Fiat is getting ready to take on the Mini Clubman with the estate version of its retro small car the 500 and this is how it will look.

This spacious new 500 will hit the showrooms in 2010 only.  The car features ‘normal’ styling instead going radical like the Mini Clubman. The Mini Clubman has a single rear door on the right hand side and twin doors at the back to access the boot! The twin door makes the inside rear view mirrors almost useless because all you see is the pillar where the two doors meet. And for all this impracticality the boot is still smaller by 100 litres than the Honda Jazz!

Fiat is conventional and features none of Clubman’s gimickry. Infact there are no rear doors on the 500, just a conventional and very practical one piece upward opening tailgate. The roofline has been extended too which results in more head-room at the back and frees up more luggage too making this car the most sensible 500 of the range. The compact 500 is inspired by small load luggers from the sixties and could even carry the same Giardiniera badge worn by that model.

Fiat is keeping the development costs low by using the same front and wheelbase as on the standard 500. A slightly longer rear overhang, a more upright tail and a pair of neat alloy roof rails will set the new model apart. The standard 500’s engine range will be carried over too with the choice of the entry-level 69 bhp 1.2 petrol, a more powerful 100 bhp 1.4 litre or the 75 bhp 1.3 Multijet. Fiat might also consider bringing in the Abarth version of the estate if there’s sufficient demand. All this is there, however the next 500 model to appear on UK roads will be the cabriolet. The model will be unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor show.

The Giardiniera won’t be the first 500 Estate to appear though. Italian coach building firm Castagna has already showed its vision of the load lugging little car at the Geneva Motor show last year. They had even designed a line up of Mini estates even before the clubman was officially revelaed. So beating the manufacturers in their own game isnt new to this firm.

Source: Auto Express UK