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The Memorial Giacosa, a special
distinction awarded for being the best leader of an Italian
automotive project, in the spirit of the great maestro Dante
Giacosa has this year been assigned to Mauro Pierallini.
This recognition, which went to Nevio Di Gusto five years
ago, was handed to Pierallini this time due to his
outstanding achievements in the project of developing the
new Fiat Panda model.
The Mayor of Neive, the home town of Giacosa and the
location for the ceremony which was the third edition of the
award, stated: “To achieve all this, one needs to have as
much skill, intelligence and passion, as had the great
Maestro himself. Engineer Mauro Pierallini expressed a great
capacity and vision on product development, the styling,
materials and propulsion technology. Pierallini developed
his professional skills in a passionate way, by working hard
and by inventing brilliant and quite unusual technical
solutions. This is why we see the confirmation and
personification of Italian expertise and creativity in Mauro
Pierallini and with this in Fiat, symbolised by the
historical achievements of Dante Giacosa," concluded the
Mayor.
Born in Ancona on the 20th of July 1960,
Mauro Pierallini, is married and a qualified mechanical
engineer. He has worked for Fiat Auto since 1988, always
involved in the technical aspects of important development
projects, such as those of the Punto and the Multipla. From
1999 until 2004, he was responsible for the new
Panda", a model which sensationally scooped the "European
Car of the Year" award in 2004, from its concept phase right
up to its commercial launch and including a string of
carefully-targeted derivative versions such as the Multijet-engined
4x4 and SUV. He oversaw the development activities of the
car by co-ordinating a team of 60 people. Today he is
closely involved in the development of Fiat vehicles
spanning in three different categories.
The town of Neive is not only a perfect
place to remember Giacosa, the "father of the 500" as well
as many other highly successful Fiat models of the era, but
also a great location for a large reunion of historic cars
and people who closely share the same passion. Many models
from Fiat's history such as the 500, 600 and Topolino,
coloured the hills of the Cuneo region during this event.
More then 1,000 people participated in the program over the
weekend (20th and 21th May). It was a great success with
many thrilled spectators and some important names attending,
including Luca de Meo CEO of the Fiat brand who celebrated
the moment with a delighted Pierallini.
FIAT PANDA
The New Panda
(known as the Gingo before launch, or 169 internally) is the
car which takes Fiat back to its roots. A versatile,
practical and stylish small car, the Panda follows in the
footsteps of the old 500 and suchlike. At just over 3.5
metres long, Fiat have concentrated on maximising the
interior space whilst giving the cabin a versatility to
enable it to meet all requirements. The four doors give good
access (no 3 door version is planned) including the rear,
where the standard car comes with two seats, a third (to
make the car a 5 seater) being an option.
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Fiat Brand CEO Luca De Meo during the 3rd
Memorial Giacosa Awards which saw many famous Fiat
models, including the 500, 600 and Topolino,
congregating in the home town of the great Dante
Giacosa. |
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The Memorial Giacosa, a special
distinction awarded for being the best leader of an
Italian automotive project, in the spirit of the
great maestro Dante Giacosa. |
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The New Panda (known as the Gingo before launch, or
169 internally) is the car which takes Fiat back to
its roots. A versatile, practical and stylish small
car, the Panda follows in the footsteps of the old
500 and suchlike. |
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Mauro Pierallini receives the 3rd Memorial Giacosa
award
from the Mayor of Neive. |
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Late in 2003 the New Panda was announced winner of
the prestigious "Car of the Year" award for 2004,
judged by numerous European motoring journalists. It
has also won a variety of other awards, especially
in the UK. |
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Externally
the styling (mostly the work of Bertone) has been influenced
by the popular SUV culture of recent times, seen more
overtly in the roof bars and detailing. Underneath the skin
the New Panda gets most of the raft of new developments
which Fiat has been following, including the 1.3 16v
MultiJet diesel engine and the 'Dualogic'
automatic/sequential transmission. Other engines include the
venerable 1108cc (54bhp) and 1242cc (60bhp) 8v petrol units.
Chassis-wise it follows the conventional route with a
transverse front engine, MacPherson struts at the front with
a trailing beam at the rear and a front disc/rear drum
braking setup. As is the trend today, more features are
becoming available in ever smaller cars, and the New Panda
is no exception, with automatic climate control, double
glass sunroof, stereo controls on the steering wheel (for
the HiFi system available), sliding rear seat and safety
items such as six airbags, ABS with EBD and ESP.
The summer
of 2004 saw the new Panda 4x4 launched. Shown earlier at
various motorshows, this features a permanent four wheel
drive system which controls the distribution of drive
automatically through the use of a viscous coupling. In
normal conditions, 98% of the drive goes to the front
wheels, with increasing amounts to the rear when there is a
lack of traction at the front. The engine remains the same
1.2 60bhp unit, although the brakes are uprated to discs all
round for additional control. It is visually distinguishable
by the additional plastic protection around the wheelarches,
along the sides and inserted into the front and rear bumpers
as well as the larger wheels and tyres and unique interior
trims. It is a very capable off-roader, surprising
journalists by its exceptional ability - helped also by its
small size and light weight, making it much more
manoeuvrable and agile.
Also
officially announced is another version, the SUV (Sport
Utility Vehicle). This also features the 4x4 transmission
with more significant external modifications to
differentiate the car more. A sporty diesel version is also
rumoured, and a diesel powered rallycar prototype was shown
in 2003. The latter has a modified 1.3 MultiJet producing
102bhp. In 2004 the Panda Kit car was revealed, using the
1242cc engine but now with 120bhp and front wheel drive.
This is used in an Italian rally championship.
Late in
2003 the New Panda was announced winner of the prestigious
"Car of the Year" award for 2004, judged by numerous
European motoring journalists. It has also won a variety of
other awards, especially in the UK. The New Panda went on
sale in Italy and various markets around Europe from the
autumn of 2003 and got off to a flying start with
exceptional sales, the factory having to increase production
volumes to meet the demand. The 4x4 and MultiJet diesel
versions were launched in the second half of 2004, whilst
the MultiJet 4x4 emerged in 2005. A limited edition version
developed in conjunction with the famous Italian designer
Alessi, the Panda Alessi, was also shown at various shows
around Europe in 2004. Also shown were various two-tone cars
with the upper bodywork being a different colour to the
lower part. The 500,000th Panda emerged from the factory in
Poland in October 2005.
The SUV
was finally released late last year, called the Panda Cross.
Mechanically a MultiJet 4x4 with the addition of a locking
rear differential, it is visually quite different with new
two-tone colour schemes, redesigned headlights and tailights,
bigger (15") alloy wheels and various additional trim.
Internally some details were changed and new fabrics and
colours introduced. At the 2005 Bologna Motor Show a limited
edition based on the Cross was also shown, the Panda
Monster. All in black, a total of 620 (the engine capacity
of the Ducati Monster) were built.
by Mattia Mariani
New Fiat Panda history courtesy of CarsfromItaly
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