Eager to add some visual zip to its quickly aging line of hatchbacks and crossovers, Fiat unveiled the special-edition 500 Ribelle and 500L Urbana Trekking at the Miami auto show today.
The two compact vehicles, dubbed internally as "buzz models," are purely appearance packages, with no changes beyond interior and exterior styling enhancements. The 500 Rebelle is dotted with red accents, while the 500L Urbana Trekking features matte black mirrors and exterior accents and some interior color differentiation.
Matt Davis, who leads Fiat product marketing in North America, said that the Ribelle and Urbana Trekking are meant for customers who are looking for stylish alternatives to the mainstream but not any additional performance. The special-edition models are similar in concept to the "Release Series" limited-run Scion models, but Davis believes that they have greater staying power.
"The look is so iconic that it has longevity in the marketplace," he said.
Davis also confirmed that there are no plans for a hotter 500L Abarth, nor is there sufficient demand for a more economical 500 hatchback, a la Chevrolet's Cruze Eco and the three-cylinder Ford Fiesta
"All of our manual transmission [500s] get 40 miles per gallon," Davis said, "and we didn't want to put it on a specific package."
For 2015, all 500L models will have new seats and retuned suspensions, as well as the option of a 6-speed automatic transmission developed by Aisin—which is also in the 500 and 500 Abarth hatchbacks. Both models will retail for under $23,000.
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