Welcome to the Spiaggina.
Some six decades have passed since the arrival of Fiat’s little Cinquecento, and boy oh boy Fiat will not let us forget it. Yet another commemorative edition of the 500 has been unveiled, but mercifully, this time it’s not by Fiat.
Well no, Fiat came out with one but we can’t be arsed to talk about it. We want to focus on the 500 Spiaggina, a special edition based on the 500C that’s the result of collaboration between Garage Italia and Pininfarina. Isn’t it just adorable?
Why Spiaggina? If you wind the clock back to 1958, 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…
Back in 2018, things are a bit different. There are doors now, for starters. But there’s no roof, or back seats for that matter. The Spiaggina is a modern take on what was an icon of the 60s, and sees a regular 500C lose its windshield too, in addition to the aforementioned roof and back seats. Actually, the front seats are kinda gone too: No individual seats here, just a bench. And that bench, along with the rest of the cabin, is entirely waterproof, befitting a car that’s made for the beach.
Not enough references to the sea? Why, you can order a speedboat-style low-cut windscreen if you should so desire, though the cork-panelled deck out back is standard. There’s also a built-in shower in there somewhere though we cannot, and do not want to, imagine how it works.
What’s most hilarious is that you can actually buy this thing: Garage Italia and Pininfarina have both said that this car will be put into production, with the drivetrain from any existing 500 in the range. The Italians must be high. But with 11-years on the clock since this iteration of the 500 came about, shouldn’t it be put out to pasture by now?
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