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Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa is Italian-Japanese cute-overload fusion

If you live in Japan and you want to get something for your special someone for Valentine's Day, then slow dance down to your Fiat dealer and check out the Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa. A holiday special, the pale metallic pink Cinquecento is limited to 150 examples and only on sale from February 14-17. But beware the connotations, because as far as we can glean from Google Translate, the 500 Fiore Rosa is a bargain model, getting halogen lights instead of bi-xenons, manual air-con instead of climate control, 14-inch steel wheels instead of 15-inch alloys, and going without chrome trim, glass roof, parking sensors and alarm.
It's fitted with the TwinAir engine and gets the same price as the regular 500 TwinAir, however - 2,200,000 yen ($23,559 US). Other than the special name, we can't figure out where the 500 Fiore Rosa is hiding its treats, especially because it gets the el-cheapo wheel covers of the 500 Pop fitted with the 1.2-liter engine instead of the 500 TwinAir wheels. But if you want to make a statement, it's there. And we're talking to the women of Japan, because apparently they're the ones who buy the gifts on Valentine's day in Nippon.

Fiat 500 Cattiva on the way

While its dealer body has been clamoring for new and larger models, Fiat has actually done a pretty good trade selling all manner of 500 variants, from the standard hatchback and 500C cabriolet to its Abarth models, 500e electric runabout and special editions like the Gucci.
Fiat USA was a little slow out of the gates as it built up brand awareness and its dealer network, but it's now chugging along, with combined 500 model sales outselling that of its arch rival Mini (provided you subtract the Countryman crossover, a model for which Fiat has had no direct competitor up until this point). Franchisees are finally about to get the bigger, broader-appeal model they've been seeking in the form of the five-door 500L, but Fiat is still going to be devoting a lot of attention to their whisker-faced icon, the Cinquecento.
As proof, at the first drive event of the 500L in Baltimore, Fiat North America boss Jason Stoicevich confirmed that his company will produce a production version of the 500 Cattiva concept shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Stoicevich wouldn't divulge the model's pricepoint or availability timeframe, but he told us, "I can guarantee you it will happen. I just can't tell you when."

Fiat 500 joins the Hyundai Veloster in the three-door hatchback club

Fiat aims to retain motorists on the brink of outgrowing the pocket-sized 500 by expanding the line-up with a more practical variant fitted with a single rear-hinged half door. Called 3+1, it's offered exclusively as an electric car. Viewed from the driver's side, the 3+1 looks almost exactly like the new 500 introduced earlier in 2020. It's when you walk around to the passenger's side that you notice the differences. Stylists made the front door shorter to accommodate a half door similar to what we've seen on several extended-cab pickups, the Mazda RX-8, and a couple of Saturn models. Hyundai's Veloster is a three-door hatch, too, but its third door is hinged at the front. Fiat explained the half door can only be opened after the front door is pulled out of the way to ensure the passengers don't accidentally unlatch it. It left out the b-pillar, so users can access the rear bench without having to perform contortionist-like moves to clear the front passenger's seat. Extra door aside, the 3+1 is a regular 500; its dimensions are identical to the two-door model's, and it weighs approximately 66 pounds more.  Everything under the sheet metal is shared with the two-door 500, too, meaning the 3+1 is built on a 42-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that zaps a 118-horsepower electric motor into motion. Its driving range checks in at 199 miles on the rather optimistic WLTP testing cycle, and the sprint from zero to 62 mph takes nine seconds. Keep your foot down, and the speedometer needle will stop moving after it hits 93 mph, the 500's top speed. Fiat hasn't published pricing yet, but it's of little interest to us because the 3+1 will not be sold in the United States due in part to its small size. Even the last-generation 500 – which will remain in production in the foreseeable future – has been axed from the company's American range. If you're curious, however, the new two-door model starts at 25,900 euros (about $30,600) before various incentives enter the equation. This partially explains why it will not be sold in America; Fiat doesn't think it can talk Americans into spending crossover money on a city car. What about the wagon? Rewind to 2018, when former Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne presented the group's five-year plan in front of investors from all over the world. Although he focused on Jeep and Ram, he announced the return of the 500 Giardiniera nameplate used by Fiat and Autobianchi between 1960 and 1977.