Latest news with #GaetanoThorel
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Fiat Panda 4x4 is back: Could it be another Italian legend?
More than 40 years after the Panda 4x4 launched and quickly became an Italian legend, it looks likely the intrepid little off-roader will be making a return to our roads. Fiat has unveiled its new Grande Panda 4x4 concept that's a 'direct heir of the Panda 4x4 of the '80s', although the Italian car maker is being rather coy about the finer details. Hailed by Fiat as 'the next chapter in the legacy of the Italian brand' the Grande Panda 4x4 has an exterior design that references both the Panda 4x4 of old and the new Grande Panda which marks a return to Fiat's retro roots. If the Panda 4x4 does go into production it will be the first Stellantis (the owner of Fiat) four-wheel drive model to be based on its 'Smart Car' platform that the Citroen C3 and Vauxhall Frontera already use. There's no timeline as to when the Panda 4x4 would go into production or how much it will cost, but head of Fiat for Europe, Gaetano Thorel, told press at the unveiling: 'We knew everyone would love it, we have to do it.' The 2025 Grande Panda starts at £18,025 for the hybrid – which combines a 1.2-litre turbo petrol and a 21kW e-motor - and £21,000 for the EV, so it's likely the 4x4 would start from somewhere around there. If it does actually arrive that is... The original Panda 4x4 was designed for Italians that lived in the most rural and least accessible parts of Italy or frequently journeyed there. Keeping this in mind, Fiat says the new Panda will be 'a symbol of versatility, reliability and freedom on four wheels' and will come with an electrified innovative rear axle that will 'enable the vehicle to deliver impressive performance in urban settings and on more demanding terrain'. The rear axle is the only electric confirmation we've had so far, but Fiat boss Thorel seemed to reject the idea of it being fully electric, telling Auto Express: 'To me, the 4x4 is meant to be at 2000 metres above sea level, in winter. As far as I remember, batteries in winter are not really too comfortable...' The original car could scramble up a hillside and provided extraordinary performance on the toughest terrains, and it did so at an affordable price which is why over three generations Fiat sold around 800,000 Panda 4x4s. It also looked brilliant, and perfected the small on the outside but cleverly spacious on the inside trick. The original Panda 4x4 was designed for Italians that lived in the most rural and least accessible parts of Italy or frequently journeyed there. It could cross deserts, mountains and rivers Fiat's Panda is back for a fourth generation in 2025 and is available as a hybrid or EV. Prices will start from under £19k Building on the 'box on wheels' updated looks of the Grande Panda, the 4x4 concept is beefed up for tricky terrain with a jacked-up ride height, and some seriously cool fitted steel wheels, as well as beige details and bolted on roof rack lamps. The interior has a brown look to give it a vintage feel as well as an outdoor element to the cabin. The Dark red concept paint with black bumpers makes it stand out from the crowd. The original Fiat Panda and the 4x4 Over three generations the Panda became an institution of Italy. Over 280,000 were sold in the UK alone and almost every village and town in Italy had Panda 4x4s dotted around its streets. Italy's version of the Renault 4 or Citroen 2CV, it could haul around five passengers and luggage while being fuel efficient and cheap to buy. It's always been a cheerful car which is both conventional and ingenious, but the 4x4 built on that and made this much-loved car ready for any adventure. Beaten by the Dacia Duster to the prize of the cheapest 4x4 in the UK in 2012, the third generation was sold until 2023 which saw a limited edition 4x40 model come in to celebrate four decades of the small SUV's history.
Auto Express
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Fiat 500 Hybrid: city car to get new powertrain before the end of 2025
Fiat will introduce a hybrid drivetrain into the 500 city car before the end of 2025 – and for head of Europe Gaetano Thorel it can't come a moment too soon. The electric Fiat 500, introduced in 2020, is a sweet car. But sales have been limited because it's fishing in a small market segment, made even smaller by its strictly zero emissions powertrain. "The new 500 is one of the best cars Fiat has ever had from a design and technology standpoint," Thorel told Auto Express exclusively in Turin. "The fact that we have limited the possibility for the majority of consumers to enjoy the new 500 really makes me very sad. So when the engineers found a way to put the engine inside, giving us the go [ahead] for the new 500 hybrid, it was one of the best days of my life." Advertisement - Article continues below Fiat's engineering team has revamped the electric architecture to shoehorn the powertrain of the previous 500 hybrid – now off UK sale – into the nose. "It was an engineering challenge," admits Thorel. Removing the battery has not freed up any additional cockpit or trunk space, Thorel asserts, with the main interior difference being the installation of a manual stickshift. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The engine is the 1.0-litre naturally aspirated 'Firefly' three-cylinder, with a 12-volt mild hybrid power boost and stop/start capability coming from a belt-integrated starter generator. The drivetrain was in the last generation Fiat Panda as well as the old 500, which dated back to 2007. It typically produces around 68bhp. The forthcoming 500 Hybrid will look very similar to the 500e, despite the changes under the skin. Fiat has just shared images of the first pre-production units rolling out of its Mirafiori plant in Turin - ahead of a November launch. The images also reveal the hybrid will use a 10.25-inch touchscreen and naturally has a different dash layout to the current 500e's. The name 'Hybrid' also looks set to change to 'Ibrida' (Italian for 'hybrid') – a move shared with fellow Stellantis brand Alfa Romeo with its new mild-hybrid Junior Ibrida. The 500 Ibrida is not using the same mild-hybrid technology that Fiat's parent company Stellantis has installed in numerous models, including the Fiat 600 compact SUV, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa. They use a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor, which can propel the cars for short distances on pure electric power. Don't get excited thinking the six-speed 'box presages an Abarth replacement for the 595 hot hatch. Speaking to us on an earlier occasion, Gaetano Thorel emphasised that the engine was more for affordable motoring than performance: 'The new 500 hybrid that will be built in Mirafiori [in Italy], its micro hybrid engine [is] nothing spectacular.' Instead, the company is pouring investment into new models: a midsize SUV and Fastback plus a Grande Panda 4x4. Those cars, along with the 100 million Euro investment in the 500e that includes redesigning its platform and potentially fitting new battery tech, rules out an indulgence such as a new baby Abarth. Subscribe to the UK's favourite car magazine: get Auto Express delivered every week... Find a car with the experts Flawed hybrid car efficiency data to stifle UK EV sales and propagate pollution Flawed hybrid car efficiency data to stifle UK EV sales and propagate pollution Half a million extra PHEVs could reach UK roads by 2030 in place of cleaner EVs due to changes surrounding the ZEV Mandate New Ford Fiesta: latest details on supermini's potential return New Ford Fiesta: latest details on supermini's potential return The Ford Fiesta could be coming back as an electric car, and here's everything we know so far Kia is returning to its 'Keeping It Affordable' roots Kia is returning to its 'Keeping It Affordable' roots Mike Rutherford thinks new cars are simply too expensive, but some manufacturers are starting to do something about it
Auto Express
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
It's a giant Panda! New Fiat SUV and Fastback to boost brand's line-up
A chunky SUV and cool 'Fastback' crossover are on the launchpad, as Fiat's new model blitz intensifies. The big one – literally, by Fiat's compact standards – is an SUV nicknamed GigaPanda. A sister car to the 4.4m-long Citroen C3 Aircross, the SUV is likely to offer both five- and seven-seat configurations. Advertisement - Article continues below Launching first, however, is Fiat's Fastback. It will fill the gap left by the Tipo, fleetingly sold in the UK as a budget hatchback to challenge the Ford Focus. But the saloon variant is the big ticket item for Fiat: badged as Egea, it's a strong seller in Algeria and Turkey, where it's also assembled. There's also a coupé-SUV called the Fastback in Brazil. The new model is charged with replacing all these Fiats in one fell swoop – and the UK team is looking into bringing it here. 'Two new cars are coming that will complete Fiat's resurgence,' head of Europe Gaetano Thorel exclusively told Auto Express at the brand's Centro Stile design centre. And they'll both be unveiled in the next 12 months, with the Fastback set for a debut before the end of 2025. The cars will underpin Fiat's bid to transform from local player to global force. The once-mighty small car brand has become a minnow in the UK, with the baby Panda no longer manufactured in right-hand drive and only the 500e city car and 600 mild hybrid and electric SUV in showrooms, alongside their sporty Abarth offshoots. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Reinforcements are on the way – Fiat engineers have overhauled the 500's electric platform to accommodate a lightly electrified petrol engine and the show-stopping Grande Panda will land in the UK in September. 'Our dealers have had to cross the desert!' continued the colourful Thorel. 'But now they know the desert is over.' Advertisement - Article continues below The Grande Panda's retromodernist design will dictate the look of the new GigaPanda and Fastback, as previewed by a series of 2024 concept cars demonstrating its versatility. 'When we developed Grande Panda we [created] a series of vehicles in a kind of 'Lego' system, where we'll build different vehicles in different sizes that actually use a lot of common components to really reduce their cost,' Fiat head of design François Leboine told Auto Express at the Centro Stile. The Grande Panda's silhouette, front and rear lamp outlines, blocky, rectangular panels and Panda script capture the spirit of the eighties original, while the short overhangs, complex light patterns and vibrant colours bring modernity. Throw in the design team's cheesy but instructive buzzphrases – to make cars 'practicool' and put the fun into functionality – and you have the recipe shaping the GigaPanda and Fastback. The latter has an angular tail crowned with a diagonally slanted rear screen that mimics the windscreen's rake, a key relationship in the Grande Panda's design too, according to Leboine. Overall the Fastback's form resembles the Polestar 2's, a high-riding notchback. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The smart money is on Turkish saloon-fans being disappointed as the Agea morphs into a crossover with a tailgate – but delivers more global appeal. 'Today Egea is a saloon. But I think you can have the consumer evolve,' hinted Thorel. Advertisement - Article continues below Under the skin, the new Fiats will use the Stellantis group's low-cost architecture, introduced on the Citroen C3 and underpinning the Grande Panda. 'We will use the 'smart car' platform to propose and produce new vehicles that will be targeting different regions in the world and different customers, sometimes replacing [existing] products or even coming with new products,' said Leboine. That means smart car's full mix of powertrains and EV batteries are on the shelf for the future Fiat family. Citroen is introducing a range-topping 54kWh battery for the C3 Aircross, set to extend the range to around 250 miles. It'll sit alongside the 44kWh pack, good for 188 miles. Expect the GigaPanda to offer both batteries and muster similar ranges. 'We called it GigaPanda to let people understand it's much bigger than Grande Panda, though they're rooted in the same design,' said the 57-year-old European boss. 'Fiat's playground is urban mobility. That to me means from 2.5 metres [the Topolino version of the Citroen Ami] to four-point-something metres.' Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Fiat previewed the GigaPanda concept with a striking purple SUV, again with blocky sections, pixel lights and body detailing inspired by the old Lingotto factory's rows of square windows. The long wheelbase frees up space for larger families, though the kicked up windowline will need extending – perhaps in keeping with the blue Panda Camper XXL concept's sideglass – to give third row passengers a view out. Advertisement - Article continues below 'I cannot say we'll do it [exactly] like this,' Leboine told Auto Express in Turin. 'But we've worked on this vehicle family and they are ready. The [Grande] Panda [concept] was a bit exaggerated but all the cues were there. That's more or less what will happen [with GigaPanda].' Fiat has learned its lesson from only offering the 500 as a pure EV. So the mild hybrid 1.2-litre turbo petrol will be fitted, along with a pure petrol (as well as ethanol options, a popular fuel in Brazil). The two cars should be on the market by the end of 2026, with a pick-up set to join the following year. That will replace the Brazilian Strada and also be offered in more markets, including Europe. 'We have a responsibility to get Fiat back to where it belongs in Europe,' said Thorel. 'We want to be a protagonist, which means having a market coverage of at least 50 per cent.' And what is Fiat's market coverage today, we asked? 'Without Grande Panda? I can't tell you, because otherwise you'd ask: 'How have you survived?'!' Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express ? We'll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too . 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The Sun
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Cult-classic motor discontinued in the 90s set to RETURN as 4×4 with brand teasing ‘next chapter'
A CULT-classic car which was dropped in the 1990s is now set to make a comeback as a modern-day 4x4, as the manufacturer hints at the 'next chapter'. The original Fiat Panda was seen as a go-anywhere supermini and became a hit with its loyal band of fans. 4 Now, with the Italian firm's fast-growing line-up the dinky motor is being turned into the Fiat Grande Panda 4x4. The original Panda 4x4 first hit our streets in 1983 and thanks to its raised height and rugged styling elements it soon became a cult classic, seen as an affordable off-roader. The new Grande Panda forms the base of the revived concept and is being offered with both 111bhp electric and 108bhp 1.2-litre mild-hybrid petrol powertrains. It will be part of Stellantis's new Smart Car platform, designed to appeal to cost-conscious drivers. Fiat hasn't yet officially confirmed its production intent but has billed the Grande Panda 4x4 as 'the next chapter' and a 'potential true symbol of versatility, reliability and freedom'. Fiat Europe boss Gaetano Thorel hasn't officially confirmed the machine would reach production, but said: "Surely we will have this car on the road in the future – but not tomorrow,' reports Autocar. Mr Thorel did add that there had been demand for a 4x4 version since the Grande Panda was first unveiled and that the company wanted to meet that demand. Full details about the vehicle's powertrain haven't been revealed, Fiat has referred to it as offering an 'electrified innovative rear axle'. Fiat engineers are still working on the potential four-wheel-drive powertrain and refused to give details on whether any production 4x4 would be electric or combustion-based. Fiat insiders have hinted it would have an electric motor powering the rear axle and use the Smart Car platform, reports the motoring magazine. I test drove the discontinued Fiat 500's electric replacement - it's quick but flaw means you can only use it in a city Details of that unit's size though have yet to be confirmed. There is speculation it could be a smaller e-axle which adds supplementary power, when needed. The car's rival, the Dacia Duster 4x4, uses a similar mild-hybrid arrangement. Fiat's Grande Panda 4x4 concept also incorporates several bespoke design cues, such as dark red paint which hints at a special edition of the Panda 4x4. It also features steel wheels, special graphics on the doors which underscore the stamped Panda lettering and hint at traditional off-roader body cladding. There's also a protective underbody skidplate and a roof rack. Fiat has also hinted that any production model would 'most likely feature other accessories'. The intention is to eventually position the Grande Panda as a global car and to manufacture it in factories on three continents. In order to meet those global requirements, it can utilise a number of powertrains including a manual pure ICE, a hybrid, full electric and even LPG. The manual ICE is set to launch in Europe later this year but it is not expected to be available in the UK at first due to the extra costs of right-hand drive conversion. 4
Scottish Sun
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Cult-classic motor discontinued in the 90s set to RETURN as 4x4 with brand teasing ‘next chapter'
It will be aimed at cost-conscious drivers U-TURN Cult-classic motor discontinued in the 90s set to RETURN as 4×4 with brand teasing 'next chapter' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A CULT-classic car which was dropped in the 1990s is now set to make a comeback as a modern-day 4x4, as the manufacturer hints at the 'next chapter'. The original Fiat Panda was seen as a go-anywhere supermini and became a hit with its loyal band of fans. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The Fiat Grande Panda looks set to get a 4x4 version Credit: Supplied 4 Fiat has so far released few details about the model but it will be part of the manufacturer's Smart Car platform Credit: Supplied Now, with the Italian firm's fast-growing line-up the dinky motor is being turned into the Fiat Grande Panda 4x4. The original Panda 4x4 first hit our streets in 1983 and thanks to its raised height and rugged styling elements it soon became a cult classic, seen as an affordable off-roader. The new Grande Panda forms the base of the revived concept and is being offered with both 111bhp electric and 108bhp 1.2-litre mild-hybrid petrol powertrains. It will be part of Stellantis's new Smart Car platform, designed to appeal to cost-conscious drivers. Fiat hasn't yet officially confirmed its production intent but has billed the Grande Panda 4x4 as 'the next chapter' and a 'potential true symbol of versatility, reliability and freedom'. Fiat Europe boss Gaetano Thorel hasn't officially confirmed the machine would reach production, but said: "Surely we will have this car on the road in the future – but not tomorrow,' reports Autocar. Mr Thorel did add that there had been demand for a 4x4 version since the Grande Panda was first unveiled and that the company wanted to meet that demand. Full details about the vehicle's powertrain haven't been revealed, Fiat has referred to it as offering an 'electrified innovative rear axle'. Fiat engineers are still working on the potential four-wheel-drive powertrain and refused to give details on whether any production 4x4 would be electric or combustion-based. Fiat insiders have hinted it would have an electric motor powering the rear axle and use the Smart Car platform, reports the motoring magazine. I test drove the discontinued Fiat 500's electric replacement - it's quick but flaw means you can only use it in a city Details of that unit's size though have yet to be confirmed. There is speculation it could be a smaller e-axle which adds supplementary power, when needed. The car's rival, the Dacia Duster 4x4, uses a similar mild-hybrid arrangement. Fiat's Grande Panda 4x4 concept also incorporates several bespoke design cues, such as dark red paint which hints at a special edition of the Panda 4x4. It also features steel wheels, special graphics on the doors which underscore the stamped Panda lettering and hint at traditional off-roader body cladding. There's also a protective underbody skidplate and a roof rack. Fiat has also hinted that any production model would 'most likely feature other accessories'. The intention is to eventually position the Grande Panda as a global car and to manufacture it in factories on three continents. In order to meet those global requirements, it can utilise a number of powertrains including a manual pure ICE, a hybrid, full electric and even LPG. The manual ICE is set to launch in Europe later this year but it is not expected to be available in the UK at first due to the extra costs of right-hand drive conversion. 4 The Grande Panda 4x4 is being billed as 'the next chapter' Credit: Supplied
