The Fiat Grande Panda made its debut at the Lingotto in Turin during Fiat’s 125th anniversary celebrations. “There was no better occasion to show off our new model built on a platform that will give birth to three more new Fiat cars arriving by 2027,” says Oliver Francois, CEO of Fiat. For the Grande Panda, the style centre led by Francois Leboine, decided to take inspiration from the first generation of the legendary hatchback, designed in 1980 by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
This is the reason for the square lines found throughout the model, from the front to the rear. The model is among the compacts in the B-segment, measuring 3.99 metres long by 1.57 metres high and 1.76 metres wide. Precise orthogonal lines enclose a progressive square mesh arrangement that creates an accelerated and strong graphic pattern, generating like a punctuation of pixels extending from the centre of the glossy black upper grille to the headlights. The presence of a skid plate in the lower central part of the bumper emphasises a UV attitude, while the headlights, composed of opaline cubes, take their inspiration from the windows of the Lingotto factory facades. In addition to the original light signature, the daytime running lights (Daytime Running Lights) turn into indicators and illuminate some of the cubes that appear as horizontal pixels arranged in a chequered pattern.
The wedge-like attitude of the body and cabin is accentuated by the roof rails that shift the highest point of view towards the rear. As an homage to the classic Panda 4×4, the Fiat Grande Panda features 3D-printed bas-relief letters on the doors that reflect the surroundings and animate the lower part of the side. In addition, the sturdy ‘C’ pillar faithfully reproduces the unmistakable angle ratio to the vertical volume of the rear. Even the passenger compartment is full of references to Giugiaro’s Panda, from the squared-off vents to the legendary ‘pocket’ reinterpreted in a large glovebox on the dashboard (a good 13 litres). Contemporaneity has also brought technology: instrumentation and infotainment are controlled from two 10 and 10.25 inch displays.
