Just kill the damned thing already, Fiat.
Despite being around since the late-50s, Fiat’s little 500 drones on and on like an 80s rock ballad. Just as you think it’s going to end, it cues a guitar solo and keeps going for another 5-minutes. In the case of the 500, enough time passes for another occasion to roll around, bringing about yet another commemorative edition that extends the lifespan of the near 12-year old 500 for another season.
The latest lease of life comes in the form of the 500C Spiaggina ’58 Edition. Why Spiaggina? If you wind the clock back to 1958 (who’d have thought), there came about a little Fiat called the 500 Jolly, or the Spiaggina. Essentially a beach buggy, the 500 Spiaggina soon became the hottest accessory you could be spotted with along the coast, with customers ranging from heads of state to socialites, to beach bums and actors. No one seemed to care that despite lacking doors and a roof, it was somehow twice was expensive as the standard car…
But no doors wouldn’t fly in safety-conscious 2019, and so the doors on this limited-run special edition remain as they are. Only 1,958 are being made worldwide and just 30 will make it to Australia, which makes it pretty rare. Unique features include the Volare blue paintwork (repeated on the dashboard trim), 16-inch ‘throwback’ alloys, the “white beauty line,” chrome finishing on the mirror covers, bumper inserts & bonnet garnish, striped seats with beige highlights, equally-beige soft-top, 500 logo on the seats, and branded floor mats throughout.
The 500C Spiaggina is on sale today at Fiat dealerships nationwide, though it’ll cost you. This stylish microcar, which Fiat says is the “embodiment of La Dolce Vita,” will set you back no less than $25,990 for a manual-equipped model, with an automated-manual commanding $27,490.
But with 12 years marked since the latest-generation of 500 came about, we can’t help but wonder how many special editions the company will draw out before finally axing the ageing Cinquecento.
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