There's a long history of Ferrari bosses and sporting stars owning a Fiat 500 to get around in, but it's always been a lot rarer for them to succumb to the charms of the Fiat Panda.
But reading an interview with Luca di Montezemolo, the 62-year-old chairman of Ferrari, SpA and of Fiat, SpA, it's revealed at the end of the article, that in addition to the standard Fiat 500, and the lovely Ferrari California he owns, he also a Fiat Panda, although the article doesn't mention which specific model!
So far it's di Montezemolo and Top Gear's James May as discerning automotive celebrities who have picked up a Panda.
I'm not sure Formula 1 star Mark Webber is in the normal group of people who would buy a Fiat Panda, but having him test the car makes for interesting perspective.
It turns out that he likes the interior, but not the handling, raucous engine noise, or windscreen wipers lifting from the glass when following a truck closely.
The 2nd generation Fiat Panda has reached the 1.5 million mark for cars produced - with the notable car being built in the Tychy plant in Poland.
It's a left-hand drive 1.3 MultiJet destined for an Italian buyer. This year, 2009, a record number of 285,000 cars will be produced.
To put it in context, the VW Beetle clocked up 21 million over 65 years. The Panda has done 1.5 million in 6 years, since being introduced in 2003. So it's on track so far!
If the Fiat Panda has one design flaw, it's one that only becomes apparent when you try and use the car in Winter.
For some reason, the washer bottle and feed appear to have been routed in a way which means that it refuses to defrost, even when the car has been running for an hour or more...
Normally in the UK this wouldn't be an issues, but given recent weather it's becoming a necessity to carry a bottle of water with me to wash the windscreen every so often, or risk trying to drive whilst blinded by dirt smeared across the windscreen.
It's made me wonder whether all new-shape Pandas are similarly afflicted - and if so, surely the 4x4 model, for example, must be bought by a fair amount of people living in snowy areas?
Forgive me for mentioning the 500 rather than the Panda, but Fiat is offering 10,000 cars developed in conjunction with fashion label Diesel - and they're only available online.
Buyers can configure the car the way they want it, pay a deposit, track its production, make a final payment and organise the best dealer from which to collect it. All via the website.
And that's after 200 Abarth 500s were available for pre-order by an online desposit, six months before it was released. It sold out three months ahead of schedule.
You can see the 500byDiesel here, and unsurprisingly, it's a 1.2 Diesel!
I just stumbled on a nice blog post discussing the old style Fiat Panda, and how it has remained popular for residents of hillside towns in Italy as it's one of the few cars that can fit in the narrow streets. You can read it for yourself at 2 Italy - We moved to Italy.
Meanwhile fans of the new version might like this modified example found via Flickr: The image is by _najt, and it's used under a Creative Commons licence.
It's an update of the 4x4 model, with a new differential unit which allows the Panda to get grip, even if only one wheel can get traction.
It's down to a new viscous coupling and some clever electronics. It's also 11cm higher than the normal 4x4, and with chunkier tyres, making it perfect for rough terrain.
It's powered by the 1.3 Multijet diesel engine, and is an obvious contender for success in Fiat's homeland of Italy. - the downside is whether the type of English driver who might need proper off-road capability will be tempted by something which could fit inside the average SUV for £11995.
