Fiat to reveal Gucci 500 at NY fashion week
Fiat is to introduce a Gucci version of its stylish 500 mini car in the US later in 2011. The black special edition of the car features glossy paint, chrome detailing and a leather interior with white accents. It has the Italian fashion label’s interlocking “GG” inscription on the headrests and wheels, and Gucci’s signature green-and-red stripe along the body side, the seat belt and seat backs.
It will be introduced September 8 at the start of New York Fashion Week. The launch is thought to be an effort to boost sales of the car, which have been slow since its US debut in March.
Fiat has sold about 11,500 of the mini cars in the US and Canada, well short of its 50,000 goal for the year.
The Gucci 500 unites two of Italy’s most emblematic brands, the Fiat automaker and the historic Gucci leathergoods and fashion label. The Gucci version of the car was designed by Lapo Elkann, an heir of the Fiat-founding Agnelli family. The Gucci version was launched in Europe earlier this year to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Italian unification and the 90th anniversary of Gucci’s founding in Rome.
