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2016 Fiat 500 Facelift to Debut on July 11th, Here are the Details

The Fiat 500 (or Tipo 312) was reborn in 2007. Dante Giacosa, the father of the original Cinquecento, would have been proud to see his creation rejuvenated, but the outgoing 500 is 8 years old now. To whom it may concern, that's 48 years in dog-to-human years. Fret not though! The 2016 Fiat 500 facelift is edging nearer to its debut on July 11th with 500X styling.
2016 Fiat 500 Facelift 11 photos
Photo: image edited by autoevolution
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Thanks to automotive tipster Ferd, two Fiat-Chrysler presentation slides have surfaced on the World Wide Web. French is not my forte, but I can tell you that “Lancement le” translates to “Launch the.” As the first photo in the adjacent gallery informs, the updated 500 will debut on July 11th and come with Siri for the Lounge and Club in 1.2-liter/TwinAir/Dualogic guise.

Production is scheduled to start on August 20th, with the Pop and Popstar models slated for September. It goes without saying that the 1,242 cc 8-valve churns out the same 69 PS (51 kW or 68 horsepower) as the current iteration of the mill while the Dualogic gearbox will be offered on the 0.9 TwinAir and 1.2 mills.

On the “STYLE extérieur” front, the second FCA slide is telling us that the front and rear bumpers have been redesigned and the “feux avant” (headlights) will mirror the units adorning the 500X. “Idem 500X” translates to “the same [as the] 500X,” so go figure what surprises the 2016 Fiat 500 facelift has in store for us. The “feux arrière” (taillights) will feature LED technology, as will the daytime running lights (feux diurnes) of the Five-H.

“STYLE intérieur” may disappoint some enthusiasts of the Cinquecento breed because of the too small mods operated by Fiat’s design team. The facelift’s glovebox and dashboard have been updated, there are some chrome inserts on the steering wheel and all-new buttons for the power windows, as well as an array of new leather-and-fabric upholstery options. Gadget-wise, the Connect infotainment system will be the VP2/VP2 Nav infotainment system we know from the Alfa Romeo Mito, a 5-inch touchscreen to be more precise.

Curiously enough, after “Technologie LED” the slide is telling us to expect “Nouveaux freins avant.” This detail is rather perplexing considering that Brembo makes the current 500’s braking system (240 mm discs at the front or 257 mm in diameter depending on the model). Let’s wait and see what July 11th will bring and here’s hope the 2016 Fiat 500 will be more than just a pretty face.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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