There was a surprise, but very welcome, addition to the Ferrari Stand at this month's 29th Bologna Motor Show: the new Fiat Panda 4x4. The little Panda was finished in the special F1 World Champion livery of Rosso Scuderia red, with a tricolour stripe, and a logo celebrating the years in which Ferrari’s single-seaters have triumphed in the F1 Championships (1999-2004).

The two highly successful cars stood side by side and represented the two opposite ends of the Fiat Group’s products: the city car and the F1 racer.

The new Fiat Panda has been a huge sales success for Fiat dring its first full year of production, an fact so much so, that an estimated 250,000 of these little cars will be sold by the end of this year, 25 percent up on Fiat's own estimates.

The Panda has claimed a raft of awards, including the most coveted of all: 'European Car of the Year'. It became the first ever winner of this award to be chosen from its market segment.

The Panda 4x4 on show in Bologna, is a 'off-road' version that seeks to recreate the aura associated with the original 1980's icon. It has put its credentials in place by recently undertaking a trek to Mount Everest's base camp, which lies at 5,200 metres above sea level.

To achieve this feat, two Panda 4x4s started from Katmandu in Nepal, and covered 110 km of gravel roads to Kodari, on the border with Tibet. From this point on, for another 70 km, they used the rock strewn paths and tracks normally reserved for Sherpas and people trekking the Himalayas. The Pandas climbed the five km-high Tangula pass to the monastery at Rongbuck. After a few more kilometers of extremely difficult terrain, the Pandas became the first small vehicles to reach the base camp.

Meanwhile, the Ferrari F2004 needs no introduction. Suffice to say that this latest masterpiece from Scuderia Ferrari sweept the opposition aside as it took Michael Schumacher to the F1 world title, and let them casually wrap up yet another consecutive manufacturer's title.

The two cars also symbolise how the Made in Italy phenomenon is such a winning part of the car market worldwide too.

Photos: Carlo Ombello