Finally got my New Fiat 500 (lots of pics)

...not a Ferrari but I still love it. It is my first car so it is needless to say that I'm particularly excited. After waiting for six months it's finally here and I thought I'd share a few pics. It is a fantastic little car...and it has tons of character in my opinion.

Anyway, here are a few pics of it after I washed it at home-
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I then went for a short trip to Monaco (as you can see, the city is getting ready for the Grand Prix)-
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...then, on the road home, I passed by Schumacher's villa and Tina Turner's villa (which is only a hundred or so metres away from Shumi's).
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Thank you!

Grazie mille, molto gentile

 

Thank you very much for the the kind words everyone. I just went for another short trip to Cap Ferrat yesterday. I must say that I truly love the car. I basically live on the Grand Corniche (they briefly showed it on Top Gear as they were looking for the 'greatest driving road in Europe) and as those that know the area will know, it is full of beautiful (twisty) roads and I must say that I'm surprised by how well the 500 handles around the bends...very flat. The steering radius is also great, the car almost turns on itself. The transmission is amazing, very very smooth. Furthermore, I was also surprised by the roominess of the interior. Being 190cm (about 6.2 feet) tall, I was a bit worried about how I'd fit in the car, but surprisingly enough there is plenty of space inside. Amazingly, the interior feels more specious than the Mini's. Last but not least, I love its looks. I find it absolutely gorgeous. Its fit and finish is remarkably good as well. The other day, to my surprise, some Asian tourists took pictures of my 500 as I was going past the Hotel de Paris...I was very surprised but it really shows what a stunning little car the 500 is. Being Italian, I can't help but feel particularly attached to it...I mean, the original 500 was one of Italy's symbols (it was also my father's first car) and god knows for how long Italian car enthusiasts were asking for a remake.

Right now the 500's sales are going extremely well. There is a 6 month waiting list (that's almost Ferrari-time in Italy) and you're starting to see them everywhere. So right now Fiat is already preoccupied satisfying the European demand. However, from what I read on Italian car magazines, the 500 should come to North America shortly after Alfa's debut. In fact, Fiat seems to be interested in building a new factory in Canada in order to build Alfa's and Fiats in loco. So in 2/3 years you might start seeing them...

Oh...and regarding the house, again, thanks for the kind words. Both me and my parents will be sad to see it go in the next year or so. I'll be heading off to university and my parents will probably move to Switzerland.

 

I've got the 1.3 MJet. I tried the 1.4 Fire and it wasn't very convincing, you really had to floor it to get it moving (it only starts pulling once you reach the red line). On the other hand, the 1.3 performed adequately throughout the whole rev-range and as a result it 'feels' quicker even though it isn't in terms of sheer numbers. On top of this, I can go to Milan and back to the French Riviera with one (30 liter) fuel tank. So, all considered, it seemed to be the most appropriate engine given the type of car.

Well, this is my first car after all. For one, Italian law wouldn't have permitted me to buy an Abarth as there are power to weight ration limitation (which the Abarth wouldn't respect) for people who have had their driving license for less than three years. Secondly, even if there weren't such limitations (which are rather recent), the costs of insuring such a car to someone who just got the license like myself would be ridiculous. Lastly, I think that having something a little calmer than the Abarth as a first car is more prudent (not that I care the least, lets be clear )

Btw, the SS has been confirmed some time ago. Here's a thread about it that I made a while back- http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186659

...and you have every right to be. The Polish factory has proven to meet the highest quality standards and be very efficient for many years now

 

Well, lets be clear...one thing is the 1.4 on the Panda 100hp and another thing is the 1.4 on the 500. I've driven the 100hp Panda once and the engine is A LOT more reactive and it fells MUCH better on the Panda. The reason for this is a fairly simple one; Fiat took the Panda's 1.4 for the 500 and modified it in order to fit into the Euro 5 emission requirements without putting much thought into it and the results are evident. So, I would use the Panda's 1.4 for this interesting project of yours.

 

Thank you!

I recently found out about this 'Monaco thread' - http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87349 ...you'll find plenty of pics from Monaco there...but I'll try my best to take pics whenever possible

 

Thank you!! I'm sure that you'll enjoy your 500 if you get it