17.09.2004 The 'Car of the Year' award winning Fiat Panda will be led out by the 4x4 version which was officially introduced a few days ago in Tuscany and the Alessi-inspired concept

A vehicle with original styling that is striking for its dynamism. Once you climb aboard, the same car conveys all the practicality and comfort of a higher category car.

This, in brief, is the spirit of the new Panda, recently crowned 2004 Car of the Year and 2004 European Car of the Year, critical acclaim that has been matched by success in the marketplace.

The credit goes to a design that has generated a car of compact external dimensions gifted with a comfort level to which larger cars have now accustomed us.

Designed to be mean with fuel but not less lively for this. Ideal in city traffic but at the same time eager to tackle longer journeys, with the guarantee of a relaxing drive for passengers. All these features make the Fiat Panda a fun pint-sized car that also represents fantastic value for money with its winning package of features, running costs and resale value.

And so Fiat will take its rightful place as leader of this growing segment where so much history bears its name: from the first 600 to the 500, from the 126 to the Panda and from the Cinquecento to the Seicento.

The first people to discover the car as an irreplaceable means of individual mobility drove Fiat city cars. And they learned how to appreciate cars that could be good-looking, reliable and fun to drive at low cost despite their lack of space, weight and cylinder capacity.

Now the baton passes to the new Panda, a model that has won seven prestigious international prizes and is a sales champion in its market band.

To strengthen this leadership, the Panda family is destined to grow with time: June, for example, will see the sales launch of a Fiat Panda equipped with the revolutionary 70 bhp 1.3 16v Multijet engine, the smallest and most advanced second generation direct injection common rail diesel power unit.

And a few days ago, in Tuscany, we were introduced to the Panda 4x4, which will go on sale by the end of October in all European countries, first equipped with the 1.2 Fire with the revolutionary 1.3 Multijet to be added during the course of 2005. Visitors to the stand will also be able to enjoy a close look at the Panda Alessi, a prototype that is a homage to creativity and all things Italian.

The Panda 4x4 and the expedition to the top of the world

Innovative, appealing design and cutting-edge technology open to all. Clever solutions to make on-board life simpler and better. These values are written into the DNA of the Fiat brand and the Panda 4x4 combines them with a distinctive personality of its own and a desire to get away from it all.

The new car immediately conjures up a wish to travel in complete freedom, even to places that are inaccessible to conventional vehicles. Yet this does not detract in any way from the driving satisfaction the car offers when navigating the narrow streets of a city centre. Altogether it is the ideal car for customers who seek handling and exterior elegance in addition to off-road attributes. The Panda 4x4 may be experienced (and inhabited) as an out-and-out off-roader or a fun car able to weave its way with ease between town traffic. This is, in essence, a car with a dual personality that conveys an immediate impression of freshness and fun backed by solidity and sturdiness. The whole package is also marked by a touch of pizzazz and style that makes it definitely this year's model.

When deciding on the form the new car should take, the Fiat designers delved into the great technical and design heritage Fiat has built up over the years and applied skills only available to a company that has led the compact vehicle market for more than seventy years. With an eye on changing customer profiles within the sector and the good potential growth prospects, we came up with the Panda 4x4.

The new model is available with a lively, tried and tested 60 bhp 1.2 engine (44 kW) that will soon be joined by the revolutionary 70 bhp 1.3 Multijet engine; two specifications (Panda 4x4 and Panda 4x4 Climbing), two interior specifications and 11 body colours. On the one hand, therefore, the Panda 4x4 Climbing presents itself as a small, stylish off-roader able to tackle any situation with an extra touch of sophistication inside and outside, an ideal car for extroverts on the move.

On the other hand, the range also offers a second specification (Panda 4x4) that does not feature the stylish exterior features of the Climbing but is altogether a more practical down-to-earth vehicle. Attributes include an extraordinary ability to perform on off-road routes, a viscous coupling drive system and high grip tyres.

Both specifications share small dimensions (e.g. the Climbing version is 357 cm long, 160 cm wide and 163 cm high) and great handling in addition to greater height than the conventional model: the extra five centimetres make all the difference by increasing the already outstanding visibility and allowing great mastery of the road, even over difficult routes. The turning circle is just 9.6 metres.

Not to mention the fact that the authentic off-road look makes for minimum ground clearance (standard A) of 165 millimetres for the Panda 4x4 Climbing (160 mm for the basic version). This impression is reinforced by certain exterior features that also perform a specific off-road function: for example, the bumpers (front and rear) come complete with protective shields while the side strips are large and coordinate with special strips on the wings plus a guard under the engine.

Two different tyres are also available: the Climbing version comes with 185/65-14 (M+S) tyres suitable for any type of application; the first specification, on the other hand adopts 165/70-14 (M+S) tyres that are specially reinforced with a tread designed for low grip surfaces.

Inside, the Panda 4x4 offers a distinctive and sophisticated interior that benefits from special fabric trims offered in two colour matches: grey/red and grey/yellow.

The new 4x4 version also retains the big luggage capacity that has always been one of the strengths of this model. With the one-piece or split rear seat folded down, the space increases from a minimum of 200 to a maximum of 855 dm3 (measured to the roof). If the rear seat is split and also slides, the figures are 230 dm3 (with the seat fully forward) and 780 dm3 respectively.

The Panda 4x4 is a car of huge personality that will be able to satisfy customers with different needs and tastes, including the growing number of drivers who seek adventure and an open-air life. The new version offers such customers a permanent four wheel drive system with a viscous coupling and two differentials that come into play automatically when required to tackle any situation with ease. This extraordinary explorer is quite at home over rough and difficult terrain, as borne out by the ramp angles in standard A.

Firstly, the front incidence angle, a measure of the maximum front angle that may be approached by an off-road vehicle without the body touching the ground. The second value is the 'rear' incidence angle, i.e. the maximum slope that can be taken in reverse starting from a horizontal surface.

The last one is the slope angle, i.e. the maximum possible angle at the base of a triangular slope (isosceles) if it is to be driven up without the bottom of the car touching the ground. The Climbing specification of the new model records the following values: 24° (front), 42° (rear) and 24° (slope), that become 26°, 44° and 23° respectively for the 4x4 specification. The maximum climbable gradient is more than 50%.

The 4x4 supermini boasts excellent driving comfort due to the tried and tested suspension layout with specific settings. At the front, the suspension is independent, MacPherson type with lower wishbones linked to a subframe and an anti-roll bar connected to the shock absorber. The rear suspension is also independent with longitudinal tie rods connected to a specific frame with anti-roll bar.

As already mentioned, two engines are available, both built to Euro-4 standards: at the launch, customers will be able to buy the tried and tested 1.2 engine that develops a maximum power of 60 bhp (44 kW) at 5000 rpm and a torque of 10.4 kgm (102 Nm) at 2500 rpm. In a few months, we will also see the revolutionary 70 bhp (51 kW) 1.3 Multijet engine with 4000 rpm and a torque of 14.8 kgm (145 Nm) at 1500 rpm. A Panda 4x4 equipped with the first power unit accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 20 seconds and reaches a top speed of 145 km/h. The equipment package on this specific version is complemented by a CONNECT Nav Plus infotelematic system, headlight washers and a Dualdrive electric power steering system (the latter is standard over the range).

The new car has no equals when it comes to safety. Beginning with its outstanding braking system: on versions equipped with the 1.2 Fire power unit, all wheels are fitted with 240 mm diameter discs (the front ones are ventilated) that rise to 257 mm on Multijet versions. The Panda 4x4 offers as standard ABS with EBD complete with an antislip function during deceleration (MSR).

Visitors to the Paris stand can also admire the two Panda 4x4 cars that starred in an adventurous test drive that began in Kathmandu (Nepal) and ended at the Everest advance base camp at an altitude of more than 5000 metres. This undertaking was all the more extraordinary when one considers that the only preparations for the trip were a few adaptations to the engine control unit settings on both vehicles to adjust to the local petrol.

The two Panda 4x4s started out from the legendary Nepalese capital and covered 110 kilometres of unsurfaced road to Kodari on the border between Tibet and Nepal. The caravan of cars covered a very different route on the next day when it headed out towards Nyalam in the land of the Dalai Lama and then continued towards Tingri. Here, amidst mountain tracks and unspoilt countryside, both Panda 4x4s drove through the Tangula pass at over 5,000 metres: a gruelling 180 kilometre long trip where both cars showed all their resolve and sure-footedness.

On the next day, the team reached Xegar where the Panda 4x4 cars forded a river before setting out the following morning for Rongbuck and its famous monastery, a solemn place of peace and prayer suspended in time and space.

Here the expedition was warmly greeted by the local population but did not linger and braved cold temperatures and strong winds to continue the test along long rocky roads as the clouds wreathed the peak of Everest in the distance. The Everest advance base camp lies only a few kilometres from the monastery but the expedition had to reach it along an extremely difficult track. This marked the first occasion that the 5,200 metre high camp has been reached by a small off-road vehicle.

No more extreme undertaking could have been embarked upon to test the strength and free spirit of the four wheel drive supermini, which responded ably and reliably to prove itself a faithful, tireless, travelling companion. The Panda 4x4's extraordinary enterprise was also joined by the many-time flying champion Angelo D'Arrigo who successfully completed his 'Over Everest 2004' challenge on 24 May: a flight over the highest Himalayan peak in a delta plane: the flight lasted 4 hours and 30 minutes at an altitude of 9000 metres and reached speeds of 200 km/h.

The trip to the top of the world is only one of the numerous tests that the Panda 4x4 has undergone: to the North, on the icy tracks of chilly Lapland where the temperature drops to 40 degrees below zero. To the South, under the torrid sun of South Africa where the Atlantic ocean meets the Indian ocean. To the West, along the precipitous peaks of the Sierra Nevada in Spain.

And lastly to the East, to the slopes of the majestic and eternal Mount Everest. The Panda 4x4 showed its mettle as an indefatigable explorer in all these exciting and inaccessible places by unflinchingly covering thousands of kilometres as it was put through tough tests and forced into extraordinary feats. The tiny off-roader was challenged at the four corners of the globe to assess its sturdiness, character and on-road behaviour in road situations and in weather conditions that were often at the limit of endurance.

In total, the Panda 4x4 covered more than one million kilometres during its development stage when the four-wheel drive devices were put to the test and the findings were used to complement the results of the exhaustive testing already conducted on the two-wheel drive version.

The Everest trip and the harsh tests in Spain, South Africa and Sweden illustrate one distinctive attribute of the Fiat group: to take a chance on new technologies, test them to exhaustion and find the best solution by calling on a quintessentially Italian sense of originality and imagination. The same spirit is very evident in the Panda 4x4, a vehicle created to tackle any situation, however extreme, with dynamism and freedom.

Before testing the vehicle in these extreme situations, the new four-wheel drive supermini underwent tough testing over alpine routes, roads leading to the top of Mount Etna, on the Fiat test tracks (in Balocco and Mandria) and in the Aerodynamic and Climatic galleries in Orbassano (Turin). Fiat has conducted the initial development stages of its cars at this site since 1976: in those early days by applying experimental equipment and procedures and nowadays using the most advanced mathematical modelling and numerical simulation techniques.

The Fiat Panda interpreted by Alessi

The Paris show will see the debut of the new Panda Alessi, a concept car whose distinctive style springs from a partnership between two world-class brands famed for their contribution to the development of industrial design in Italy. Fiat and Alessi have created a highly personal formal language that makes their product easily distinguishable amongst the herd of mass-produced products. The partnership follows in the great Italian tradition in this sector and may well develop further in the future.

In this sense, the Panda Alessi is a concrete example of how the look of an automotive product can be reworked by a company from outside the sector, drawing on the perennial values of Italian design: innovation, style and personality. The Fiat concept car shows how the stylistic interaction between two important sectors of industry can produce surprising results of great impact, when the design work is carried out with total respect for product identity.

This is why the exterior of the prototype retains the original personality of the standard model, with a number of new styling and colour details on the bumpers, the roof rack, the door mouldings and the wheelarch trims. The wheel trims and rear aerial have also been redesigned. Meanwhile inside the restyling is more evident, focusing on the facia, which has been given a different colour and features some new elements which enhance its look.

The graphics of the instrumentation, the upholstery and the colour of the seats have also been modified. The centre tunnel, sun visors and gearshift have been completely redesigned, while a brand new exclusive system for levelling the floor of the boot has been developed, with the name of cargo-system.

Alessi, one of the most famous Italian design brands, has skilfully highlighted the versatility of the car without changing its identity. The prototype represents a new interpretation of the Panda which is perfectly in line with the Panda spirit and the other concept cars developed from the same base. The Panda Alessi brings us yet another example of the desire to experiment which is something of a Fiat tradition, a tradition which has yielded some genuine motoring works of art which have played a vital part in developing Italian car design.