The Fiat Panda Trussardi Is A City Car For The End Times
Most of us assume the end times are coming eventually, probably sooner than later at this rate. All of that considered, it might be time to consider what your vehicle lineup will be when the time comes—an armored SUV, perhaps, for the gloomier days, and certainly an extravagantly restored Land Rover Defender for when the rich need a private shuttle impenetrable by the poors.
But which vehicle shall fill the city-car void, you ask? Certainly, this Fiat Panda makes a good case for itself.
Fiat announced the limited-edition Panda on Wednesday, saying it was created together with Italian fashion company Trussardi. The Panda Trussardi starts at about $17,555 at current exchange rates, the announcement said, and will have a 69-horsepower engine and five-speed manual transmission. (There are Fiat Pandas with five-speeds, but, oddly, photos for this one show six on the shifter. We've asked Fiat for clarification and will update this story if we hear back.)
There are also a whole lot of styling tweaks and badges, as if somebody came in, looked at the Panda, and went: "Post-apocalyptic city car, but make it fashion."
It's got the doomsday looks, it's small enough to park in enclosed spaces and away from all of the people trying to get to your ever-dwindling supplies, and it has a manual transmission so that much of the remaining human population won't be able to steal it while fighting for survival.
It's ideal for our upcoming demise, aside from the Panda's dismal crash testing in the past. There probably won't be a lot of other cars driving around to run into at that point, at least.
Of course, we in America will either have to find another post-apocalyptic city car or hope import laws cease to exist in the end times. Hopefully there will be more important things for everyone to worry about by then.
Update: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 at 10:22 a.m. ET: A Fiat spokesperson said the mention of a five-speed manual is for the UK market, while other areas will get a six-speed manual.