Geneva 2009: Fiat 500 Show Car Birthday Gift For Barbie

Cute small cars have often had the problem of attracting male customers, and Fiat is not making it any easier. The company has introduced a Barbie Fiat 500 show car meant to celebrate the iconic doll's 50th birthday.

The car company managed to replicate the well-known, bright, Barbie pink lacquer color for the vehicle, with the intention of making it look like the 500 was coated in varnish. The pink and cream Alcantara seats are laminated in silver, with a glimmer that "bounces as far as the roof panel." Interior bezels, hubcaps, window mouldings, and the attena are lined in crystals. Crystals are also used to replicate Barbie's silhouette on the pillars. A vanity mirror wrapped in LEDs is built in, while a variety of lip gloss is included in the glove box. This insures that a new generation of women will pay more attention to putting on makeup while driving, instead of the road they are driving on. Floor mats lined in silk make us wonder if girls' feet get dirty, too.

One nice feature is the included car cover, which wraps the Fiat 500 nuovo in a portrait of a car from the 1960s.

Barbie's Fiat 500 will be introduced to the public on 9 March 2009, as it races through Milan's bustling fashion district to the La Rinascente department store in the famous Piazza Duomo. On-board will be Barbie, with Ken behind the wheel. Its a good thing Ken doesn't have genitalia. Our testicles shriveled just reading about this car.

Press Release

Fiat 500 makes headlines once more, as befits an authentic Made in Italy icon. This time it’s an original Fiat 500 show car dedicated to the most famous fashion doll ever: Barbie®. This exceptional vehicle, created by a partnership between the Fiat Centro Stile and Mattel, will be given officially to Barbie® on 9 March next, at her fiftieth birthday celebrations in Milan.

It’s a fashionista car but quite tongue-in-cheek and with lots of charm: just like Barbie® herself. The gleaming paintwork resembles varnish and definitely makes for a shock effect, achieved with deep lacquered colour using ultra fine aluminium plunged in deep, up-to-the-minute pink. The seating is upholstered in strikingly soft fabrics: silver laminated Alcantara® is not only trendy but plush to the touch and its glimmer bounces as far as the roof panel. Then there are mats enhanced with natural silk yarn and sleek viscose, not to mention lip glosses in brilliant colours stored in the glove compartment, plus a LED-decked vanity mirror to ensure perfect application. And there's more. The car has more features than a crown has jewels! Crystals sparkle on interior bezels, hubcaps, outer window mouldings and antenna and even outline the doll’s famed silhouette on the pillars. Lastly, this Fiat 500 show car also has its own glossy cover, featuring the distinctive Sixties version of the Fiat 500 and a Barbie® autograph.

The latest Fiat 500 show car will appear in public for the first time on Monday 9 March, from 6.30pm onwards, when it will race through the quintessential streets of Milan’s fashion district. Barbie® will be aboard and she’ll have her own special driver: Ken, of course. On arriving at the entrance to La Rinascente department store, in Piazza Duomo, Barbie® will leave the car and walk the unique pink carpet created just for her. The band Nena will be playing live in the background, reviving some of the most famous pop songs from the fifty years of the legendary fashion doll's existence.

Roberto Giolito, creator of the Fiat 500, had this to say about the Mattel-Fiat partnership scheme: “All-American Ms Barbie® already has a number of ‘transport solutions’ available, like thundering GTs and motor homes with endless accessories. So if she’s spotted a 500 and wants one as a gift for this landmark birthday, it’s a signal typical of modern times that there’s a renewed need for dreaming the simple things in life, which give so much, allow us to lighten up, thrill who’s born beautiful or just feels beautiful, but doesn’t have to prove anything. After all, Barbie® already has everything. Sleek Barbie® is a looker, smart enough to listen to everyone, a universal ambassador opting for a car that never divides but frees everyone from having to declare their social status. The new 2009 version celebrates her birthday with a model that offers a better view of the sun and the stars, all the better for continuing to dream, especially daydreams.”