Fiat Seicento

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"Seicento" can also refer to the earlier Fiat 600

Fiat Seicento

Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1998-2007
Predecessor	Fiat Cinquecento
Successor	Fiat Nuova 500
Class	City car
Engine	1.1 L FIRE I4
Length	3.34 m
Width	1.51 m
Height	1.42 m

The Fiat Seicento is a city car produced by the Italian company Fiat since 1998 as a replacement to the Fiat Cinquecento.

It didn't differ much from its predecessor, retaining the same engines, chassis and general dimensions, with the Seicento gaining a minor 9 cm in length (total length of 3.34m). The design was similar too, in which the Seicento kept the same 3-door hatchback body, instead of the 5-door mini MPV look seen on many Korean city cars. Like its predecessors, the Cinquecento and Polski Fiat 126, the Seicento is built in Fiat's factory in Bielsko-Biala, Poland. Until Summer 2001 377,000 vehicles were sold (source: Wikipedia Germany).

The Seicento name was intended to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fiat 600, Seicento being the Italian word for this number.

1 EuroNCAP performance
2 Versions
3 Future replacement
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] EuroNCAP performance

In the EuroNCAP crash test, the Fiat Seicento was only awarded a single star, and is one of the worst contenders in the history of the EuroNCAP only beaten by the Rover 100 and the original Chrysler Voyager.[1]. That is not surprising, as the car has an extremely short front-end and keeps many components from its predecessor, originally conceived in 1992.

[edit] Versions

[edit] Engines

The Seicento is available with two engines, the old 899 cc OHV (29 kW / 40 PS) engine used in early base S and SX models, which was removed from West European markets due to emissions regulations, and the 1108 cc FIRE (40 kW / 54 PS), used in the Sporting version since launch, and fitted universally with multi-point fuel injection from 2001, replacing the old pushrod units. There was also a version with an electric engine (30 kW / 41 PS).

[edit] Trims/Equipment

Fiat Seicento Sporting with optional full length electric canvas hood.

At launch, the Seicento was availabe with three trim levels; a basic 'S' with black bumpers and spartan equipment and initially the 899cc engine, a 'SX' model, a slight upgrade over the 'S' with colour coded bumpers, electric windows and sunroof, which was also available as a 'Citymatic' with a clutchless manual gearchange, and a 'Sporting' with the larger FIRE engine mated to a close-ratio gearbox, and anti-roll bars added. Cosmetically, this version gained 13" alloy wheels, sports seats and bodykit with optional Abarth 14" wheels and side skirts also available.

In 1999, the FIRE engine was also used in the special 'Suite' version, which came with air-conditioning.

After the 2001 update, all cars were given clear indicator lenses, with the Sporting getting a restyled bodykit. Cars built from this period also come with an anti-lock braking system. A 'Michael Schumacher' edition of the Sporting, with the Abarth styling kit, was also launched at this time to celebrate the Ferrari driver's Formula 1 success.

[edit] Tuning

German tuner Novitec created a special edition of the Fiat Seicento, adding a turbocharger and six-speed gearbox to the little car. The German tuner is able to extract 101 PS (74 kW) from the 1242 cc FIRE engine.