and functional,’ Arad explains. ‘I did the opposite. I took a three-dimensional, fully functional thing and I rendered it two-dimensional and non-functional.’

The show also included Slow Outburst, a digital simulation of a car being crushed by an invisible force and then reconstituting itself, created with the help of special effects studio Framestore, more usually employed on Marvel blockbusters. 

These pieces are the basis of Arad’s debut series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). And the crushing and conceptual and commercial reframing of a Fiat 500 might be as nice an analogy as any for the promise of that technology. NFTs are like cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether in that they are generally built using the same programming. However, unlike cryptocurrencies, they are not equal to one another and cannot be exchanged like for like (hence non-fungible). Each one is ‘minted’ in small numbers from digital objects such as music, animation, GIFs or avatars. Crucially, they use blockchains to register ownership and all sales thereafter; smart contracts can be coded in so creators get a piece of all future sales. But because they rely on blockchains, they carry the same reputational stink of scandalous energy use associated with cryptocurrencies. They are mostly in the news because last year an NFT by video artist Beeple was sold at Christie’s for $69.3m, the third-highest price ever paid for the work of a living artist.

Arad is the first to admit that, like most people, he has a very limited understanding of the mechanics and potential of NFTs. But like most artists, he has been bombarded with calls from NFT-minting suitors telling him he should get a piece of the action. Arad is fascinated by emerging and not-yet-emerged technologies, so he just needed the right approach, the promise that he could create something enviable, to get him over the line.

That approach came from Tel Aviv-based Shifting Vision. Established in 2020 by entrepreneur and art and design collector Edouard Sterngold, Shifting Vision has already partnered with artists including Erwin Wurm, Isaac Julien, Rashid Johnson and Adel Abdessemed to create short films.

Sterngold says that, in the early days of the pandemic, he had a sense that art was resonating differently, but also that artists felt there was a greater disconnect between their work and what he calls ‘actuality’. With physical galleries closed, artists had to think about how people engaged with their art. And at the same time, seismic socio-cultural shifts, such as the rise of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, were reframing their existing work. Shifting Vision would work with artists to create films that were more immediate, accessible versions of the monograph. 

NFTs presented an opportunity to work with artists to create digital art that could reach a new audience. That pitch worked with Arad. ‘I showed them stuff and they reacted to the right things,’ he says. ‘I liked the other artists they were talking to so I said, “Yeah, let’s give it a go”. And then it was just a matter of deciding what would be the right project to start with. Luckily, we are very rich in digital material.’

The animated version of Ron Arad’s limited-edition cover creation, featuring Reverse Again, 2022, hand-painted on the artist’s tablet. Presented in association with Shifting Vision, soundtrack by Dario Marinanelli. 

Set to be auctioned in April, ‘Reverse Again’ is four lots of NFTs, including a reworking of the Slow Outburst film in an edition of 15 (each a different colour), a one-of-a-kind edition of Slow Outburst, and Little Yellow Car, an early video ‘prototype’ of Slow Outburst, also in an edition of 15. Meanwhile, Let’s Drop it, OK? and Let’s Drop it, OK? (Side View) are digital images of a collapsing Roddy Giacosa, the bent steel rod simulacra of a Fiat 500 Arad created for the ‘In Reverse’ exhibition, now produced in editions of 50. 

The Arad collaboration is Shifting Vision’s debut NFT project, but Sterngold has big and serious ambitions. ‘As a technology, it is still 100 per cent potential and opportunity,’ he says. Sterngold knows fine art NFTs are still relatively uncharted territory; it’s his mission to convince established contemporary artists of the potential of NFTs, to help them figure out how and why the technology can work for them. As Shifting Vision’s curator and project manager Jemma Elliott-Israelson says, ‘The goal is to work with artists who are super-established and don’t want to take big, stupid risks with their work.’ 

Sterngold is the first to admit that NFTs are still a difficult sell to many artists, but there is obvious low-hanging fruit. The initial appeal is to video artists who can now ‘mint’ editions of new video work. ‘There’s nothing to lose and all to gain,’ he says. 

He also argues that NFT smart contracts will encourage more cross-disciplinary collaboration, as all creative partners are guaranteed a piece of the financial pie. NFTs allow an artist to explore the potential of digital art, in whatever form, with a greater sense of security around ownership. ‘If you’re an established artist, you want to know what happens to your licensing and copyrights of your image after it’s sold,’ says Elliott-Israelson. ‘We are trying to provide a safe space for artists to do this and then hopefully ignite a lot of creativity within them.’

‘Artists need time to adapt and make the transition. Art shouldn’t be created in a hurry,’ concludes Sterngold. ‘We’ll go on a journey together with the artists. We’ll test some things, we’ll learn and we’ll adapt.’

Shifting Vision produced a short film, directed by art director and filmmaker Giulia Magno, exploring the artistic process behind the creation of Ron Arad's NFT artworks. Shot in Arad’s London home and studio, the film retraces the artist’s long-standing fascination with the Fiat 500

This article was originally featured in the May 2022 issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands now and available to subscribers. 

ronarad.co.uk, shiftingvision.org

Turin is now host to Europe’s largest hanging garden, set high above the concrete modernist curves of the Fiat company’s Lingotto Factory. A collaboration between Turinese architect Benedetto Camerana and the botanist Cristiana Ruspa, La Pista 500 is a new public space and urban garden for Turin. It’s joined by Casa 500, a dedicated exhibition space within the Pinacoteca Agnelli, the Fiat family foundation housed in the Renzo Piano-designed structure built atop the Lingotto complex in 2003.

Casa 500 is dedicated to Fiat’s most celebrated model, the Fiat 500, both in its original 1957 incarnation and its hugely successful 20th century revival. Featuring original artwork, models and ephemera from the company’s collection, Casa 500 was designed by the Italian firm LAB71 Architetti, led by Massimiliano Gotti Porcinari.

La Pista 500 is a linear park in the sky, enhancing the city’s biodiversity with 40,000 plants comprising of 300 species, housed in 28 island planters set within the factory’s original concrete test track. Giacomo Mattè Trucco (1869 –1934) originally conceived the Lingotto complex as a temple of manufacturing, a five-floor production line that eschewed the sprawling facilities of Fiat’s American counterparts in favour of a more vertical solution.

Components and raw materials went in on the ground floor and production snaked its way up towards the roof, complete with dramatic spiralling concrete ramps at each end of the 1.5 million sq m complex. On the summit was the company’s crowning glory, a test track with steep concrete banking. Over the next half century, some 80 models of Fiat were built here, including the original Topolino city car of the 1930s. 

Piano and his team spent 20 years working on the renovation of the structure after the factory closed in 1982, transforming the former production lines into offices, two hotels, a conference centre, and retail space.

The transparent ‘bubble’ structure on the roof is the most obviously high-tech addition to the study of concrete modernism, counterbalanced by the exhibition space at the opposite end of the long, slender structure. 

Urban oasis for Turin

The La Pista 500 celebrates this enduring structure, saved from industrial oblivion by Piano’s interventions. The 7,000 sq m of new planting runs the 1.2km length of the test track, which has been given a new lease of life as a place to drive electric only vehicles, including bikes and scooters.

The new vegetation has been designed to maximise biodiversity, avoiding the need for excessive water consumption, and there’s an education space, a kitchen garden, and even zones dedicated to contemplation and meditation. Stellantis, Fiat’s parent company, acknowledges that the transformation of a concrete factory into a verdant public space is a ‘deeply symbolic’ act, and hopes it’ll be seen as a physical representation of its ongoing sustainable ambitions. 

INFORMATION

Pinacoteca Agnelli

It’s hard to understand why Fiat has taken quite so long to create the Fiat New 500, an all-new pure EV version of the classic retro-modern city car. The company created an electric version of the first-generation Fiat 500 back in 2013, the 500e, but it always felt like a compromise when compared with the brilliant simplicity of the conventional car.

In fact, the late Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, once told an American conference that he’d prefer it if no one bought the 500e, as the cost of manufacturing the car meant Fiat lost around $14,000 per unit. 

The days when CEOs could complain loudly and vociferously about EV quotas and the legislated death of the combustion era are long gone. With so much at stake – economically as well as environmentally – the case for electric vehicles has never been stronger.

This is particularly true in the 500’s segment, the compact urban/suburban car. We recently raved about the new Honda e, which effectively stole the soul and thunder from the original Fiat 500 by being friendly, small and exceptionally well put together. 

As Marchionne discovered to his cost, there was no efficient way of electrifying the award-winning design of the original, based on Roberto Giolito’s 2004 Fiat Trepiùno concept, and subsequently shaped for production by a team led by Frank Stephenson. Fiat took the overall shape of the 1950s-era Fiat 500 and inflated it to accommodate modern mechanicals and safety legislation. The car had a mild facelift in 2016 and continues in production today. 

Fiat New 500 EV: zippy in the city

The New 500 exists alongside its conventionally powered older sibling. It is a tad larger in every direction, but also sleeker, with some finely wrought graphic and trim details. With an official range of 199 miles, and even more promised if you stick to short urban hops, it doesn’t quite fall into the category of a ‘fill and forget’, range anxiety-free vehicle, but it comes pretty close and will certainly take you further than the Honda e, or its other close competitor, VW’s e-Up!. 

The Fiat is pretty delightful to drive, in the way that only small cars can be; zippy acceleration, plenty of space on the road and good visibility. Interior tech and trim is a strong point, especially in the top of the range ‘Icon’ edition. On the basic models you’ll be using your own smartphone for navigation and entertainment, but the New 500 Icon adds a 10.25in widescreen display.

There are other self-conscious design quirks, like the push-button door openers and the little musical phrase you get when you switch the car off. It sounds suspiciously like Italian circus music, a musical cue to have a cute and surprising day?

Fiat’s New 500 perhaps has more in common with the 1950s original than its retro forebear. For a start, it’s Italian built (with a little ‘Made in Torino’ graphic to bolster its cred), unlike the Polish-made ICE 500. That car has its engine up front, in contrast to the original’s tiny rear-mounted two-cylinder unit. Of course, the New 500 can do away with all these oily bits altogether, hence the smooth, stubby front end treatment makes a lot more sense. There’s even a cabrio version – at time of writing the only electric open-topped car you can buy.

The New 500 might not take any giant design or technological steps forward, but it plays to the established strengths of a modern classic and delivers just the right mix of delight and function.

INFORMATION

Fiat New 500 Icon, £27,995

fiat.co.uk

Also see the Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani, a limited edition released in 2024, since this article was first published.

When the original Fiat Panda was launched in 1980, it set new standards for small car design. Penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani at Giugiaro’s brand new Italdesign Agency, the small Fiat was developed throughout the late 1970s as a perfect mass market utility vehicle.

Originally to have been called the ‘Rustica’, it was the Italian equivalent of France’s Citroen 2CV, a car pitched at the rural community who demanded efficiency, space and simplicity. But something happened between the concept and the creation, and by the time the car reached production, its slab-sided 70s minimalism evolved into a forward-thinking, no-nonsense 80s idealism. Utterly without nostalgia, Giorgetto Giugiaro once described it as ‘like a pair of jeans: a simple, practical article of clothing without pretense.’ Like all the great small cars, the Panda was also almost entirely classless, symbolising an attitude and an ethos rather than status. There was even an electric version in 1990 and the model lasted for 23 years before being replaced. 

This car, the Fiat Panda City Cross Hybrid, is the latest variant of the third-generation model. Remarkably, even this most recent Panda has already been in production for ten years. Fiat’s financial flakiness notwithstanding, the design’s endurance is testament to how much the company got right from the outset back in 2011 when it upgraded the model for a new era. The City Cross Hybrid crams an advanced powertrain into the Panda’s compact bodywork, pitching itself as the ultimate city vehicle.

However, electrification is used only to give the car a power boost, rather than propel it under pure electric power. This extra juice doesn’t give the Panda any serious performance enhancement, but the direct, light steering and small footprint mean there’s pleasure to be had from simply finding the gaps and parking spots that big cars can no longer squeeze into. 

Whilst the original has become a classic, thanks to such design decisions as the avoidance of curved glass, the wipe clean interior and slim, spring-less seats, the newer car is still wildly popular, especially in Italy. The 4x4 version, like its predecessor, is considered a cult car, and the City Cross Hybrid shares the raised, chunky styling of its micro off-roader sibling. It is rugged without being aggressive, inside and out, with a dashboard design that recalls turn-of-the-century mobile phones, and shiny black plastic interior and exterior finishes that are more hiking boot than training shoe. In Italy, the Panda is still at the top of the charts, with twice as many sold as its nearest competitor. Giugiaro’s ethos of simplicity turned out to transcend fashion and the current model admirably keeps this flame alive.

INFORMATION
Fiat Panda Citycross, price as tested £15,230
fiat.co.uk

Nothing shouts ‘the good life’ better than driving a bright-yellow vintage 1960s Fiat 500 Jolly Spiaggina – modernised to run solely on electric power – along the beautiful roads around Lake Como in the famous car brand’s native Italy. The classic Fiat 500 is already widely adored as one of the best ‘everyman cars’ ever designed – Italy’s version of the English Mini or the French Citroën 2CV – and the Spiaggina version, meaning ‘little beach’ in Italian, ramps up the feel-good factor a few notches higher.

Taking away the roof and doors of a car breaks down the usual physical barriers to human commuter interaction and creates a metaphorical openness in the process too. Gliding silently through the narrow streets of idyllic lakeside villages – the Spiaggina EV’s top speed is only about 50mph and with open-top air flow to contend with, slower is better – crowd reaction is constant and consistently positive. Smiles abound along with shouts of ‘Numero uno’, ‘Bella macchina’ and more. Once you get into character it’s impossible not to smile and wave back, return the numerous thumbs up signals and shout the odd ‘Buongiorno’ to any locals sitting outside cafes and bars. Even the grumpiest old men repeat the greeting.

Driving the Spiaggina Icon-e, converted to electric via Fiat heir Lapo Elkann’s Garage Italia business, takes a little getting used to, but it’s a blissfully simple process by modern-day standards. Entry to the vehicle involves unclipping a VIP-style rope and stepping over a low sill into one of four wicker seats (there are no seatbelts, as this car was born before they were mandatory). The car is turned on with a conventional key in a slot in the yellow metal dashboard and then you simply flick a black switch to its left to put the car into ‘Drive’.

The steering wheel is large, thin-rimmed and with no obvious power assistance, but the car is light and tiny, so manoeuvring is simple. Rear legroom is only okay, but it’s not a long-haul vehicle. A single driver dial has been updated with an LCD display to indicate Drive, Reverse and Neutral and also how much electric range is left. Don’t trust it: The claimed circa 60-mile range we found (to our cost) to be closer to 40 miles, despite the display indicating otherwise. Still, if you use this car for a fun day close to where you hire it, you’ll be fine. And if you take the car for more than 24 hours there’s a charging cable in the ‘boot’ to bring it back to ‘full’ (where the original car housed its tiny rear-mounted engine).

For longer journeys Hertz’s ‘Selezione Italia’ rental fleet also offers other Italian cars including an Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon ‘Grand Tour’ edition with a vivid blue exterior paint job and a ceiling liner printed with a classical mural, (an acquired taste), but also an efficient modern diesel Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV able to carry major luggage and passengers with ease. The Fiat 500 Spiaggina isn’t cheap at €250 a day, but as a way to connect to your location like no other, it’s a one-off experience that’s hard to beat.

INFORMATION

garage-italia.com

Arguably, the quality and depth of concept cars on display at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show was the best for years. Certainly that was the opinion of most of the commentators we bumped into while walking the halls of the Palexpo exhibition located next to the Swiss city’s airport. Which made it all the harder to whittle down to our list of favourites.

But here goes anyway. Here are the next generation concept cars unveiled at the motor show, including product design-inspired city cars to ultra-luxury electric SUVs.

Citroën Ami One

The award for ‘most photo-friendly Geneva concept’ could easily go to the Citroën Ami One. Celebrating 100 years in 2019, the charmingly idiosyncratic French brand unveiled its 2.5m long city car concept as egalitarian low-cost transport – even for those without a regular driving licence – as the tiny electric two-seater is simple to use and doesn’t go above 30mph. Special emphasis was placed on making the car more affordable to manufacture, with a symmetrical design featuring fewer unique parts. Accordingly the left and right-hand doors are identical – opening in opposite directions so the hinges can be positioned in the same place – and various bumpers and panels are interchangeable. Sit inside and the cabin feels remarkably spacious but still with significant storage. There is also a display slot where you can plug in your own smart phone to substitute for a built-in driver or satnav screen to reduce complexity and cost. Aimed to be either ‘pay-as-you-go’ via an app or owned outright with greater personalisation, Citroën’s head of interior design, Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier tells Wallpaper* the car is for a new kind of traveller. ‘It’s not meant to appeal to a car freak,’ he says with a smile, ‘the aesthetic is different, it’s for a wider and younger audience. The Ami One is more like a “connected” object.’

Kia Imagine

‘We tried to create a car that’s hard to categorise, not clearly a saloon or a hatch and certainly not a dry-looking electric vehicle either,’ Alex Daniel, Kia’s exterior creative manager says of the South Korean brand’s Imagine concept. Boldly named, the result is equally so, especially the interior, with an original mix of the flamboyant and the technical. Instead of just one large infotainment central screen the Imagine’s dashboard proposes 21 iPad-sized ones, fanned out like a pack of cards from door to door. Meanwhile the leather-covered carbon-fibre seat shells ape the look of intricately folded paper and the inner door panel surfacing resembles metal that has been artfully hand-beaten. As Imagine’s interior designer Ralph Kluge concludes: ‘We wanted an airy and roomy cabin but also wanted it to be more inviting than the normal rational approach.’ They’ve succeeded.

Lagonda All-Terrain

Aston Martin had one of the busiest stands at the Geneva Motor Show unveiling four exceptional new vehicles – from a production-ready V12 hypercar to a V6 supercar concept – but the Lagonda All-Terrain concept also caught the eye for signalling the arrival of Aston’s all-electric luxury offshoot brand, starting production in 2022. Following the limousine-shaped 2018 Lagonda Vision, the 2019 All-Terrain concept signposts that there will also be a large and capable electric SUV in the Lagonda range, able to extend luxury travel well beyond the Tarmac and in a cabin environment more akin to a well-appointed front room – with lounge-style seats and softer fabrics including cashmere.

Nissan IMQ

Nissan has been showing various new SUV concepts – mainly electric-powered in some form – for a few years now. Standing out in their angularity of exterior aesthetic, global head of design Alfonso Albaisa tells Wallpaper* the concepts are examples of the firm ‘expressing its roots more than before’ and in the case of the new IMQ concept specifically, an example of the Japanese word Kabuku ‘to embrace the strange or unusual’. The closely-spaced new grille of the IMQ is particularly fresh and the interior features laser-cut fabric on the dash and door panels inspired by a latticed woodwork technique used in classical Japanese screens called Kumiko. Insiders suggest the IMQ gives strong design pointers to the next Qashqai compact SUV and the concept also highlights Nissan’s next generation e-Power system – which utilises a small petrol engine to charge the battery for an electric motor to then power the wheels – and which is already a success in Japan. The firm will be bringing the tech to Europe by 2022.

Fiat Centoventi

According to Fiat Chrysler head of design Ralph Gilles, Fiat hasn’t made a concept car for about 15 years, such has been its focus on production car realities and profitability. So the Fiat Centoventi concept came as a genuine surprise at the Geneva show. Celebrating 120 years of the Italian company – thus the name – the concept features a host of modular and low-cost ideas. These include a battery housing with extra slots so the customer can purchase more packs to facilitate greater electric vehicle range – like a home computer that can similarly cater for ‘extra memory’ needs – and a white-only exterior to which various roof, bumper, wheel covers and external wraps can be added to bring colour and personalisation. In keeping with the anniversary theme, there are 120 accessories initially envisioned and 114 of them – including seat cushions, door storage and a sound system – could be ordered online and fitted by the customer at home, or 3D-printed, in the case of one cup-holder design. The idea is these items could also be resold and traded on the internet when the owner fancies a change, all of which Fiat thinks could promote a greater community of fans for its brand.

Piëch Mark Zero

The wild card of this 2019 Geneva concept car selection is the Piëch Mark Zero concept. The Swiss-German start-up’s company name comes from co-founder Toni Piëch, the son of former VW chairman Ferdinand Piëch and great-grandson of VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche no less. Big boots to fill then, but Toni Piëch believes his company brings something different to the table. The Mark Zero pairs timeless design – recalling classic Jaguar and Maserati styling cues among others – with a new technology package underneath that he says could dramatically reduce electric vehicle charging times close to a conventional combustion engine’s fuel tank fill-up. Piëch Automotive is touting a speed of 80 per cent full in five minutes as possible and says its modular hardware and software concept can accommodate many powertrain types more easily while being easier to update than traditional carmakers’ platforms too. Three types of car are being planned – a two-seater, four-seater plus a sporty SUV – to be produced by existing and experienced contract manufacturers. But the bigger ambition seems to be for Piëch Automotive to market its modular structure to other car manufacturers as part of a business-to-business model. Early days then, but interesting.

INFORMATION
Geneva Motor Show runs from 7 – 17 March. For more information, visit the Geneva Motor Show website

Wallpaper* recently had the chance to do a little back-to-back comparison between two of the brightest new stars in the sports car firmament, Fiat’s 124 Spider and its enhanced and more ostentatious sibling, the Abarth 124, both released last year. There’s an unseen third player in this relationship, and their influence is felt with every turn of the wheel.

For these ostensibly Italian machines are, of course, Japanese to the core, based on and developed alongside the fourth generation Mazda MX5, a pocket-sized machine that inspires much affection. Our only caveat about the Mazda was its slightly wayward styling, a tendency towards generic swoops and scoops that merely highlighted how fundamentally right the earlier generations of the car had been.

The Fiat 124 Spider looks much better than the Mazda, even though it has an even more overbearing history to live up to. It’s named after one of the most iconic Fiats of the post-war era, a Pininfarina classic that lasted a remarkable 19 years in production, thanks mostly to its popularity in the US. With bodywork penned at the height of the Italian design house's powers, the original 124 didn't have a single line out of place and remains a highly sought after classic.

As a result, the new 124 Spider has a lot to live up to and not everyone’s expectations were exceeded. It’s fair to say, however, that there’s very little on the market that can match it, in scale, ability and intent (disregarding the Mazda, of course). Unless you’re willing to go all-out old school in a car like the substantially pricier Morgan or the substantially more visceral and uncomfortable Caterham, the 124 is in a class of its own.

Dexterity, simplicity, dynamic brilliance and even efficiency all come as standard. We’d forego the slightly brash two-tone paint job offered by Abarth in favour of something rather more classic, but the added power and bite make the Scorpion-badged car the more interesting choice. Purists will probably want to stick with the Fiat, for although it needs to be revved hard for maximum performance, the precise handling is fun at any speed. Besides, open-topped touring is about enjoying the drive, not driving at full tilt. And there are few better ways to do that than in this fine pair of iconic roadsters.

INFORMATION

Abarth 124 Spider, from £28,826. For more information, visit the Abarth website. Fiat 124 Spider, from £19,545. For more information, visit the Fiat website

The compact Abarth 695 Biposto crams a lot of power into a very small space. Astute readers will note this car’s strong resemblance to Fiat’s evergreen 500, introduced to great acclaim in 2007 thanks to its healthy dose of retro design. The 500 is now a familiar site in continental cities, just like its diminutive forebear, Dante Giacosa’s original Fiat Cinquecento. And like that original, the 500 is still shipped over to Fiat’s sporting subsidiary Abarth to be transformed from city slicker to racing machine.

Historically, Abarth has always beefed up its raw material with spoilers and flared wheel arches and the Biposto is no exception, giving the already trim design a hefty, muscular stance. The 695 Biposto is the most extreme iteration of Abarth’s go-faster ideology, shorn of any and all extraneous weight (as well as any ‘Fiat’ badges). That means foregoing rear seats, a radio and even the door trim, giving the interior a stripped-down, back-to-basic feel that communicates the marque’s racing pedigree from the outset. This layer of raw machismo is taken to even greater extremes with the regular 695 Biposto, which adds four point racing harnesses instead of conventional seatbelts and a racing-style gearbox.

The 695 Biposto Record is an edition of 133 cars with a little more luxury, the number built equating to the 133 international racing records set by the company’s founder Carlo Abarth. Available only in scorching Modena Yellow, it’s not a subtle machine, inside or out (although at least the harnesses are replaced by conventional seatbelts). A 1.4 litre engine, boosted to 190hp, allows the exhaust note to be pitched just right, sporting and bold without resorting to the window rattling tricks of its bigger-engined peers.

Small sports cars tend to bring out a rash of automotive clichés – pocket rockets with go-kart handling, etc. etc. – and the Biposto is especially susceptible to hyperbole. Yet there’s undeniably a welcome purity to the way this car drives, with more than enough power for day-to-day use, crisp but friendly handling and of course all the benefits that come with being a fraction of the size of your fellow road users. Abarth still sets the bar for pint-sized but powerful cars. 

INFORMATION

Abarth 695 Biposto Record, from £36,610. For more information visit Abarth’s website

Europe's favourite stylish city car has had a facelift. The Fiat 500 has won 1.5 million hearts worldwide since its 2007 re-birth (70 per cent of them female) and is still the best-selling car in its class, but technological times have changed and tweaks were deemed necessary.

'Due to the car's continuing success there was not a push from marketing to change,' says former head of Fiat Group design Lorenzo Ramaciotti, the man in charge of the new car when its remix was being planned. 'They said: "Do what you want with the engines and infotainment but don't touch the style." But our designers were restless so we wanted to update the details. Keep the car, but change the signature.' 

Accordingly, on the outside, the front lamps remain the same shape but their internals now feature an elliptical-style graphic, the low front air-intake offers cool grille 'pins' rather than mesh – akin to those found on the Mercedes A-Class and CLA – and the rear light clusters have become ring-shaped rather than solid, and more three-dimensional in profile too. Inside, the seats have been re-shaped to improve ergonomics and the centre console finally gets an internet-connected infotainment system with a small, five-inch colour touchscreen. While that's progress for the 500, it's still a small screen by modern standards and the system isn't as quick or intuitive as it could be.

Customisation continues on the 2015 model with largely tasteful and myriad options including new exterior colours – including some interesting horizontal two-tones – and smart Prince of Wales check seat upholstery you might normally expect only on more expensive cars (the range starts at £10,690).

The interior area is unchanged, so taller rear passengers will feel cramped (and the boot is a tiny 185 litres), but the fold-back-canvas-on-rails cabriolet version increases the feeling of space, at least. Pick of the engines is the 105hp 0.9 TwinAir petrol manual, which is pleasingly zippy and has a characterful two-cylinder engine noise to reinforce that feeling. Offering 67.3mpg and 90g/km of CO2, fuel costs and emission-based taxes should remain low.

Overall, the 500 is still unlike any other car on the market, its considerable charms still overwhelming despite the changes (and its long-standing shortcomings). As Fiat brand boss Luca Napolitano aptly sums up: 'How can we improve on an icon? By evolving it.' On this evidence, evolution has been delivered.

'You can look at her down your nose and she won't be offended,' a voice announces jovially as stylish young Italians drive by in unison in a 1957 Fiat 500 ad.



Introduced on 4 July that year, the Cinquecento was just under three metres long from bumper to bumper and barely 130cm wide. It was cleverly designed to give a relatively spacious cabin with petite proportions - the ideal in urban transport, especially in Italy's narrow alleyways.



Fiat invented a new typology with the original 500; the city car. The low price opened it up to the masses and by 1975 some 3.9 million cars had been sold, making it an emblem for a modern Italy in the process.



The 500 Vintage '57 salutes this spirit. Fiat's latest niche product is a limited edition of the 2007 reincarnation of the 500, an acclaimed reinterpretation that is still the core of the company's business. Just 3,500 of the Vintage '57 will be built - in the hope of appealing to collectors.



As the name suggests, this is an exercise in pure nostalgia. The Vintage is boldly retro, referencing details of the Nuova 500 with the 12 body colour palette options. Colours include pastel blue, now combined with white roof and spoiler and the tobacco - or Brown Terra di Siena - Frau leather upholstery.



Classic Fiat badges embellish the car on the outside and on the steering wheel, while the white dashboard fascia and 16" alloy white and chrome-plated rims are suggestive of the original tyres.



Visiting Centro Storico Fiat in Turin, where the car was unveiled in a dizzying display of pastel-coloured 1950's memorabilia, it is easy to forget the austerity of Italy's post-war years - before America's economic endorsement, before the world fell in love with all things Italian, and before the 500 came to signify 'made in Italy'.



The 1907 art nouveau building - originally an expansion of the original Fiat workshop (it became a museum in 1963) - exhibits a rich collection of automotive and industrial designs, branding and advertising. It offers not only a compelling journey through the history of the Turin marque, but also tells the story of Italy through design. Fiat took a chance in 1957 with Dante Giacosa's brilliant product and the climate was ripe for the 500. The exhibits here serve to remind us of how urgently today's world requires a similar foresight.



Cars like the 500 Vintage are great fun, yet Roberto Giolito, head of European design for the Fiat Group, believes the marque remains in the position to once again take up a bigger challenge. He says he is keen for the company to uphold the spirit of the Cinquecento with future models, not just as an exercise in styling, but to conceptually challenge the meaning of cars for the next stage in mobility. It will be interesting to see the outcome.

ADDRESS

Centro Storico Fiat

Via Gabriele Chiabrera, 20

10126 Torino

Italy

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‘I’m not a car fanatic, but I’ve always liked the Fiat 500,’ says Ron Arad, as he swipes through a polychromatic portfolio of his Fiat-themed projects old and new. The acclaimed designer has assembled an eclectic back catalogue over the course of his long career, starting with post-industrial furniture and segueing seamlessly into objects, exhibition design, graphics, architecture and installations. Arad’s association with Fiat is a very personal one, starting with the post-war Topolino driven by his father through to the 1960s-vintage Cinquecento that he used for many years and which now lives in semi-retirement in his studio. ‘It’s a car that creates memories – no one is indifferent to it,’ he explains. The Nuova 500, first produced in 1957, was a miracle of packaging design, ‘the smallest vehicle you can design that still qualifies as a car’, according to Arad.  

Fiat channelled that emotive pull into an all-new model, and the rebooted Fiat 500 became an instant icon when it first surfaced in 2007. The new car captured the zeitgeist, embodying the compact character of the original without sacrificing any of its zest, style or ability. Arad created an installation for the launch and, subsequently, his own customised version of the new 500. His car bore a graphical depiction of designer Dante Giacosa’s diminutive original, pivoting off the rear wheel of the modern car in a simple graphical trick.
 
The radically revised scale is a bit of a shock, but Arad’s decade-long obsession with reshaping, squashing, sculpting and re-presenting the Giacosa original has turned the simple silhouette into a functional icon. When Fiat asked him to turn his one-off into a limited edition, he jumped at the chance of creating an automotive series. ‘I did a piece of street art without coming in the middle of the night with a spray can,’ Arad suggests. Inside there’s a scattering of unique materials and details, from the added chrome to the splashes of ivory on the black Poltrona Frau leather that contrast with the rich, dark metallic paintwork. The Arad edition comes with the top-of-the-range 7in digital instrument panel, panoramic glass roof and 16in alloy wheels. 

The designer’s recent 500-themed reinventions culminated in the Pressed Flowers, six loving prepared original 500s that have been reduced to gallery-friendly slivers of splayed and wrinkled metal, rubber and canvas. At his retrospective ‘In Reverse,’ he exhibited Centro Stile’s original polished wood styling model alongside his own reinterpretation, Roddy Giacosa, a Cinquecento rendered in yards and yards of polished steel tube. ‘It took six people six months to make,’ he says, pointing out that it perfectly bridges the gap between craft and the machine, a theme that runs throughout his portfolio.  

The Ron Arad Edition Fiat 500 is a city car spliced with the playful promise of pop art, a statement to be seen and a sculpture you can drive. Arad’s obsession with the original form has given the new car the perfect back story yet not compromised its own individual style.