A Style for All Seasons
Fiat is introducing the new 500 Collezione special edition just in time for autumn, bringing a fresh set of seasonal colours, tailored interior materials, and bespoke trim accents to Europe’s defining city car. Available as both a three-door hatchback with a standard glass sunroof and a convertible featuring a contrasting grey soft top, this autumn-themed edition follows directly on the heels of the spring Collezione revealed earlier in 2018 at the Geneva Motor Show. Conceived as a celebration of Italian fashion, craftsmanship, and city character, the new special edition reinforces the remarkable endurance of the 500 lineup in its eleventh year of production.
The headline visual statement is an exclusive two-tone livery christened “Brunello,” which pairs Opera Burgundy on the upper body with Carrara Grey along the lower flanks. Accompanying this two-tone scheme is a copper-coloured exterior beauty line running along the waistline, matched directly to 16-inch alloy wheels finished in copper. A dedicated chrome bonnet moulding, chrome mirror caps, and a vintage cursive “Collezione” badge on the boot lid complete an exterior aesthetic carefully curated to reflect the tones of autumn fashion.
The autumn palette extends well beyond the flagship Brunello paint scheme. For drivers preferring a single solid tone, Fiat offers the 500 Collezione in mono-colour Opera Burgundy, Carrara Grey, and Vesuvio Black, alongside a brand-new shade named Cortina Grey, which makes its commercial debut on this special edition. Whatever the paint selection, the car’s proportion and silhouette remain the familiar, cheerful shape that has defined European city motoring since 2007. The chrome moulding running down the centre of the bonnet provides a deliberate historical tip of the hat to the classic 1957 Nuova 500, tying retro heritage directly to high-street couture.
A Decade of Fashion Collaborations: The Special Edition Pedigree
The introduction of the autumn Collezione represents another deliberate step along a path Fiat has navigated with remarkable commercial success for over a decade. Rather than treating the 500 merely as a small city runabout, Turin has treated the platform as an artistic canvas. Since the 2007 relaunch, the three-door model has frequently crossed paths with fashion labels, lifestyle houses, and artistic icons, crafting limited-production runs that elevated the car’s boutique appeal well beyond typical A-segment boundaries.
That lineage began in earnest ten years ago with the 2008 launch of the 500 by Diesel, an irreverent collaboration that infused urban fashion cues into the hatchback. In 2011, the 500C by Gucci arrived, draped in signature green-and-red webbing and premium cabin leathers to capture high-fashion glamour. By 2016, the partnership moved toward maritime luxury with the nautical-inspired 500 Riva, complete with hand-finished mahogany interior woodwork and Aquariva blue exterior accents. As the model reached milestones, Fiat commemorated six decades with the 500-60esimo and Anniversario editions in 2017, proving that nostalgia and contemporary style could coexist comfortably.
With this autumn edition taking over from the spring Collezione shown at Geneva, Fiat adopts the operational cadence of a classic fashion atelier. Releasing semi-annual, season-specific wardrobe changes allows the manufacturer to keep showroom interest high without having to re-engineer core sheet metal or overhaul mechanical underpinnings.
Tailored Cabin Details: Pinstripes, Copper Accents, and Mopar Accessories
Inside, the autumn Collezione mirrors the gentleman’s tailoring themes championed on its exterior. The seats feature distinctive black and burgundy pinstripe fabric inserts contrasted against hard-wearing black vinyl upper bolsters, complete with an embroidered “500” logo stitched in deep burgundy thread. The visual symmetry continues across the fascia: the dashboard is painted in the exterior body colour, punctuated by a horizontal copper accent line that echoes the exterior waistline coachline.
Floor mats are finished in plush black carpeting, embellished with the cursive “Collezione” insignia in burgundy needlework. Extending the personalized theme beyond the vehicle itself, Fiat and its accessories division, Mopar, have created a custom key cover finished in copper and bearing the “Collezione” emblem. Standard cabin amenities have been curated to elevate daily convenience in urban traffic, incorporating rear parking sensors alongside automated rain and dusk sensors as standard factory equipment.
Infotainment and Connectivity: Modern City Tech
Behind the retro switches and classic round dial clusters lies modern infotainment capability designed for connected urban living. Available options on the autumn Collezione include the Uconnect 7-inch HD LIVE touchscreen interface, bringing seamless smartphone connectivity via integrated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Drivers seeking factory route guidance can specify embedded satellite navigation powered by TomTom mapping.
The digital driving experience can be further enhanced by selecting the class-leading 7-inch TFT digital instrument cluster, which replaces standard analogue gauges with configurable graphics displaying speed, trip computer metrics, and safety alerts. Audiophiles looking for superior cabin acoustic clarity can upgrade to the optional Beats Audio Hi-Fi system, featuring a multi-channel digital amplifier and dedicated subwoofer developed in conjunction with Beats by Dr. Dre.
Powertrains: Euro 6D-Temp Petrol and Dual-Fuel Engines
Under the bonnet, the autumn Fiat 500 Collezione features a lineup of compact, efficient petrol powertrains certified to the stringent Euro 6D-Temp emissions standards. The core mechanical option is Fiat’s enduring 1.2-litre four-cylinder FIRE petrol engine, delivering 69 horsepower. Well-regarded for its tractable low-end response, low maintenance overhead, and predictable throttle manners, the 1.2-litre unit is available paired with either a standard five-speed manual gearbox or Fiat’s Dualogic automated robotic manual transmission, complete with steering wheel paddle shifters for manual control. In selected European territories, this 1.2-litre engine can also be ordered from the factory equipped with a dual-fuel petrol and LPG system, offering reduced running expenses and lower tailpipe CO2 emissions.
For buyers desiring more spirited urban performance, Fiat offers the charismatic 0.9-litre TwinAir turbocharged two-cylinder engine generating 85 horsepower. Utilising electro-hydraulic MultiAir variable intake valve actuation, the tiny two-cylinder unit delivers an enthusiastic engine note and punchy mid-range acceleration suited for darting into gaps in city traffic.
The L’Uomo Vogue Campaign: Italian Fashion Meets the Screen
To launch the autumn 500 Collezione, Fiat entered into an official creative partnership with Condé Nast’s iconic men’s publication, L’Uomo Vogue. For more than half a century, L’Uomo Vogue has stood as an authoritative global benchmark in male fashion, photography, and sartorial lifestyle trends. Both entities represent defining emblems of “Made in Italy” prestige, making their artistic intersection a natural evolution for a vehicle that has long lived as much in lifestyle circles as automotive ones.
The international television advertisement devised for the car uses the physical magazine cover as its stage. As the cover model gazes outward, his expression shifts, following movement across the glossy paper. The autumn Fiat 500 Collezione drives onto the spread, stirring up a gentle slipstream that turns pages toward the fashion accessories pages. As the miniature city car glides past, wardrobe pieces, designer timepieces, sunglasses, and curated accessories come alive, drawn magnetically inside the cabin. When the publication finally closes, the 500 Collezione rests proudly across the front cover, commanding the limelight like an established runway icon.
European Market Dominance in its Eleventh Year
The commercial context surrounding the autumn 500 Collezione highlights an extraordinary dynamic in modern vehicle manufacturing. Now in its eleventh year of continuous production, the Fiat 500 remains not merely competitive, but the undisputed sales pacesetter in Europe’s A-segment. Approximately 80 percent of all Fiat 500s produced are sold outside of Italy, cementing its role as a genuinely international success story for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
During the first eight months of 2018, the 500 solidified its position among the top three best-selling city cars in 16 separate European nations. Over that same eight-month stretch, European deliveries surpassed 142,000 units, marking the strongest commercial eight-month performance in the vehicle’s entire production run. By continually refreshing the model with high-fashion special editions like the autumn Collezione, Fiat has achieved what few car makers manage: sustaining commercial vitality, strong resale residual values, and cultural relevance more than a decade after launch.
Vehicle data
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Make | Fiat |
| Model | 500 Collezione (Autumn Edition) |
| Generation / chassis code | Typ 312 |
| Model year(s) covered | 2018–2019 |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback (with sunroof) / 2-door convertible (soft top) |
| Powertrain / engine | 1.2-litre 4-cylinder FIRE petrol (also petrol/LPG) / 0.9-litre TwinAir 2-cylinder turbo petrol |
| Power / torque | 69 hp (1.2 FIRE) / 85 hp (0.9 TwinAir); torque not stated in sources |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual / Dualogic robotic manual with paddle shift |
| Drivetrain | Front-wheel drive |
| Key performance figures | Not stated in sources |
| Price (as stated) | Not stated in sources |
| On-sale / announcement period | Autumn 2018 |
| Market | Europe |