That 70’s Show

Fiat 1970’s Style Fiat 500 Range announced

The 1970’s have often been looked back on as a decade of disasters and ridicule. From three-day weeks to Glam Rock, Fashion faux-pas to hairstyles that would shock the unshockable, and flares so wide you could hide a car under tem.

But they also brought us some classic vehicles and looks; like the Jaguar XJS-12, Lotus Elite and the Toyota Celica. So don’t you be taking the mickey out of my generation; remember that we brought you punk and disco too!.

So it will be interesting to see which side of the fence – ridicule or praise – that Fiat land with the launch of a new Fiat 500 range called Colour Therapy. It’s already recognised as one of the most stylish city cars in the world, and now the new Colour Therapy range is designed to bring back the spirit of the 1970s with a collection of vibrant colours and retro white detailing.

There will be a new marketing campaign that will celebrate some of the stylish combinations that made the Fiat 500 famous in Italy and around the world during the 1960s and 1970s. Highlighting the car’s history and heritage, a stylish set of posters showing the new retro exterior colours is accompanied by headings such as: ‘Ace’, ‘You Dig?’, and ‘Far Out’, together with the strapline ‘500 in 70s Colours’. (Not too sure on those headlines; heading towards ridicule!)

And top fashion and beauty photographer Elisabeth Hoff, has been commissioned to capture the ‘70s inspiration. Her pictures use the ‘70s technique of ‘colour blocking’ – multiple shades of the same colour with modern highlights – to accentuate the retro feel of the Colour Therapy line-up. (Oh dear! The R word: retro! Not looking good!)

The cars will be available in both hatchback and convertible versions, with five special paint colours: New Age Cream, Countrypolitan Yellow, Pasodoble Red, Volare Blue, and Tech House Grey. These colours, it is hoped, will give the car a distinctive and unique personality, while emphasising its huge appeal. After all, well over 100,000 have been sold since the Fiat 500’s launch in the UK in 2008. (At least the colours aren’t as dayglo as I was hoping they wouldn’t be!)

All of them boast 0.9-litre TwinAir and 1.2-litre petrol engines, distinguishing white details, air conditioning, special paint, white mirror covers, white wheel covers, a ‘poolball’ design gear knob and specific key cover as standard, and are available soon, if not sooner, in August..

“The special colours and stylish new touches will make the Fiat 500 an even more attractive proposition for our customers,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK. “Tasteful features such as the white door mirror covers and ‘poolball’ design gear knob in matching colour, take the popular 500 to a new level, showing just how timeless this classic city car really is.”

To be honest, it could have been worse. At least the soundtrack to the adverts will be a decent track…hopefully. Let’s hope it’s Jimi Hendrix (he dies in the 70s before anyone tells me he was really a star of the 60s) rather than Brotherhood of Man.

All together now. “Crossdown Traffiiiiiic”