Fiat

The environmentally-responsible Qubo Trekking with Traction +

By Gizmag Team

08:34 September 15, 2009 PDT

FIAT is likely to develop a whole new set of cult followers with the release of its Qubo Trekking, a new version of Fiat’s “free space” vehicle targeting nature lovers, outdoor sports and leisure enthusiasts. This original vehicle is also ideal for the non-conformist driver in search of substance with a sense of environmental responsibility. Powered by the 75 HP 1.3 Multijet, and equipped with the new “Traction +” system, the new Qubo Trekking offers performance similar to that of a “light crossover” but with the economic benefits that only a diesel-fuelled 4X2 can offer (27 km per litre in the extra urban cycle). Environmental performance is excellent too (115 g/km of CO2). Read More

Lancia speedboat boasts 1120hp of exhiliration

By Jeff Salton

01:14 August 14, 2009 PDT

It’s touted as the biggest and most powerful Lancia ever built, boasting a 1120hp engine, fast, sleek lines, no regard for speed limits and superior Italian breeding through and through. It’s the soon-to-be-released Lancia di Lancia – or Motor Launch – and speedboat enthusiasts are entitled to get excited about it. Read More

Tata unveils world standard truck range

By Mike Hanlon

14:45 May 28, 2009 PDT

India's Tata Motors is best known for its US$2500 Nano budget car. More recently, its purchase of the iconic British marques Jaguar and Range Rover, and successful relationships with Daewoo and Fiat underlined the tectonic shifts underway in the global transport industry. Further evidence of the growing Indian powerhouse was presented yesterday when Tata pulled the wraps off a range of trucks comprising multi-axle trucks, tractor-trailers, tippers, mixers, and special application vehicles from 10-to-75 tonne GCW, and 150-to-560 bhp. The power, carrying capacity and operating economy of the range will raise the global bar for performance at a lower life-cycle cost. Read More

Ducato wins MotorHome Base Vehicle award for third straight year

By David Greig

21:14 April 12, 2009 PDT

Boosted by the performance of its six-speed automated manual MTA gearbox and a new natural gas powerplant, the Fiat Ducato has just taken the coveted Which Motorcaravan Base Vehicle winner’s accolade for the third year running. Along with the awards, the success of the design is reflected in the marketplace - two out of every three motorhomes in Europe are built on the Fiat Ducato base and there are more than 400,000 Fiat Ducato motorhomes on the road in Europe alone. Read More

Fiat releases MultiAir engine technology – is this a fundamental breakthrough in internal combustion engine design?

By Mike Hanlon

13:45 March 7, 2009 PST

Fiat Group used the Geneva Auto Show to launch a new engine technology which could ultimately be as important as the common rail diesel technology it invented 15 years ago. Dubbed MultiAir, the hydraulically-actuated variable valve timing (VVT) technology was first announced as a concept two years ago, and offers a more controllable flow of air during the combustion cycle in comparison with mechanical VVT systems. Vastly reduced fuel consumption and emmissions plus significantly more power are claimed, and the technology is even more effective when used with a supercharger or a diesel engine. Read More

Fiat Bugster Concept Car

By Noel McKeegan

17:25 November 6, 2008 PST

November 7, 2008 Looking something like an off-road version of the KTM X-Bow, this little green bug has attracted plenty of attention since rendered images first appeared a couple of weeks back. Aptly called the Bugster, Fiat's cute two-seater is more than green in color, featuring body panels made of renewable natural fibers and an all-electric power-train. Read More

Fiat unveils a juiced-up 135hp Abarth performance version of its 500 towncar

By Loz Blain

22:19 February 20, 2008 PST

February 21, 2008 51 years ago, the Fiat 500 was first launched. A rear-engined mimic of the hugely popular Volkswagen Beetle, the 500 was one of a small stable of cars designed to be perfect for city driving. Small, economical, practical, fun and manoeverable, it struck a chord with European drivers, selling nearly 4 million units and surviving until 1977 when it was replaced by the far less popular Fiat 126. Read More

Citroen's Nemo Concetto people carrier Concept

By Noel McKeegan

20:39 December 3, 2007 PST

December 4, 2007 Citroen will roll-out a concept people carrier version of the company’s soon to be released new compact van at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy (7-16 December). Taking its name and its styling cues from the popular Disney animation "Finding Nemo", the Citroën Nemo Concetto sports the distinctive orange, black and white clownfish color scheme with the theme continuing into the vehicle's interior. Read More

Fiat and Sunseeker join forces in P1 Powerboat racing

By Loz Blain

May 2, 2007 In a deal that reflects the maturing of the P1 Powerboat World Championship, Sunseeker have secured a deal to use Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) engines in their 2007 title quest. This agreement is the first of its kind in Powerboat racing and is usually only seen in the Formula One arena, which shows how much the P1 championship is taking off as a sport. Read More

The new Fiat 500 and 50th anniversary model

By Mike Hanlon

March 22, 2007 Fifty years ago, on 4 July 1957, Fiat introduced the Nuova Fiat 500, which became an icon of our times, and with which Fiat completed a revival that had begun immediately after the Second World War. This year on 4 July 2007, exactly 50 years later, and once again in Turin, the company will be presenting its new Fiat 500, which will go on sale immediately after the launch. The new 500 is a 3-door model with very compact measurements: 355 cm long, 165 cm wide, 149 cm tall and a wheelbase of 230 cm. Produced with three engine options: a 75 bhp 1.3 16v MultiJet turbodiesel and two petrol engines, a 69 bhp 1.2 8v and a 100 bhp 1.4 16v, with five or six speed manual gearboxes, the new Fiat 500 is designed to be notably entertaining to drive. Read More

Abarth reborn – the return of the scorpion!

By Mike Hanlon

March 4, 2007 Fiat is relaunching one of the motor industry’s legendary performance and sporting car brands this week at the Geneva International Motor Show, when it takes the wraps off its new Grande Punto Abarth, the first of a new range of high performance and sporting Fiats, as well as performance and sporting kits for the Fiat range. Fiat supremo, Luca de Meo, decided some time ago that Abarth had to be much more than a badge attached to certain models in the Fiat range. So a new Abarth division of the company will run its own racing and rally teams, starting with the successful Grande Punto Abarth S2000, which won both the Italian and European Rally Championship titles last year, in its debut season. The new Abarth division will also prepare racing and rally cars for customers in a wide range of series and one make championships. For road car customers, Abarth will develop new models for the Fiat range, starting with the Grande Punto Abarth, as well as developing performance and styling packages for the owners of existing Fiat products. Read More

Fiat Adventure Concept Car changes colour

By Mike Hanlon

October 19, 2006 Not a great deal of information has been released in English about the newly revealed Fiat Adventure Crossover Concept Car shown at the Sao Paolo Autoshow to celebrate Fiat’s 30th anniversary in Brazil. Designed by Centro Estilo Fiat do Brasil, the Concept Car Adventure is powered by a 167 bhp five-cylinder 2.4 litre engine from the Fiat Stilo Abarth. The two-seater Adventure is painted in color-changing paint and accordingly varies in appearance from yellow to red. Read More

Fiat’s Oltre to debut in London at Viva Italia

By Mike Hanlon

September 13, 2006 As befitting a company whose development has coincided with that of Italy itself, Fiat has a major presence at London’s Viva Italia Show, a celebration of all things Italian, which opens on Friday 22 September at the National Hall, Olympia. Exhibits on the Fiat stand include the company’s highly successful new Grande Punto supermini, which became Europe’s best selling car soon after its international launch last autumn, the new Giugiaro-designed Sedici compact SUV, the Panda 4x4 and the Oltre, which dwarfs its brethren. Derived from the Iveco LMV, (Light Multirole Vehicle), a new military off-roader that embodies cutting edge technical features and has already won the FCLV (Future Command and Liaison Vehicle) contract for the British Army, Oltre Fiat was first exhibited at the Bologna Motor Show last year, and can perform a wide range of functions. It is powered by a turbocharged 3-litre common rail diesel engine producing 185bhp and driving through a six-speed automatic transmission. Despite weighing over seven tonnes, Oltre Fiat has a top speed of over 70mph, has a payload of around three tonnes and can seat up to five people while negotiating longitudinal gradients of 80%, and tackling rivers, lakes and streams up to a depth of 1.5 metres. We wrote up the Oltre in depth here. Read More

Fiat Truckster Concept

By Mike Hanlon

May 26, 2006 Fiat has taken the wraps off the new Fiat Ducato at the Madrid International Motor Show which opened yesterday and in the process has revealed the Truckster Concept, which takes the new Ducato commercial vehicle jointly developed with Citroen and Peugeot, to extremes, demonstrating just how flexible the Ducato is for converters. The Truckster is generously proportioned - 6.48 metres long, 2.55 m high and 2.49 metres wide - and has style that can only be described as modern and “exuberant”, thanks to a strategy which accentuates the concept of sporting performance applied to a commercial vehicle, with features such as 28 inch wheels, LED headlights, hydraulically-controlled gull wing doors, smoked glass windows and an aerodynamic spoiler. The interiors have also been given the same sporty feel, emphasizing its “road racer” personality. Read More

Fioravanti Fiat Punto Skill Concept

By Mike Hanlon

March 11, 2006 One of Europe's leading styling and design companies, Fioravanti, revealed an open top version of the new Fiat Punto it has dubbed the Skill, and which is the star of the company’s stand at the Geneva Show. Indeed, the Skill would appear to be the ideal small car for a summer lifestyle, with its combination of a flip-top glass roof that drops down behind the seats in a matter of seconds and a pick-up load bay. Read More

Fiat and Microsoft launch Blue&Me in-car communications & entertainment system

By Mike Hanlon

February 2, 2006 Fiat and Microsoft will launch Blue&Me based on Windows Mobile for Automotive at the 2006 Geneva Motorshow later this month, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of in-car communication, infotainment and entertainment systems and providing all vehicles in the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Fiat Commercial Vehicle ranges with a competitive advantage. Blue&Me will be the first product seen from the long-term strategic partnership inked in July 2004 with the objective of co-designing innovative automotive telematics systems. Blue&Me is an all-new system which will be software upgradeable and compatible with most mobile phones, digital media players and other mobile devices so they can be replaced without compromising compatibility with the car. The voice-activated system, the complete integration of steering wheel control buttons and information on the dashboard display will allow users to utilize any Bluetooth-based mobile phone. Thanks to a modern voice-recognition system, no preliminary voice training is needed, and even incoming SMS messages are read aloud to the driver. Among audio functions, it is possible to listen to music stored on a mobile phone, in the newest smart phones, and in MP3 readers or USB removable sticks via a USB port in the glove box. Read More

FIAT shows new macho off-roader concept based on military vehicle

By Mike Hanlon

December 2, 2005 Fiat dropped a bombshell yesterday at Italy's biggest motoring event, the Bologna Motor Show, by showing an off-road vehicle that looks to be aimed squarely at the Hummer. The Oltre Fiat is a massive - its nearly five metres long and over two metres tall with a two tonne payload - go absolutely anywhere, anytime vehicle features what the Italians call "exuberant styling" and what anyone on the West Coast of the USA would call serious Bling, is more much more than possible evidence that Fiat has decided it wants to supply Arnold Schwarzenegger's next car. Like the Hummer, it has military credentials, being based on the Iveco Light Multi-role vehicle, the new military off-road vehicle that embodies cutting edge technical features and has won the FCLV (Future Command and Liaison Vehicle) contract for the British Army. Read More

Fiat unveils the Punto Grande - the voluptuous economy car

By Mike Hanlon

July 29, 2005 Fiat has released the first pictures of the Punto Grande, a car that follows in the wheeltracks of the original hugely successful Punto hatchback, which has accounted for over six million sales since its launch in 1993. The new Punto Grande's global objective is to regain leadership of the highly competitive and crucially important European compact hatchback market. In order to accomplish this aim, Punto Grande has been designed from the outset to be a larger vehicle than is typical for the class, so as to offer the highest possible safety standards, class leading quality credentials, and the best range of diesel engines available in this category today, all at a very competitive price. Read More

Automotive accolades for Bentley, Mazda And Fiat

By Mike Hanlon

Examples of automotive excellence from Bentley, Fiat and Mazda have earned the respective manufacturers accolades in separate awards around the globe... Read More