Fiat Panda Aria and Grande Punto Abarth SS concepts

By Guy Bird

Motor Shows

17 September 2007 02:50

Aria goes green, Abarth gets sporty, 500 goes large…

Fiat’s signature white stand featured both ends of the car spectrum: From the eco Panda Aria concept to a new even sportier version of the Grande Punto, the Abarth SS prototype. It arguably had the best show stand gimmick at Frankfurt too – a giant Fiat 500 model the size of a two-storey building housing a monorail on which punters could ride life-size 500 cars around its innards – entered through the giant 500’s wheel arch. Anyway… what about this eco Panda thingy…

Oh yes, the Fiat Aria ‘concept’ is subtle like that. But look beyond (or through) the questionable styling of the clear exterior body panels with the designed foliage on top of this normal Panda shell and you’ll find a super clean engine and plenty of recycled materials lurking beneath.

By Guy Bird