Fiat lobs special-edition 500C convertible

FIAT has released another special-edition variant for its 500 micro-car range, with the 500C convertible now available in Spiaggina ‘58 Edition guise, but just 30 examples are on their way to Australia.

Priced from $25,990 plus on-road costs for the five-speed manual and $27,490 for the five-speed automated manual transmission, the 500C Spiaggina ‘58 Edition is inspired by Fiat’s first-ever special edition, the 500 Jolly Spiaggina.

To set it apart from the regular drop-top 500, the Spiaggina ‘58 scores a number of equipment upgrades inside and out, totalling a claimed $3000 of value.

The Spiaggina ‘58 Edition is identified by its Volare blue paintwork and beige soft top, while 16-inch alloys, chrome additions to the bonnet line, mirror covers and bumper inserts, a white beauty line and a Spiaggina ‘58 badge are found elsewhere.

Inside, the special model is distinguished by striped seat inserts with ivory highlights, the ‘500’ logo and piping on the seats and branded front and rear floor mats.

This is in addition to standard 500C specification, including a 7.0-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, climate control and rear parking sensors.

Both variants are powered by the same 1.2-litre aspirated petrol engine producing 51kW at 5500rpm and 102Nm at 3000rpm.

When teamed to the manual 500c, the little mill returns a combined fuel economy figure of 4.9 litres per 100km, while opting for the Dualogic auto reduces the figure to 4.8L/100km.

The 30 examples coming to Australia are part of the 1958 total units that wll be built, continuing the Fiat tradition that has seen more than 30 special-edition 500 variants created in the last 11 years.

In 2018, Fiat sold 770 combined examples of the 500 and performance-fettled Abarth variant, representing an 11.7 per cent slide over the 872 sales it managed in 2017.

Its 770 sales were enough to place it third in the micro-car segment, behind the popular Kia Picanto (5394) and Mitsubishi Mirage (1032).