The Driver - Summer 2016 The Driver - Summer 2016 | Page 25

T his particular version, though, is an interesting one, if for no other reason than it takes the retro thing—the 500’s calling card, if you will—to the nth degree. You see, the 57 Edition debuted in 2014 as that marked the 57th year since the original Cinquecento was released—in 1957. The 2016 edition is a little anachronistic, then, but that doesn’t seem to bother Fiat. What seemed to actually bother Fiat, however, was the fact that the standard 500 wasn’t retro-looking enough; having a similar profile and a few stylistic nods to the original car just wasn’t going to do the trick. So, the 57 Edition goes the whole nine; body-colour matching 16-inch wheels, classic Fiat badging and three colours that recalled the pastel patina of the late 50s. My press car is decked in a Celeste Blu (Fiat’s spelling) exterior colour, while the roof is partially finished in a very classic shade of slightly off-white. It works well in some lights, but can seem a little dirty in lower-light conditions. Inside, it’s called “Avorio”, which is Italian for “ivory” although I see more “Marrone” (brown) here than I do white. Then again, I guess you aren’t really looking at the seats when you’re driving, but more the dash and wheel. It matches the roof, too, so there’s that. But how dirty is that wheel rim going to get? The interior is pretty luxurious to take in, though; the tint found on the seats and door trim is an interesting cross between gingerbread and baseball glove, and is of a luxury that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a sub-30K car; bonus points for the fact that your special “57” key fob matches the tint. Also featured in this 57 is a $750 power sunroof as well as a $495 TomTom navigation system. thedriver.ca 25