A few months back when the new Fiat 500 was released in the States, we test drove it and gave it our review. As it appears, the car that we really have our hearts set on, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, may not make it to the States at all, or if it does it may be released as a Dodge Dart. Nothing personal, Dodge. But when you really want an Alfa, a Dodge Dart just won’t due. Sergio Marchionne, are you listening?
The new Fiat 500 Abarth is now out in the States. It’s sporty and fun, so we just may need to look into that, instead.
Here in Rome, we’ve been having fun with Stefano’s brother Marco’s original 1969 Fiat 500, affectionately known in Italy as il cinquino. Refurbished and running like a charm, it’s Marco’s get-around car. The only trick to driving it is knowing how to do la doppietta, a double-clutching technique that prevents the gears from grind when shifting up and down.
La doppietta works like this:
- Press the clutch down and pull the gear into neutral.
- Release the clutch.
- Quickly press the accelerator up and down once or twice to bring rev up the motor.
- Press the clutch again and gently move the stick shift into the correct gear.
Here’s our photo shoot of our evening of fun in Zio Marco’s cinquino.
