Why choose between two perfectly fine things in order to live the proverbial dolce vita? You don't have to if you can afford it, so you get to have an iconic, absolutely adorable Fiat 500 and take it out to water as well.
This is neither a typo nor an invitation to drive your cute Fiat 500 into the water at the next opportunity. It's the latest in terms of personalized luxury seafaring, thanks to an initiative from a local startup and Fiat brass. It's called the Fiat 500 Offshore, and it's perhaps the cutest thing you'll see this week.
The Fiat 500 Offshore is technically a car-boat hybrid in the sense that it uses a Fiat 500 body on top of a trimaran V-shaped hull that makes it seaworthy. In reality, though, it's all-boat, as even the most distinctive features on the Fiat are replicated with marine-grade materials and adapted to the new functionality. This is no hack job where someone took a car and plopped it onto a hull, mind you.
The Fiat 500 Offshore was unveiled in the summer of 2023 in its home country, Italy. Success was immediate, as was to be expected, given the promise to deliver an Italian classic in a new form that would perfectly epitomize the spirit of la dolce vita. It helped that the Fiat 500 was already an icon and a cutie and that the modifications to it didn't take any of said cuteness.
Photo: CarOffshore
The idea for this strange hybrid-like boat belongs to Antonio Pietro Maria Galasso, a young entrepreneur from Santa Maria la Carità, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples. He reached out to the Fiat Licensing Office and the Fiat Style Center to secure permission to take the 500 sailing, and he got it, with two conditions: faithfulness to the original and limited production.
The result is the Fiat 500 Offshore, a dayboat that will only be made in a limited edition – of 500 units, not surprisingly. It's 4.74 meters (15.5 feet) long and 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) wide, with a displacement of 550 kg (1,212 lbs), and features the Fiat welded onto a trimaran hull, with an outboard at the back. Also there is a small swim platform that makes the watercraft ideal for day-long outings, with swims and tanning sessions making up for most of the time.
The roof has been removed, and the rear bench has been replaced with two lounges that can recline all the way down, so they're perfect for tanning. The interior looks like something you'd find in a road-going Fiat, but it's all marine-grade, so it's designed for the environment it's going to live in.
Photo: CarOffshore
Described as "more than a boat, no less than a car," the Fiat 500 Offshore comes equipped with everything you need for a good time on the water and can be further specced to make the experience better.
The leather seats and chaise-lounges sit on a stainless steel basis, and there's teak decking, a fully functional cockpit that replicates the one in the car, a bilge pump, front and rear LED lights and fog lights, an audio system, and a marine-grade windshield. The watercraft even has rounded headlights and rearview mirrors, which is a very realistic touch.
Optionally, the boat can be specced with marine speakers and multimedia player, a handshower, or an upgraded dashboard.
Photo: CarOffshore
With a capacity of five passengers, including the captain, the Fiat 500 Offshore "combines luxury, efficiency, style and comfort," in the words of the company making it. The ride definitely looks comfortable and fancy, and there's something very Italian in the overall style of the watercraft: small, quirky and cute, but not in an unappealing way.
Power comes from a Mercury outboard delivering 40 hp and a maximum speed of 21 knots (24 mph/39 kph), which is pretty impressive for a watercraft of this kind. That, too, can be upgraded by opting for a more powerful engine, up to 115 hp, which would take the boat to speeds of up to 35 knots (40 mph/65 kph). However, the fuel tank is just 70 liters (18.5 gallons), so no matter how fast it's going, it's not going to get very far.
The Fiat 500 Offshore was offered as a rental off the Amalfi Coast in Positano, Italy, shortly after its introduction, with fares ranging between €150 (approximately $163 at the current exchange rate) for a 45-minute ride to €400+ ($434) for a 1.5-hour experience. The price is for the entire watercraft but just three people because there's a skipper onboard who serves as captain.
Photo: CarOffshore
The 500 Offshore also made its way to the U.S., debuting in Miami late last month. Of the 500 units of the watercraft, 33 will be the Fiat 500 Offshore Miami Edition, equipped with an 80-hp Mercury engine, which classes it as a power cruiser. A Miami Edition in standard spec starts at $125,000 to buy.
Regardless of spec, all units of the Fiat 500 Offshore, aka the "500 of the sea," will be offered in the most delicious pastels, either pearl or metallic, as suits any road-going Fiat 500.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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