Fiat has teamed up with Italian luxury yacht manufacturer Riva, to create a special version of its retro-styled city car – the 500 Riva.
The Riva Aquarama speedboat rose to prominence at around the same time as the 1957 Fiat 500 – during a period known as the ‘Dolce Vita’ years, when Italy rediscovered its sense of style, vitality and fun. The elegant Aquarama became a status symbol which helped Riva on its way to becoming one of the world’s most respected premium boat builders.
Now, almost 60 years later, the two symbols of Italian style have come together in the form of the Fiat 500 Riva. Available as a hatchback or convertible, the limited edition has been given a unique appearance thanks to premium materials by Riva and is finished in "Sera Blue", one of the most popular colours for the Aquariva Super, successor to the Aquarama.
The convertible version also gets a new blue soft top, while the hatchback comes with a panoramic glass roof as standard. Externally, the mirror caps have a chrome finish, as do the handles and the bonnet trim. A double aquamarine line runs along the belt line and there are new 16-inch, 20-spoke alloy wheels, with a special blue finish, created specially for the 500 Riva. Finally, the Riva logo is placed on the boot lid, the wheel arch and the wooden insert of the side moulding.
Inside, the dashboard is finished in hand-painted mahogany with maple inlay work, featuring a prominent Riva logo. An innovative engineering process was implemented to make the dashboard, merging state of the art materials technologies with natural wood and classic craftsmanship. The wood is applied onto an ultralight carbon shell to ensure stability, flexibility and perfect strength over the lifetime of the vehicle, while the maple inlays are inserted by hand, making each creation truly unique.
The door sills and gear knob are also carved from a solid piece of mahogany, while the seats are trimmed in an exclusive ivory leather created by Poltrona Frau, in colours and materials reminiscent of the exclusive ambience of Aquariva Super. Even the floor mats are especially created with ivory hems and contrasting "Sera Blue" stitching, as is the boot mat that also features a wood insert with Riva lettering.
In terms of safety equipment, the Fiat 500 Riva is equipped with seven airbags, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), ASR (Anti Slip Regulation) Hill Holder and HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assistance) that helps with emergency braking.
Luxury equipment includes automatic climate control, front fog lights, rear parking sensors, LED DRLs and a seven-inch TFT instrument cluster with aquamarine background and Riva logo. In addition, the dashboard gets Fiat’s latest seven-inch HD Uconnect LIVE infotainment system, featuring a range of functions including DAB digital radio, Bluetooth voice calls, music streaming and voice recognition. The system can also be upgraded with 3D satellite navigation as an option.
The new Fiat 500 Riva will be available in the UK from the end of August with the 1.2 69hp, TwinAir 85hp and TwinAir 105hp engine options. The first 500 cars will feature a numbered limited edition badge which can be personalised by the customer.
Pricing will be announced closer to its launch date later in the summer.