Jalopnik: Panda

FIAT Gives Us A Nuanced Critique On The Auto Show Experience

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:30:00 EST

When one thinks of great Italian directors, artists like Rosselini, de Sica and Fellini immediately come to mind. To this list we must add the cinematic genius behind this subtle yet humorous take on the auto show. It combines the camera work of the neorealists with the carefully constructed mise en scene of the magical realists. At the surface, it's just an unnecessary closeup of someone from Fiat explaining the new Fiat Panda Aria. Delve deeper and you'll see the models unable to stay still, representing the ennui and discomfort of the public, shielded by the talking head. The best moment, though, is reserved for the end. The director chooses to pan away, for no discernible reason, in the middle of this guy talking. Benissimo!

[Source: FIAT]

Fiat Panda Aria Concept Teases Us With Green Possibilities

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:45:00 EST

We're big fans of the Fiat Panda, which manages to combine the most desirable attributes of an MPV and a 4x4 hatchback in a reliable package. It's no wonder then that Fiat has repeatedly used this platform to debut new technologies. The Fiat Panda Aria pictured here sans cover is the second generation of the eco-concept car. The original Panda Aria debuted at Frankfurt last year and featured a small-displacement two-cylinder turbocharged engine that could run on gasoline or a methane-hydrogen mix.

We'll wait for the official debut before we speculate on the powertrain of the newer Aria. [Source: Fiat]

The Jamaican Bobsled Team Hoons a Fiat Panda

Murilee Martin — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST

OK, you'll need to suspend some of the ol' disbelief to really enjoy this ad for the '07 Fiat Panda. Don't question why the members of the Jamaican Bobsled Team are howling at some avalanche-prone mountainside in the Italian Alps, or how a Panda manages to negotiate hairpin turns at Maserati-like velocities with four large adults in the car. Just be glad the JBT guys continue to parlay their fame well beyond the 15 minutes we all thought they'd have.

Fiat and Daimler In Talks to Swap Bodies

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:30:00 EST

Looks as though Dr. Z has something else up his sleeve, with the announcement from Fiat that the companies are in talks to do a little body swapping. While we think a Monica Belluci for Heidi Klum exchange might provide fruitful for all involved, we're fairly sure they're talking about something else. Though details are a little sketchy, it looks as though Fiat could be sharing their small-car platform (see the Panda Sport above) to help underpin a new A-Class, perhaps.

On the peninsula, Fiat could be getting help with developing a new sedan and possibly an SUV based on existing Benz platforms. It'll be interesting to see what comes of these talks, as German engineering + Italian style is quite the combination. The Germans and the Italians have, historically, always made a good team. [AFX via Forbes]

Geneva Showcase: Bertone Barchetta Concept

Mike Spinelli — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:50:12 EST

< dipshit 1980s prog-rock reference > Whether or not your uncle has country place that no one knows about, or if a gleaming alloy air car is shooting towards you two lanes' wide, what you need is a brilliant Red Barchetta from a better, vanished time < /dipshit 1980s prog-rock reference >. No, what you really need is a Bertone Barchetta, which may be awkwardly over-stylized, but still sets the pick for a small Fiat roadster that employs wide swaths of stainless steel in its body construction. The Barchetta's underpinnings are all Fiat Panda, a tiny, front-drive Italian runabout that tops out at 100 mph. The whole car is a take on the diminutive Fiat Barchetta of the late '40s, a tiny roadster made for bombing around vineyards while buzzed on a nice Amarone. This future-shock version, however, makes us want to drink chilled vodka from the rain gutters of the Centre Pompidou. Two stars. – Mike Spinelli

Related:
Bertone's Latest Fiat Concept for Geneva [internal]

Fiat Panda Off to Dakar

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:15:00 EST

We dig minicars. We also dig Italian cars. And we dig the Dakar Rally very much. Fiat, knowing this, has decided to enter two 4x4 Pandas in the Dakar Rally. They turned the diminutive hatch into a panel van, filled it full of goodies helpful for survival in the desert, and left the 105-horse 1.3L turbodiesel alone. We're interested to see how it fares. The understressed motor should be reliable in the desert, but raw speed won't exactly be the car's forte. An interesting entry in a race chock full of interesting entries. – Davey G. Johnson

Fiat Panda Heads to Morocco [The Car Connection]

Related:
Some Dakarness [Internal]

James May Buys Panda, Saves Blighty

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 22:00:00 EST

Captain Slow has cashed in his Range Rover and picked himself up 1.2L petrol- powered Fiat Panda in the interest of saving England from what he feels is the biodiesel scourge. You see, the estimable Mr. May doesn't like the look of British biodiesel's prime ingredient: oilseed rape.

"From 2,500 feet I can see quite vividly just how much of the sceptred isle is being given over to this unutterably crap crop, and believe me it's quite a lot. The only possible benefit I can conceive of is that soon I'll finally be able to find my way back to the airfield, because it will be the only bit of the whole country that's still green."

And as Clarkson's the Little Englander and Hammond's the Modern Englander, it only makes sense that May's Olde Englander would come up with this particular rationale for buying an econobox. – Davey G. Johnson

James is Nobody's Fuel [Top Gear]

Related:
Classic Top Gear: James May's Manly Triumph [Internal]

Bond-a Bear: Fiat's Panda Sport

Mike Spinelli — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:48:46 EDT

Up to now, Fiat’s miniscule Panda has never cracked triple digits in horsepower. But considering the car will have a supporting role in the upcoming Bond flick, "Don't You Never Say Never Anymore Ever Again" aka, "Novopussy" (or whatever), it could use a little sprucing up. Now, Fiat's introducing the Panda Sport, which just about cracks 100 hp. The relatively sporty little bugger will get a 1.4-liter, 16-valve four cylinder that propels it from zero to 60 in 9.5 seconds, compared with "yeah, right" for the base model, and allows it an altogether respectable top speed of 115 mph. It'll also come with a body kit, 15" alloys and luxury appointments such as leather upholstery and higher-end stereo. Some manner of two-faced chanteuse: optional.

Fiat’s 100HP baby Panda Sport [Motor Authority]

Fiat Afloat: Panda 4X4 Attempts English Channel Crossing

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:09:05 EDT

Want to see a Panda swim? (No, LingLing, get down from that diving board.) Earlier today, a modded Fiat Panda 4X4 left Folkestone, Kent in the UK bound for the French coast — in an attempt to cross the English Channel. The car, wrapped in a set of water wings fit for a car, isn't an ordinary Panda, it's the Terramare 4, a model that's been fitted with a waterjet propulsion system and other marine-ready tweaks by a former engineer of the iconic, Chevrolet-powered Iso Rivolta of the 1960s. After arriving in France, the engineer, Maurizio Zanisi, plans to drive the rest of the way home to Milan, though may want to leave the pontoons on in traffic, at least until he gets his land wheels.

Panda Terramare 4x4 with inflatable flotation belt [Gizmag]

The Littlest Monster: Fiat's Special-Edition Panda

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 09:54:33 EDT

What's the difference between a Ducati Monster 695 motorcycle and a Fiat Panda? Let's see: they've both got around 70 hp and they're both Italian (Ducati's ownership being back in old-country hands). Other than that, not so much, especially since the Ducati measures its zero-to-60 times in single digits and the Panda in double. The connection is this: Fiat's ready to release a limited number of tricked-out four-wheeled Pandas that are an homage to the two-wheeled Monster. Shown as a concept at last year's Bologna motor show, the Panda Monster will get the same, 70 bhp 1.3 16v Multijet engine as its brethren, but will be tricked out with four-wheel-drive, a black-on-black paint scheme, tinted windows and gold brake calipers. Only 695 of the Pandas will be built, and they'll be sold via an undefined approval process that we hope has nothing to do with the Black Hand (or a sacrifice to the Chimaera).

More at Italiaspeed.

James Bond to Give Up Aston Martin for a Fiat Panda?

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 12:53:48 EDT

In the next James Bond film, "Casino Royale," coming this year, 007 will get behind the wheel of an unlikely car for an international secret agent — or could it be the most likely secret agent's car of all, hmmm? Word is, Bond will be driving a Fiat Panda, albiet an "armed miniature fortress," as "indestructable as the other Bond cars" according to one news source. Still, while the Panda may upstage the true Bond car for the film, the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage, it won't replace it. [Thanks to RD for the tip.]

Fiat Panda in Casino Royale [MI6]

James Bond Switches to Fiat Panda [ANSA.it]