At the upcoming Geneva auto show, Fiat will take the 500 minicar in two directions: red and green. The red we already know about: that’s the 500 Abarth with a 135-hp 1.4-liter turbo four and beefed-up bodywork. But Fiat will also be showcasing the 500 Aria concept, a rolling demonstration of the green technologies that the company is developing.

The concept draws on the theme laid out by the previous Fiat Panda Aria concept, which the company showed in Frankfurt. The 500 Aria, however, uses Fiat’s 1.3-liter 16v Multijet diesel, a particulate filter and robotic Dualogic gearbox with start-stop technology that reduces fuel economy by 10% in the city and cuts carbon emissions down to 98g/km.

The 500 Aria also employs recycled materials for the interior, low-power auxiliary systems, reduced-weight components and low-drag Pirelli tires. All in all, it looks like any other 500 to the naked eye, differentiated only by a unique white-on-white paint job that looks something like what we’d imagine tree branches look like in heaven.

Source: Autoblog via Fiat

PRESS RELEASE

Fiat: the vehicles for a sustainable transport

The best example of this continuous commitment in the research and realization of products, with minimal environmental impact are the vehicles and prototypes displayed in Geneva. Starting with the brand new Concept car 500 Aria and the prototype Panda Aria: which are really and truly “ecological manifestos” that confirm the will of Fiat to study continuous changes in the field of researching innovative solutions for the containment of polluting emissions and CO2 levels.

Alongside these remarkable examples, other Fiat models with a level of CO2 emmissions lower than 120 g/km with be displayed. They are the best examples of Fiat’s research in the field of traditional motorizations, developed especially to reduce their environmental impact.

So here we have a Fiat 500 Sport equipped with a 1,2 litre petrol propulsion engine combined with the robotic shift Dualogic. There’s also space for a Panda Climbing, ambassador of the wide and articulated Natural Power range of vehicles with dual petrol/methane-hydrogen fuel management. Under the spotlights we also have the Grande Punto and Bravo models equipped with 1,3 and 1,6 litre Multijet propulsion. In particular the Fiat Bravo model displayed adopts the brand new 120 CV 1.6 Multijet with robotic Dualogic shift, which boasts an important supremacy: indeed, not only does it have a CO2 value below the 120 g/km threshold, it’s also the first Euro5 vehicle in it’s category (in accordance with the limits of the future Euro5 law).

The combined result of these technologies can be equated to the Fiat leadership on environmental themes, starting from CO2 emmissions. In fact, in 2007 the Fiat Group reduced the average CO2 emissions of vehicles sold in Europe by 19% in comparison to 1995. Still in 2007, as many as 23% of cars sold had CO2 emissions inferior to 120 g/km and 67% inferior or equal to 140 g/km.

Boosted by these percentages and notwithstanding the decisions taken in the European headquarters, Fiat Automobiles commits itself to obtaining within 2012, the lowest average considered level of CO2 emissions for its cars. Fiat intends to follow this objective via the introduction of an intervention plan aimed at motors, shifts, and cars, as well as the structural use of the Stop & Start system.

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