At the Bologna Motor Fiat has presented a 500 dedicated to Valentino Rossi and finished in the original paint scheme that featured on the Fiat Yamaha Team's machines during the Assen TT in late June.

At the 32nd Bologna Motor Fiat has presented a special version of the 500 dedicated to star MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi and finished in the highly original paint scheme that featured on the Fiat Yamaha Team's machines during the Assen TT in late June.

The model on show in the halls in Bologna is a 1.4 16v 'Sport version (with 100 CV) and featuring climate control, foglamps and 15-inch alloy wheels. The real difference to the standard version, apart from a few interior tweaks, comes in the outrageous paint finish to the car which has been carried out by Fiat Centro Stile.

On 4 July 2007, exactly 50 years after the original model was launched, and again in Turin, new 500 took its bow before being marketed immediately afterwards. At the Assen GP, just days before this momentous event, the Fiat Yamaha Team's bikes were “dressed” in a special livery designed on purpose to celebrate this event, and now in a homage to Valentino Rossi, this scheme has been applied to a 500, along with his familiar trademark number '46' and 'The Doctor' transfers.

The livery was the work of Drudi, a highly regarded MotoGP sector designer, and it derives from research into the discography of the Fifties (the first Fiat 500 came out in 1957), starting from an in-depth study of the record sleeves of the period. These were the years of the economic boom, the twist, rock’n’roll, the first electric guitars, Elvis and Italy’s Rita Pavone with her “Geghegè”. It was an exhilarating period that saw the Fiat 500 right in the front line, a veritable icon of the times presented in Turin on 4 July 1957. It also marked the culmination of Fiat’s post-war renaissance.

“We kept team and drivers in the picture as the project developed”, said Drudi back in June. “The final result with all those cheerful, sunnily entertaining pastel colours has excited everybody”. And colours like blue, light blue and pink, so typical of the record sleeves of the period, mixed with the three colours of the Italian flag, featured on Fiat Yamaha Team bikes.

In addition, certain details were inspired directly by the Fiat 500: for example, the “500” logo that appeared on the sides of the two bikes, while the fuel tank carried an exact reproduction of the mileometer fitted on the new Fiat. Finally, the fairing displayed the famous “logo and moustache” group which the new car inherited from its forebear. Now this complex livery concept has been transferred to a 500.