YEARENDER: Catch me if you can ­ baby Fiat, the year's must-have car

Dec 21, 2007, 7:50 GMT

Visitors walk along a giant Fiat 500 poster at the International Motor Show IAA in Frankfurt Main, Germany, on 11 September 2007. The IAA runs from 13 to 23 September 2007 and is regarded as the world\'s most important car trade fair with 260 new models to be presented this year, 88 of them are world premieres. EPA/BORIS ROESSLER

Hamburg ­ Forget all those Lamborghinis, Ferraris and the super luxury Bugatti Veyron. The most irresistible car of the year is the all-new Fiat 500, a cheeky city runabout with sex appeal.

In France and Italy, where the little car went on sale this summer, the Fiat 500 is well on its way to becoming an automotive icon. Around 80,000 have been ordered by customers.

Meanwhile in Germany, it's a case of 'catch me if you can,' with would-be owners having to wait for anything up to four months before being able to lay their hands on one of the stylish little minicars.

'Demand for this car is not just lively, it's huge', said Micheal Kuehne, a salesman at the main Fiat dealership in the northern German port of Hamburg. 'Four out of six of the cars I move at the moment are Fiat 500s', seconded his colleague Matthias Brockmoeller, with a nod to the bright red example in his showroom. Naturally it is already spoken for.

With so few on the roads, the Fiat 500 is a guaranteed head-turner wherever it appears. The sight of one whizzing through the streets of Hamburg or Berlin attracts the sort of attention normally reserved for film stars or heads of state.

People stop, smile and wave, gesticulating to the driver to wind down his window so they can find out more.

The first 3,500 Fiat 500s to be imported to Germany were sold within days and Fiat Germany boss Manfred Kantner is confident of finding customers for up to 15,000 annually. 'This car is not simply a new Fiat model', he told Germany's Spiegel magazine. 'It is a statement which underscores the competitiveness of the entire company.'

Automotive pundits agree that the revitalised 500 is probably the best new Fiat for decades and even notoriously critical journalists are waxing lyrical. Britain's Top Gear motoring journal said the runabout 'embodies effortless Italian style and epitomises the Italian ability to accomplish miracles from simple ingredients.'

Stern magazine was equally enthusiastic: 'This is not just a car for travelling from A to B, it has the potential to become a dear friend', it opined.

A reporter from the journal was on the international panel of 58 motoring journalists, which last month awarded the Fiat 500 the title of 'Car of the Year 2008.' The jury lauded the design and safety features which include seven passenger airbags as standard.

So what is all the fuss about? Well, the Fiat Cinquecento is riding on the retro wave started by the enormously successful new Mini but is much cheaper to buy. It also avoids the tackiness long associated with the once near-bankrupt Italian marque. Overall it appeals to people who could afford a bigger car but prefer to buy a smaller one instead.

The resurrected Fiat not only oozes visual charm, but is ideal for the narrow, often traffic-clogged streets of Europe. The shape harks back to the original Fiat 500 or 'Topolino' (Mouse in Italian) of 1957 but the car is technically much more sophisticated.

Styled by Robert Giolito, the new Fiat 500 has a well thought-out modern shape unlike the new Volkswagen Beetle, a car which failed to catch the public imagination and which enjoys little of the huge popularity enjoyed by its famous predecessor.

Prices for the new Fiat 500 start at 10,500 euros (15,530 US dollars) which is still a small fortune in India or Asia where mass motorisation is still a dream, but it is affordable by western European standards.

By comparison the entry-level Mini costs 15,850 euros (23,400 US dollars). The born-again Cinquecento is being built at a new low-cost factory in Tychy, Poland.

The baby Fiat is no family carriage but does boast enough space for four people. Two children can travel in the back in comfort although long-legged adults will find it cramped.

The interior of the new 500 is best described as funky, with a dashboard made up of four concentric circles dominated by a giant speedometer and a stubby gear lever in the middle.

The painted surface in between looks like the tin used on the original Cinquento console but is in fact a modern synthetic material.

There is a choice of two petrol engines, developing either 69 or 100 horsepower, and a diesel unit with particle filter which turns out 75 horses. The range of trim materials, colours and accessories is mind-boggling and Fiat claims that 500,000 permutations are possible. Even the ignition key comes in nine different versions.

Public acclaim is set to continue apace next year when a sporty Abarth version of the 500 will make its debut. There are plans for a micro-estate, called the Gardiniera, along with a open-top version from 2009. By then a generation of frugal two cylinder, turbocharged engines should also be ready.