When it first appeared in 1957, the Fiat 500 was hailed as the antidote to Italy's post-war transport problems. Fiat's diminutive two-door mobilised the masses in an affordable and attractive package two years ahead of Britain's iconic Austin Mini.
Like the Mini, both Italian-designed cars are regarded as classics, yet designer Dante Giacosa had to defend the dinky 500's meagre performance by saying, 'It will always be more comfortable than a scooter.'
Fifty years on, and there's almost as much fuss about the Italian carmaker's reinterpretation of its budget post-war runabout. It may have taken a full year to reach our shores, but the new Fiat 500 has been generating lots of headlines for its snappy blend of style and practicality - and the fact that Fiat is banking on sales of its latest city car to see it through a difficult period.
It may sound risky, but the 500's appeal is obvious from the outset. As a design number, it's a deft reinterpretation of Fiat's original everyman's car. Beautifully styled on the outside, and with unprecedented attention to detail on the inside, the little Fiat is a retro reworking of the Italian classic in the same vein as BMW's modern Mini, launched in 2002.
Even though the new 500 manages to retain almost all of the cute charisma of the original, it immediately dispenses with its ancestor's reputation as a wheezy rattlebox and the egg-shaped runabout is a joy to drive.
Based on the Panda - European Car of the Year in 2004 - the 500 has been given a wider track to improve its cornering and maximise internal space.
