The Fiat 500 has been a real success story. Such a success that the original 500 have already derived other models: 500X, 500L, 500C and 500 Abarth.
A success that Fiat failed to repeat in the latest generation of Fiat Punto. The global financial crisis (which broke out in 2008) and the low profitability of the segment in Europe (high volumes, but low margins), impelled Sergio Marchionne, former FCA CEO, to postpone his successor and, finally, to decide not to replace at all — for the reasons of profitability mentioned.
At the time, it was a controversial and also a historic decision, as it removed Fiat from a market segment that represented, for most of its existence, the essence of the brand, its main source of revenue and also its greatest successes. Read our special about the end of the Fiat Punto.
What if the answer was a modern Fiat 127?
Mike Manley, the newly appointed CEO of the FCA Group, is the only one who can reverse Marchionne's decision. If he will, we will have to wait and see.
If the plan presented last June remains unchanged, we will see new generations of the Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 by the end of the decade. It is confirmed that the Fiat 500 will have a new derivation, the 500 Giardiniera — the Fiat 500 van, in allusion to the original Giardiniera, from the 60s.
The most likely hypothesis is that the 500 Giardiniera will represent Fiat's return to the B-segment. This, if the 500 Giardiniera follows the example of the Mini, in which the Clubman is much larger and belongs to a segment above the three-door Mini .
Still, after seeing these images of the modern Fiat 127, weren't you in the mood to see a Fiat 127 on the road?
It would be the return of one of the brand's icons. The same formula as the 500 and 124 Spider, now applied to the Fiat 127.
One thing is certain, this render had such an impact that even Lapo Elkann, heir of Gianni Agnelli (former Fiat Group CEO and one of the owners of the brand's empire), posted a message on his Facebook to congratulate David Obendorfer, author of these concepts.
