The Fiat Sedici joined the Grande Punto in the shop window at Harrods during the famous Knightsbridge department store's traditional July sale. The new Grande Punto has already made an appearance at Harrods, earlier this year to coincide with its UK dealership debut, but for the new four-wheel-drive Sedici it was a first opportunity to show off its charms to London shoppers.

A red 130 bhp 1.9 Multijet Grande Punto Sporting was in the window and a competition, held during the period of the sale and open to all Harrods' shoppers making a purchase above a certain value, saw another Grande Punto model, in 'Active' specification, being raffled off. However attention was focused also on the 1.6-litre petrol engined Sedici as this new 'crossover' model continues to build its awareness in the UK market, with Fiat Auto UK pitching its value as both an offroad and urban capable vehicle, with a distinct character and unique charm.

The Fiat Sedici (Italian for sixteen) has proved to be a real hit since it was launched earlier this year. In Italy the waiting list stands at around six months and in fact 3,000 orders were taken before it was even available to test drive. Developed in conjunction with Suzuki (who brand their own version as the SX4) the Sedici is built at the Japanese carmaker's plant in Hungary. Demand is far outstripping production with Suzuki recently lifting their first-year sales targets from 40,000 to 60,000 units while Fiat Auto have raised theirs from 20,000 to 30,000 units. To cope with this demand, and other requirements, Suzuki are in the process of investing an extra US$70 million at the Hungarian plant and hiring an extra 1,000 workers as they target more than doubling the plant's 170,000 units-per-year capacity by 2008.

In the UK the Sedici, which went on sale across the dealer network at the end of April, has recently been promoted through an innovative online viral advertising campaign "Dave's Wild World". This featured Dave McKenzie, a spoof Steve Irwin ("Crocodile Hunter") figure, in various "wild" urban situations.
 

With the market for compact four-wheel-drive vehicles growing very rapidly, and especially so in the UK, Fiat Auto UK is poised to reap the benefits with this innovative new car.

Both the Grande Punto and Sedici attracted much attention during their stay in the Harrods shop window. Harrods is one of the most famous department stores in the world and occupies an 18,000 square metre site with more than 92,000 square metres of retail space located on multiple levels. Several departments, including the seasonal Christmas Department and the Food Hall are world famous for their diverse range of goods and plethora of brand names.

The store's famous history starts back in 1835 when a London tea merchant and grocer, Charles Henry Harrod, opened a shop in his native Stepney, but fourteen years later, worried about a cholera epidemic then sweeping through the capital, he moved it to the Brompton Road in Knightsbridge. As the area grew up into one of the most exclusive districts in London, Harrods grew too, taking over several adjoining buildings. A fire in 1883 gutted the buildings allowing the son of the founder, who had by then taken over, to rebuild it on a much more grandiose scale. The store, whose motto is "Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things, For All People, Everywhere", is today owned by controversial Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, who bought it in 1985.