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2012 Fiat 500 "Stinger"

Yellow and black...no, it's not a Fiat 500 taxi.

2012 Fiat 500 Research Click to hide

February 08, 2012

What's New

For most people, the Fiat 500 comes in two flavors: the trendy, cutesy little car for "chicks," and the sporty, cutesy little car for dudes who don't want to be labeled as chicks. We've seen both before in the guises of the Fiat 500C Gucci edition (the one with Jennifer Lopez in the ad) and the upcoming Fiat 500 Abarth (the one with the seductive Italian model in the ad). For those who want to merge the best of both, here's the Fiat 500 "Stinger," an eye-searing yellow Fiat that takes the 500 Sport and cranks up the aggression -- as much as a wide-eyed cutesy little car can get. Dudes and chicks are both welcome. Just don't call it a "chick car."

Who's It For

The Stinger targets Fiat 500 shoppers, presumably those on the male end of the spectrum, who want a bit of style to go with their little city car. Mopar's treatment of the humble Fiat 500 is far more aggressive than its convertible-topped sibling, but not at the extreme of the quick (and expensive, and rare) Abarth. If cutesy rival Mini lets its owners customize the bejeezus out of its Coopers, why not do the same with Fiat?

Key Features

Most noticeably, the Fiat 500 "Stinger" comes in a black-and-yellow paint treatment, reflective of its hornet-like naming. Or somebody at Fiat really enjoys Wiz Khalifa. Other niceties that Mopar has bestowed upon the rotund runabout include:

17-inch Abarth Hyper Black aluminum wheels and Black Chrome accents to match
Katzkin leather seats with Alcantara seat centers and Giallo black leather bolsters and stitching
Mopar's Stage 2 kit, which includes a cold air intake and cat-back exhaust, as well as a performance brake kit with cross-drilled rotors

What We Think

Well, it's a start. Good to see Chrysler's Mopar "Or No Car" division give its Italian overlords a little shout-out, something its performance division never bothered when they were under Teutonic ownership. The Mopar 500 "Stinger" isn't the firebreathing monster that some of us expect the Abarth to be, but it's still one little yellow Jawbreaker that'll be hard to miss. It'll still be slow, but at least it won't sound slow. Plus -- and so we hear, at least -- chicks will dig it.

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