Fiat dusts off the Panda. Well rather the “big panda”. The Italian brand has just revealed the first images of the enlarged and very modern version of its legendary city car.
A vehicle that takes the technical basis of the new Citroën C3, which gives it a slightly larger format, 3.99 meters long (18 centimeters less than the recent Fiat 600). There “pandine”The new name of the third generation Panda launched in 2019 is indeed more compact, at 3.65 meters.
In these first images, this Grande Panda is clearly distinguished from its Citroën cousin, in particular by a very modern front that introduces a new lighting signature with daytime running lights that also act as turn signals.
In its press release, Fiat mentions “a bright body color palette”including this fluorescent yellow.
With a more square, but modern design, Fiat wants to reconnect with the design of the original Panda launched in the 80s. The protections around the vehicle, the well-defined wheel arches and the roof bars reinforce its small adventurous side.
At the rear, the Fiat logo is engraved directly on the tailgate and the model name is printed in three dimensions on a black strip that connects the rear lights.
Fiat does not give more details about the marketing date, nor about the engines offered nor about future prices. The Grande Panda should be launched before the end of the year using the C3’s micro-hybrid and electric motors and, therefore, with fairly similar prices.
The gasoline-powered Panda “pandina”, will continue to be produced at the Pomigliano d’Arco factory, near Naples, at least until 2030, assured the head of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, at the beginning of April. A way to reassure the presence of the automobile group in Italy, because the Grande Panda leaves Fiat’s homeland for once.
A style “Italian”but without flag
If the C3 is produced in Trnava (Slovakia), the Grande Panda will be assembled in Serbia, at the Stellantis factory in Kragujevac. In its press release, Fiat does not mention this point, which has made the unions jump, but insists on its design at the Centro Stile in Turin.
In the midst of a crisis with the Italian government, we observe that this Big Panda does not display any green, white and red flag. After the name change of the Alfa Romeo Milano, manufactured in Poland, to Junior, Fiat was forced to remove the Italian flags from two models: the small sticker of the Fiat Topolino produced in Morocco and the one that crosses the 600 logo on the rear . bumper of the small SUV.
At the end of May it was no longer possible to observe Topolino from all angles. your online configurator, a module that has since been reactivated. The official photos no longer show the small sticker that appeared on the front of the doors.
On the other hand, in the configurator or in the official photos of the Fiat 600, it is not yet possible to see the rear of the vehicle and its bumper, now devoid (a priori) of an Italian flag.
Source: BFM TV
