The role of the SEAT 600 in automotive history is indisputable. In Spain it mobilized an entire generation, and was the first passport to freedom for many families. The 600 was a license-built Fiat 600, and its Italian brother also enjoyed great popularity in our neighboring country. The news of the day is that the 600 is coming back. According to the Dutch media autointernationalciting Italian media, in 2023 a new Fiat 600 will hit the market. But the return of the “pellet” will not be as you imagine.
First of all, it will be a product developed by the Stellantis group, and therefore, there will not be a counterpart in SEAT or in any other brand. The bad news, possibly you were already smelling it for a long time: it will be an urban crossover. The Fiat 600 will be positioned between the Fiat 500 and Fiat 500X, and everything indicates that it could even be the tacit replacement of the extinct Fiat 500L. The Fiat 600 will be a car built on the CMP platform of the Stellantis Group, and therefore, it will share a structure with cars like the Jeep Avenger, the DS 3 or the Peugeot 2008.
It will be manufactured in Tichy (Poland), together with the Jeep Avenger.
By dimensions everything points to an outer size of about 4.20 meters, with a five-door body. In the very low quality spy photos from passioneautoitaliane.com you can see that some of its aesthetic features are shared with the Fiat 500e. A logical move, then. the 600 will have a 600e version, with 100% electric propulsion. Everything points to a move similar to Jeep’s with the Avenger: It will be advertised and promoted as an electric car, but will have a commercially-backed micro-hybrid version.
The Fiat 600e will have the latest evolution of the Stellantis electric powertrain. That is, we are talking about a motor of up to 156 HP of powerassociated with a 54 kWh battery of capacity supplied by the Chinese manufacturer CATL. In the case of the Jeep Avenger, this allows a WLTP autonomy of 400 km, but everything indicates that the Fiat 600e, with a more aerodynamic and fluid design, could easily exceed this figure. As for its arrival on the market, I am very afraid that we will have to wait a little over a year.
It will not be the replacement for the Fiat 500X. The 500X’s replacement will arrive in 2025, and it will be a compact SUV called the Multipla.
Fiat has yet to officially present it. It is estimated that its official presentation will take place in springand the first orders will be formalized in October 2023. By the end of next year it could start to hit the streets.
