• Alfa Romeo: a tribute to the legendary Giulia which turns 50, and to the Superbike World Championship with the new MiTo SBK Limited Edition 1.4 170 HP QV.
• Fiat: from the 600 Multipla of 1956 to the brand-new 500L, the City Lounge which combines the iconic 500 style with the functionality of Made in Fiat design. Thus the 'cabforward' concept has evolved.
• Lancia: the charm of the Italian style 'convertibles' that enhance open air driving pleasure and perfectly express the Italian way of life.
   

"Auto e Moto d'epoca 2012" is being held 25 to 28 October in Padua. It is the most important Italian event in terms of the number of cars on display and public attending, as well as being the main European marketplace with its high sales levels. Fiat Group Automobiles is taking part in the event with the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands as confirmation of its interest in this constantly growing sector that is thoroughly pervading contemporary society, adding value to the modern car sector.
 
To welcome enthusiasts and experts, Fiat Group Automobiles is on hand with three original and eye-catching exhibition areas, one for each brand, which enhance the most authentic passion for motoring of today and yesteryear. In particular, at the prestigious exhibition you can admire several historic models of the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, along with the latest current production models. It is the best way to forcefully confirm the uniqueness of the single brands on the international scene.

Alfa Romeo: tribute to the legendary Giulia, which turns 50 this year

Alfa Romeo is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Giulia (1962-2012) for the 2012 edition of "Auto e Moto d'Epoca". It is a car with particular significance in the hundred-year history of the brand, a model that has successfully represented the technical and creative talent of Alfa Romeo during a time of exceptional growth for the company.

The style, the technical content, the performance, the reliability and the innovation are just some of the elements which led to the "Giulia's" success: from 1962 to 1977 the Giulia's range of bodywork variants and engine options combined sold one million units, and the vehicle made its mark on an international level. A significant commercial success, which certainly played its part in making the model one of Alfa Romeo's most well-known automotive icons.

On 27 June 1962, the "Giulia TI" - that was the official name - was presented to the international press at the Monza track, the circuit on which Alfa Romeo achieved so many of its sporting successes and tested all of its racing vehicles up until the start of the sixties. Three years later, the Brianza track saw the official return of Alfa Romeo to competition with the "Giulia Sprint GTA", another extraordinary vehicle from the Giulia range.

Alfa Romeo Historic Motoring is bring the Padua Show a few of the most significant cars of the "Giulia family", including the exclusive experimental prototype of the "Giulia" created at the end of the fifties and driven by Alfa testers to set up the mechanics and dynamics of the standard production car. The car is in "conservation" conditions, still camouflaged in order to run on the roads away from prying eyes.

A model dressed up in the grey-green livery of the Carabinieri (belonging to a private collection) was chosen to represent the standard production "Giulia TI". It is a particularly significant car in the collective imagination that always has always identified the Alfa Romeos as the Italian "Police" cars (the "Carabinieri" and above all the "Polizia"). The "Giulia TZ" of 1963, accompanied by a demonstration chassis, pays tribute to the incredible competitive career of the "Giulia". In addition to the "TZ " ("Tubolare Zagato") - together with the subsequent more extreme version, the "TZ2" - the "1750/2000 GT Am" (1970), the latest evolution of the racing "Giulia Sprint GT", also played its part. The Giulia coupé was one of the most successful Alfa Romeo models, first with the "GTA" and "GTA 1300 Junior", and then with the "GT Am".

In addition, as a tribute to Italian design that this year celebrates the 100th anniversary of Carrozzeria Bertone, it will be precisely a creation of the Piedmont designer that will represent the "Giulia"-themed style proposals: the "SS prototype" of 1965. This was the concept car with which Bertone anticipated a number of design solutions that were to be found on Italian gran turismos in the seventies. Last but not least, "Scuderia del Portello" - the official Alfa Romeo club together with the Italian Alfa Romeo Register (RIAR) - is providing the "Giulia 1300 TI" of 1969 that participated in the "London-Sydney Marathon" in 2000. It tackled the 18,000 km route with the legendary reliability that has always distinguished this model.

To emphasise the common thread tying the cars of the past to those of current production - always marked by agility, power and safety - an example of the brand-new MiTo SBK Limited Edition 1.4 170 HP QV is displayed on the stand. Together with the MiTo Superbike Special Series, it pays tribute to the most prestigious and hardest fought Superbike championship, the motorcycling event that Alfa Romeo has been involved in since 2007 as Top Sponsor and Official Safety Car, sharing the same values of sportsmanship, technology and safety at the highest levels.

Produced in 200 units and created on the base of the sportiest version of the model - the "Quadrifoglio Verde", the legendary symbol that has distinguished some of the most "aggressive" Alfa Romeo products - the new MiTo SBK Limited Edition sets itself apart with a few new elements that emphasise its impression of a car with a "vice-like grip on the ground": from its side skirts to its rear dam, in addition to its 18" titanium alloy rims from behind which the red of the Brembo brake calipers is evident.

The Alfa Romeo MiTo SBK Limited Edition is equipped with the most powerful engine in the range, the 170 HP 1.4 MultiAir Turbo, which has one of the world's highest specific power values (124 HP/litre) and a chassis worthy of a higher category. Moreover, the pièce de résistance of this engine version is its outstanding weight/power ratio (6.7 kg/HP), which has always been one of the key factors behind the success of Alfa Romeo cars on the road and the race track. All this with a significant reduction in fuel consumption and emissions: 139 g/l of CO₂ and 4.8 l/100 km (extra-urban cycle) are closer to what you would expect from an economy car than from a compact sports car that goes from 0 to 100 km/h in just over 7 seconds.

Offered with the sporty aluminium pedal unit, cruise control, dual zone climate control system and Blue&Me system, the powerful MiTo SBK Limited Edition can "wear" two body colours (black and Alfa red) that can be matched with three roof shades: black, Alfa red and the new Cristallo white. The same sporty imprint has been given to the interior, enhanced by the Sabelt seats with a wraparound carbon fibre backrest made with the innovative RTM (Resin Transfer Moulding) technology, which teams great mechanical resistance with smaller dimensions and lightness. The "Alfa Active Suspension" system, which ensures the highest levels of safety, comfort and driveability in any situation or road conditions, completes the exclusive equipment of the MiTo SBK Limited Edition.

Fiat: from the 600 Multipla to the 500L, evolution of the 'cabforward' concept

The leitmotiv of the Fiat stand is the evolution of the cabforward concept, an automotive concept intended to achieve greater external visibility and a large amount of internal light, in addition to increasing the sense of command of the road and to make parking manoeuvres easier. This explains the choice to exhibit three historic examples of the Fiat 600 Multipla (1956-1960) at Padua - a classic Fiat 600 Multipla, a special Fiat 600 Multipla "Jolly" and a Fiat 600 Multipla "Taxi" - together with the brand-new 500L, the new Fiat City Lounge, which combines the iconic 500 style with the functionality of Made in Fiat design.

Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1955, the economy with four comfortable seats created for mass production was born with the Fiat 600: 950,000 units were produced until 1960, the year the improved 'D' version rolled off the production line. The Fiat 600 in the versions with sunroof and 'Multipla', with its characteristic "crushed face" appearance, was also offered the following year (1956). The 600, offered at a price lower than that of the "Topolino", was the first Fiat car with the engine decidedly placed in the tail. The wheels featuring four independent suspensions and a supporting structure body were other technical features worthy of note. Together with these historic cars, a Fiat 500L model is also on display. It is a new city car concept that redefines the category of compact cars for the modern family in an emotional vein by expanding on a few styling features of the 500 in unprecedented forms.

The decision to exhibit a 500L emphasises the close relationship between the new model and precisely the 600 Multipla of 1956 since the Fiat City Lounge recaptures several "archetypal" elements to symbolise its multifunctional character and its particular morphological roots. Just as the 600 Multipla was the forerunner of the concept of compact people carrier, the 500L is the new Fiat interpretation of the Simply More philosophy applied to the Multispace concept. Designed around the concept of 'space efficiency', the 500L is able to contain life's little pleasures and its greatest emotions all together in one: children, friends, journeys, music and community.

In detail, one of the 500L's particular characteristics, pursued from the initial design stages for the packaging, is the extensive internal volume, achieved by a thorough effort to reduce the size of mechanical parts, through the collaboration of designers and engineers. If the vehicle's architecture generally follows the principles of "cabforward", from which the frontal reduction of the body and bonnet section to achieve more available interior space is derived - especially at the height of the waistline and roof - it is above all the "empathetic" vocation of the 500L's design that enhances the overall ergonomics of the car. The Fiat 500L also boasts an extensive view of the outside and the greatest brightness of its category as it has the largest roof of its segment - 1.5 square metres of glass surface - and its windscreen pillars have been cleverly divided and slimmed to offer clear advantages in terms of active and passive safety as well.

Lancia: the charm of the 'convertibles' of Italian taste and class

Always synonymous with innovation and design, the Lancia brand is taking part in the Padua event with three historical cars belonging to historic car collectors and to the Lancia Collection: a 1932 Artena Cabrio Pininfarina, a Flavia convertible and a Flaminia Convertible Touring. A new Lancia Flavia, the quintessence of open air driving pleasure with four genuine seats takes its place on the stand alongside these fascinating 'convertibles'.

In detail, the 1932 Lancia Artena Cabriolet of the Lancia Collection is equipped with a 4-cylinder 2000 cc engine and is one of the first cars made by Pinin Farina. Even today it is greatly admired owing to its original two-tone body (black wings and burgundy vehicle body) and elegant cream-coloured soft top. The Flaminia model is also basking in the floodlights. This large Lancia flagship car of the 1970s is represented in Padua by a "Touring" Convertible that between 1960 and 1964 was produced in about 850 models, to become one of the most breathtaking 'convertibles' of the day. Sitting beside it is a Lancia Flavia 1500 Convertible, a '2+2 seater' that brims with classic features and measured elegance. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Carrozzeria Vignale on behalf of Lancia, the Flavia 1500 Convertible made its debut in 1962. It offered a dual solution for covering the passenger compartment: an elegant foldaway soft top or a practical hard top.

Together with the three historic models on the sophisticated Padua stage is the new Lancia Flavia that, with its free and sophisticated soul confirms, itself as the quintessence of open air driving pleasure with 4 genuine seats. In fact, equipped with its brilliant 170 HP 2.4 litre petrol engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission, the new vehicle is the perfect solution for customers looking for the advantages of a coupé without compromising on the unique sensations only a convertible can bring.

And that's not all. The new Flavia is this market segment's most interesting option, capable of winning over those customers who require not only a substantial product, but also a distinctive and unique style. It is the perfect expression of the Italian way of life - the beauty of the Italian lifestyle based on taste, imagination, style and refinement. The front-wheel drive Lancia Flavia guarantees a refined driving experience unparalleled by any other in its segment, whether tackling the daily trip in town to go to the office or when travelling those spectacular panoramic roads out of town on weekends.

Only one exclusive "all inclusive" trim level of the new Lancia Flavia is marketed in Italy as its wealth of standard equipment shows, from the top quality leather upholstery, electronic stability control (ESC) and traction control, latest-generation ABS and four airbags (front multi-stage and side) to the ISOFIX mountings for transporting children in complete safety, the innovative Uconnect® multimedia system complete with satellite navigation system, up to the sophisticated "Boston Acoustic Sound System".

Turin, 22 October 2012