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Frankfurt show: 500's a massive hit
13 September 2007
The most spectacular car at the show was not the Citroen C-Cactus, the BMW X6 or even the Lamborghini Reventon, but the giant-sized 500 that was part of the Fiat stand.
This massive and precise replica of Fiat’s hugely popular new baby, built with the aid of yacht technology, provided Disney-like tunnel-of-love rides in the real thing, which ran on a track that takes you inside the giant 500, passing through its wheelarches once the wheels have slid out of the way.
It was one reason why this was the most crowded hall of the show, though a litter of glamorous models, and the proximity of the Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo stands would have had something to do with it.
Fiat brand boss Luc De Meo and a guy from his exhibitions team had the idea for the giant-size 500 four months ago, he says, and it cost several hundred thousand euros to make. But it can be used again. ‘I dream of putting it in a New York shopping mall,’ said De Meo.
Richard Bremner
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