Fiat celebrates 60 years of 500 Spiaggina

Fiat will commemorate 60 years of the original 500 Jolly Spiaggina with a re-creation based on the current 500 city car.

Created in collaboration with Garage Italia, the custom shop owned by Fiat-founder Gianni Agnelli's grandson and famous Italian design house, Pininfarina, the coach-built convertible goes without a roof or rear seats.

Instead, the second row is replaced with a cork-lined deck for storing beach gear with an integrated shower.

Unlike the late-fifties beach-friendly Jolly Spiaggina, the modern version doesn't come with a fabric roof for the occasional shower.

The Garage Italia-built car, which arrives with Fiat's blessing, also features a roll-hoop that's thought to help maintain some of the structural rigidity lost from gas-axing the roof panel.

Inside, the front seats have been replaced by a waterproof leather bench seat, while the front A-pillar has been chopped to convert the front windscreen into a wind deflector.

Neither Fiat nor Garage Italia has announced how many of its 500 Spiaggina will be made and there's also no word on pricing, but it's thought each car will cost about four or five times the price of the Fiat 500 donor car.

There's also no word on whether Garage Italia is planning an Abarth version.

As well as the coach-built roofless 500, Fiat itself will offer a far more conventional special edition based on the 500.

Called the 500 Spiaggini '58, the Italian car maker says production will be limited to 1958 units, each coming painted in baby blue and ivory paint with retro-style wheels, chrome badging and two-tone seats.