FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Fiat Panda Antartica

Fresh from launching the Punto last month, Fiat will also introduce the light-sized Panda in Australia for the first time in November.

Fiat has now revealed the Panda 4x4 Antartica limited-edition, which will make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show next week and could join the local Panda line-up here next year.

Fiat Chrysler Group Australia Corporate Affairs Director Karla Leach has confirmed the Panda Antartica, which goes on sale in Europe later this year, is “under review for 2014”.

While the make-up of the mainstream Panda range for Australia remains unclear, the Antartica is designed to celebrate 30 years of the only 4x4 in Europe’s city-car segment, with more than 400,000 examples sold over three generations since 1983.

Based on the Panda 4x4 Rock trim level, which accounts for 15 per cent of Panda sales in Europe, the ice-cold Panda special wears two-tone paint (white with a black roof), diamond-finish 15-incha alloy wheels and orange detailing including the hub caps, mirror caps and B-pillar badge. Also included are foglights and privacy glass.

Inside, there’s grey and orange upholstery, in addition to the Panda's standard driver’s seat height adjustment and 60/40-split folding rear seat.

The Fiat Panda 4x4 Antartica will be available with Fiat’s low-output 63kW 0.9-litre TwinAir Turbo engine and the 56kW 1.3-litre MultiJet II diesel, both with idle-stop functionality.

Like all Panda 4x4s, the Antartica rides on taller MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension, plus a lower first gear ratio in the six-speed manual gearbox.

Based on the same platform as the Fiat 500 and Ford MkII Ka, the taller but smaller five-door hatchback measures 3650mm long, 1640mm wide and 1550mm high, but rides on the same 2300mm wheelbase.

No further details of Australia’s first Panda are known, but only the front-wheel drive version will be offered initially, with the all-wheel drive Panda 4x4 remaining under consideration.

In Europe, the Panda is available with the two-cylinder TwinAir Turbo petrol engine, the 1.2-litre four-cylinder ‘Fire’ engine and the 1.3-litre Multijet turbo-diesel, matched with manual and semi-auto gearboxes.

Expect pricing to start from under $20,000, positioning the Panda above both the Punto (from $16,000 drive-away) and Fiat 500 (from $14,000 drive-away).

As we’ve reported, Fiat’s local line-up could be further bolstered by up to three derivatives of the new 500L, with the standard 500L five-door, 500L Living people-mover and 500L Trekking crossover all under serious consideration for Australian release late next year.

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