Fiat 500

Fiat 500 (Red)

NEW YORK—The stylish but stark basement of a classic brick building in SoHo, the New York City neighborhood where art, fashion and commerce collide is a fitting place to pitch the virtues of the Fiat 500. Known also as the Cinquecento, the 500 is the first Fiat to come stateside since the Fiat X1-9 of the early '80s and perhaps the first of additional tasty Italian cars heading our way now that Fiat and Chrysle

r have merged.

Like the current Mini, the 500 is a nostalgia piece, an updated version of a charismatic original. In this basement, there are two 500s glistening beneath spotlights: an original 500, the one sold in Italy from 1957 to 1975, and the retooled version, due to go on sale domestically within the next few months. The question is, will American's embrace this Italian import like they have the Mini?

Fiat 500 (White) View 1

The Specs

The original 500 is extremely attractive—it would only be cuter with dimples—and brings to mind two actresses named Audrey—Hepburn and Tatou. The remake has a similar appeal, albeit a slightly more masculine one, thanks to its wide stance, bulbous silhouette and bug-eye headlights.

Fiat 500 (White) View 2

Talking with the designers, engineers and public relations people on hand I got the sense of a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation.

I suspect that the enthusiasm flows from confidence about the 500's distinctive personality, which—like BMW's reincarnated Mini Cooper—draws heavily on the car's cultural legacy. "There are 27 million Italian-Americans," says Laura Soave, CEO of Fiat in North America. "This is bringing back a little piece of history to them that they can share with their families."

I'm sure Soave doesn't mean to exclude other buyers—presumably, an Irish- or African-American customer would also be welcome—but I get her point. The reborn 500 may well resonate with Italian-Americans, since it hews fairly closely to the aesthetic and spirit of the original. Soave points up the 500's advantage in this regard by comparing it to the Mini—a British original redesigned by a German carmaker—and the Ford Fiesta. Those cars, direct competitors with the 500, lack the "emotion" and "heritage" of the car that defined at least two generations of Italian drivers. Never mind that Chrysler is Fiat's partner and the 500 will be assembled in Mexico—Soave wants you to join her in celebrating its distinctive Italian-ness.

Fiat 500 View 2

One thing that the new 500 will feature is more power than the original (whose engine may as well have been made by Briggs and Stratton). Built in Michigan, the 1.4-liter, four-cylinder MultiAir engine produces 101 hp at 6500 rpm and 98 lbs-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The MultiAir technology "maximizes performance and minimizes emissions," basically by fine-tuning the intake-valve timing and lift, says Joe Grace, the Fiat vehicle line executive.