Fiat Panda
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Fiat Panda was intended as a modern day interpretation of the Citroën 2CV, being a basic and simple, no frills utility vehicle.
Introduced in 1980, the Panda was noted for its box-like styling, which would be developed two years later in the Uno. Mechanically, it borrowed heavily from the Fiat parts bin, using engines and transmissions from the Fiat 127. In certain territories, the air-cooled 652cc 2-cylinder powerplant from the Fiat 126 was also used. Suspension was courtesy of a very basic leaf-sprung dead axle at the rear, and MacPherson struts at the front.
There were also many features which contributed to the Panda's utility-car role, for example the rear seat could be folded flat to make a bed, or folded up to act as a bottle carrier, or removed altogether to increase the load space. The front seats had removeable covers so that they could be washed. The fabric covered dashboard could also be removed, and the Panda could be specified with a full-length roll back canvas roof.
In 1983, a four-wheel drive system was developed, and this proved popular in the Panda's home turf of rural Italy, where roads are very poor.
1986 saw some major mechanical changes to the Panda, centering around the introduction of the FIRE engines from the Uno, and a new coil sprung rear axle to address the Panda's ride quality.
From 1996 the Panda began to be phased out across Europe, being a victim of tightening safety legislation, Production ended in September 2003. However, Fiat has introduced a new model in 2003, formerly known as Gingo. Fiat had to change the name, because of nameconflicts with Renaults Twingo.
