-Sn!PeR- Posted June 8, 2024 Posted June 8, 2024 Fiat is in a pretty sorry state in the U.S. at the moment, only selling the bloated and awkward Fiat 500X hatchback SUV stateside after discontinuing everything else it offered after the 2019 model year. In Europe, the brand has introduced an all-new, all-electric version of its Fiat 500 hatchback city car, and at the 2022 Los Angeles auto show, Fiat CEO Francois Olivier has confirmed the 2024 Fiat 500e is officially coming (back) to America. Fiat later announced the 500e would debut in the U.S. as the (RED) Edition version, with more custom editions debuting since. Here's what to expect for the Fiat 500e in 2024. F.I.A.T.: Fiat In America Tomorrow This would mark the second time in as many decades that Fiat has attempted to make a splashy dent in the U.S. car market, now trying again with the 500e after a few years of middling sales generally. Though it's going to take a few years to get anywhere, we should point out that, before the old 500 was discontinued in America, it still outsold the other cars in Fiat's lineup, namely the (also-now-dead) 500L van thing and the 500X that survives today. Even so, that version was primarily gas-powered; the electric 500e variant was sold in limited markets, and even then-Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne complained that every single one was a money loser. Entry-level 500es are attractive and have far more upscale-looking cabins than the old 500s did, and they get a 24-kWh battery pack good for about 150 miles of range. The 400-volt architecture allows the battery to charge to full in about four hours at 11 kilowatts of power, and can accept up to 85 kW of fast charging rates. A higher-output version offering about 200 miles of range is available with a 42-kWh pack. 2024 Fiat 500e Inspired by Los Angeles If you’re going to name something after an iconic city, you better do it right. The 2024 Fiat 500e “Inspired by Los Angeles” starts this off with an exclusive Marine Layer Mist—a cool-colored blue that feels like a mix of the ocean and the air around the city’s beaches. The 17-inch wheels feature diamond-cut faces wrapped by summer or all-season tires. The mirror caps are finished in a matte gray while its daylight opening molding contrasts that with its black trim. Inside, the “eco-leather” material covering contrasts the body-colored instrument panel. You’ll also gain a unique audio experience with the seven-speaker JBL system with subwoofer and recreating the four virtual venues found in the “Inspired by Music” 500e. You can pick up this LA-ified Fiat inside and out of the City of Angels for $37,595. 2024 Fiat 500e Inspired by Music Being “Inspired by Music,” this version of the 2024 Fiat 500e will feel like a studio on wheels. First, the exterior and mirror caps are shot in Piano Black paint and chrome trim tastefully contrasts this all black exterior. Inside, the eco-leather materials bring about images of the Maestros with its light and dark theme while its JBL audio system gives off a quartet of simulated venues for its audio. “My Music Room” makes you feel like you’re getting a private performance, “My Recording Studio” offers the acoustics and tones of a real recording studio, “Giuseppe Verdi Opera House” recreates the sound of a theater setting and live performance, and “Open-air Arena” simulates the feeling and acoustics of its namesake. You’ll pick this rolling audio experience for $37,595. 2024 Fiat 500e Inspired by Beauty The Inspired by Beauty drop of the 2024 Fiat 500e is a rose gold colored special that features body-colored mirror caps and chrome daylight opening trim. Inside, the seats, steering wheel, and dashboard feature eco-leather material in beige. The price for this beauty-inspired 500e starts at $37,595. 2024 Fiat 500e (RED) Edition The Fiat 500e (RED) Edition is a partnership with a company of the same name that licenses its brand and then uses a portion of the proceeds to fight HIV/AIDS adjacent causes around the world; you've probably seen a (RED)-branded iPhone before, for example. It features unique touches like red mirror caps and a glossy red interior dashboard, for an initially-announced starting price of $34,095. You can read more about the Fiat 500e (RED) Edition here. Fiat also previously introduced three flavors of 500e at the 2022 L.A. auto show with three one-off models that show off what "Made In Italy" means, highlighting the craftsmanship, creativity, and sophistication of three Italian designers on a car the brand dubs the "ultimate fashion accessory," including models from Armani, Kartell, and Bulgari. These models are not expected to go on sale in the U.S., however. 2024 Fiat 500e By Kartell Kartell, an Italian sustainable plastic and metal furniture company, also had a crack at a one-off all-electric 500. This one focuses most materials in a monochrome shade of the brand's "Kartell blue" color derivative of "Yves Klein blue," for all you color nerds out there. The exterior bodywork is all done in blue mirror-effect with "an environmentally-friendly chrome paint." (Fiat competitor Mini recently announced it was cutting chrome altogether due to its negative environmental effects.) The car's logos are sand-blasted polycarbonate for a sense of depth. The grille, wheels, and mirror caps are made of recycled parabolic projector materials, and their detailing is inspired by Kartell's famous Kabuki lamp from designer Ferruccio Laviani. That motif carries through the interior on the dashboard and seats, and all tactile plastics and fabrics are entirely made of recycled materials. 2024 Fiat 500e by Bulgari The Bulgari jeweler designed "Mai Troppo" Fiat 500e is all about beauty and craftsmanship, roughly translating to "Never Too Much." The company says the bright saffron paintwork is inspired by the "chromatic variegation of Roman sunsets." (Rome is a city in Italy, and it used to also be the name of multiple historical Italian empires. It's not clear to us which Rome Bulgari is referencing here.) The paint is mixed with gold dust scrapped from jewelry production which is meant to make the car look and feel like a big blood-orange "jewel." The wheels are modeled after the famous Bulgari star symbol in a black lacquer accented with golden trim and gold badging. Inside, the dashboard is made of heritage Bulgari silk scarves "of the past," which might mean they're recycled? The seats get "Diva" pattern embroidered leather with gold details and silk scarf inserts. There's also a removable gem tray of sorts, with a "Fiat" brooch featuring semi-precious amethyst, topaz, and citrine stones mounted in the center of the steering wheel. Imagine the airbag going off behind that! Giorgio Armani's 2024 Fiat 500e The "500 Armani" from Giorgio Armani's fashion house takes a 500e into haute couture, incorporating laser-etching on a majority of the exterior bodywork to create a two-tone patterned effect without the fancy paint job that Fiat claims is "polluting." The micro-chevron pattern that results from the laser etching is meant to emulate the three dimensional qualities of working with fabrics, like green silk in this case, according to Armani. The rest of the body is coated in a special opaque paint that is UV-light activated to somehow "reduce air pollutants." Inside, there's full-grain real "greyge-colored" leather sourced from Poltrona Frau, an Italian furniture company, contrasted with micro-chevron patterned bands of wool, and accented by reconstituted open-pore wood with aluminum inlays inspired by the current house of Armani line. On Sale 2024 Fiat CEO Olivier announced that the "official" final reveal of the U.S.-bound Fiat 500e will take place atnextyear's Los Angeles Auto Show, where it will be used to announce that order books will open near the end of 2023. At the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show, Olivier added that the U.S. 500e will get 162 lb-ft of torque and go from 0 to 30 mph in 3.0 seconds. It can juice up to 30 miles of range in just 5 minutes on a 85 kW fast-charger. We don't think any of these fashion house one-offs will make it to production, but perhaps some of the more sustainable elements do. Fiat says the soonest you can expect to receive a new 500e in the U.S. is the first quarter of 2024. Based on our experiences so far in the Euro versions, it should prove more stylish and altogether more substantial than its predecessor; and if it's priced right, it might find some appeal among budget EV shoppers looking for a fun, small, electric runabout. https://www.motortrend.com/events/2024-fiat-500e-first-look-review/
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