It seems that we will soon be introduced to a special new variant of the Fiat 500. The small Italian would get a door on one side to make boarding easier.
The brand-new Fiat 500 has been in production for some time, but it seems that the factory will soon have a more extensive task with the 500. According to the usually well-informed Automotive News a three-door version of the Fiat 500 will be added. But the 500 is already a three-door, right? Yes, but in this case we are talking about the number of doors excluding the tailgate. Fiat is said to add a door on the passenger side of the 500. So the right side, since for the majority of markets that is the passenger side. The right-hand drive markets reportedly have to make do with an extra entrance on the driver’s side.
But now; what kind of door still fits in the cramped carriage of the 500? Well, a ‘suicide by’ of course! A door that opens at the height of where the B-pillar normally sits and hinges just in front of the C-pillar. This creates a large opening in the side of the 500. Obviously, everything around the opening must be reinforced for this and the door itself will also provide extra weight. Still, according to Automotive News lead to a weight gain of only 30 kilos compared to the regular 500. That is not too bad.
The medium reports that the extra variant of the 500 will already be shown next month and can be delivered for the first time at the beginning of next year. In terms of price, it would be between the regular 500 and the 500 Convertible. For the new variant, the name ‘Trepiùno’ goes around, ‘three plus one’, of course a reference to the fact that the 500 is normally a three-door and thus gets another one in this version. Incidentally, the concept car (see photo below) that looked ahead to the 500 in 2004 was also called that. Then the name was still a reference to the seats. For those who have an extra door is not enough, waiting for the 500 ‘station wagon’, the Gardiniera. It is also in the barrel.
Not a new concept
Two doors on one side and only one door on the other, we’ve seen that before. Modern examples of this are the Hyundai Veloster and the Mini Clubman. With the eccentric Hyundai it was (and is) a very special story. The extra door opens like a conventional door – not like a suicide through – and the window line is also different on that side than on the side with only one door. At the Clubman, until this became a regular five-door, it was more similar to what we can expect at the 500.