Fiat has today announced the arrival of the new Panda 4x4 Rossignol, a special edition model limited to just 200 units which is designed with the winter sports activity participant firmly in mind.

Born from a collaboration between Fiat and the famous ski equipment manufacturer Rossignol, the Panda Rossignol with its raised ride height, chunky roof bars, four wheel drive and rugged bumpers was born for the mountains.

Rossignol is one of the world's leading ski and ski equipment manufacturers, and celebrated the milestone of its 100 anniversary last year; during its long history it has been noted for its many innovations and a host of champions on the snow, including the legendary 3 times Olympic medal winner Italian Alberto Tomba, have used its products successfully. In 2005 Rossignol merged with leading surf equipment and accessory manufacturer, Quicksilver.

In fact this special model, which is priced at 17,500 euros, will come with a set of Rossignol's renown Bandit B78 skis and the winter sports' firm's Axium 120 bindings. It also features a magnetic carry rack which comes with an emergency cable (which is CE 79/488 compliant) that can also be used to carry snowboards. It can house three sets of skis (110 mm) or two snowboards - or a combination of two skis and one snowboard.

Immediately distinguished by its distinctive grey (Grigio Sfrenato) body colour scheme which extends to the bumpers and external door handles, it has a contrasting polished black finish to the lower door protection panels, wheel arch protection trims, roof bars, door mirrors and bumper plates; it features the familiar red Rossignol "R" logo on the window frames of the side doors and also on the tailgate.

The Panda Rossignol features a high level of standard equipment including CD and MP3 reader, Dualdrive, electric door mirrors and remote control locking. Safety is addressed by the addition of ABS with EBD, for the icy roads which it will travel on, as well as front airbags and front foglights. Under the bonnet is the 1.3 Multijet 16v engine which develops maximum power of 70 CV at 4,000 rpm and peak torque of 145 Nm at 1,500 rpm, coupled up to the car's usual four-wheel-drive transmission and chunky wheels.

The Panda Rossignol has been appointed the Official Car of the Rossignol Demo tour, and it will be seen in action on some of the most spectacular Italian mountainsides. This Rossignol Demo tour is a promotion across a number of European countries which allows winter activity participants to sign up (also on-line) and then attend a demonstration event where they can try out a range of products from Rossignol, such as skis and snowboards, in actual mountain snow conditions. They also get a commemorative photo taken and emailed to them.