With Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, and Chrysler all laying their cards on the table through 2018, the Fiat brand didn’t want to be left out.
With Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, and Chrysler all laying their cards on the table through 2018, the Fiat brand didn’t want to be left out. For the U.S., however, there’s precious little news to come from the brand for the next four years.
In fact, there are just two new models due in North America from the Fiat brand: the 500X and an as yet unnamed “specialty” car.
The 500X is a relatively known quantity, with spy shotsrevealing the core proportions of the coming off-road-ish subcompact crossover. Sharing its core architecture with the 500L, the 500X will offer more rugged design and slightly more svelte proportions than its city-bound brother. It's due early next year.
Fiat’s specialty car, however, remains something of a mystery. Enthusiasts would undoubtedly welcome a re-targeting of the now-in-doubt (and notably absent from today's five-year Alfa roadmap) Alfa Romeo convertiblebased on the Mazda MX-5 as a new Fiat model, and the choice could make good sense for Fiat as well, aligning with the brand’s small, efficient, and fun image.
2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata SkyActiv chassis, 2014 New York Auto Show
Enlarge PhotoA fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 in Fiat guise also makes some historical sense, at least insofar as Fiat offering a sporty, rear-drive roadster. The Fiat 124 Sport Spider, built from 1966-1982 before moving to the Pininfarina brand, followed a similar formula to today’s MX-5: light weight, moderate power, reasonable price.
With the “specialty” car due in late 2015, it also aligns well with Mazda’s plans for the ND MX-5, which is expected to arrive in the first half of 2015 as a 2016 model.
To read about the future plans of other FCA brands, hit the links below:
Alfa Romeo
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