Fiat to debut special edition of its 500 in Monterey
Fiat has announced it will unveil a new version of its popular 500 subcompact car at this year’s Concorso Italiano in Monterey, Calif.
The car, dubbed the 500 Cattiva, will be available as a package on either the Sport or Turbo models. It leaves the cars’ mechanics unchanged, and instead focuses on a few cosmetic changes to make buyers feel special.
These include darkened headlights and taillights, unique 16-inch alloy wheels, a painted roof and spoiler. Inside, Cattiva models get special cloth or leather seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.
Each respective Cattiva model adds $850 to the original cars’ base price. This means a Cattiva Sport with 101 horsepower will cost $19,150, while the 135-horsepower Cattiva Turbo runs a cool $21,150, including destination.
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Fiat has been a sponsor of Concorso Italiano for several years, and has used the venue to launch new products in the past. Concorso is an Italian-only auto event held each year at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey.
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The event packs hundreds of privately owned cars from brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, DeTomaso and Fiat onto a display lawn. Awards are handed out, espressos are sipped and inevitably one or more of the cars fails to start when commanded.
The event runs as a kind of preview car show ahead of the annual historic races held at Laguna Seca on Saturday, and the official Pebble Beach Concour d’Elegance held Sunday.
Fiat’s use of an event during the Monterey car week to debut a new product follows a trend by automakers in recent years. This year, brands including Cadillac, BMW, Lincoln, Spyker and Mercedes-Benz will have new products debut at various events around Monterey.
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