The Fiat 500 has proved
an instant hit across the world and especially so in
Japan were a new club Bambino was formed recently
to cater for the tiny car and this month many owners
gathered together in Kobe for the second time for a
"Picnic". The first time the owners congregated on the
immaculate paved plaza of the Kobe Municipal Fruit &
Flower Park was last January, just weeks after the club
had been formed,
providing
an instant outlet for the enthusiasm of the Japanese buyers who
have been seduced by the new model's charms.
To celebrate
the third birthday of the 500 which fell earlier this
month the members of Bambino headed back to Kobe for a
500 "Picnic",
and in particular they headed to the Municipal Fruit &
Flower Park. This famous
location is situated in the northern part of Kobe, and
was specially constructed to imitate the architectural
style of the buildings in Europe, making it a perfect
setting for this European icon, and providing the owners
with the excellent leisure facilities of the hotel and
the amusement park.
That first
"Picnic"
event a
year-and-a-half ago drew drew sixteen gleaming examples
of the new 500 model which were perfectly complimented
in the plaza by a
pristine example of the original motoring icon, a model first
launched half a century ago; this time the enthusiastic
Bambino club doubled that number to thirty 500s,
and again drew on representation of the first historic
model to carry the 500 name.
The array
the diminutive Italian cars that lined up on the plaza
outside the hotel and leisure facilities, the club was
given special permission to use this prestigious area,
covered every genre of the current-generation 500
including the high performance Abarth model and several
extremely personalised examples, reinterpreted by their
proud owners taking advantage of the diverse range of
custom and tuning products that have filtered onto the
Japanese market for the Italian Supermini. (Customised
500s pop up at most of the important styling and tuning
shows on the Japanese calendar). Also on show was the
unique Abarth 500 "Elaborazione", a project created by
Japanese performance and accessory company, Any's
International, which debuted at the recent Tokyo Tuning
Show.
A lot of water has flown
under the bridge since that first meeting of the
Bambino club in January last year as the 500 has
steadily gained in the affections of Japanese automobile
enthusiasts', most notably is that the sports-focused
Abarth brand was launched in the country last spring,
first with the arrival of the Abarth Grande Punto, which
was then quickly followed by the Abarth 500, although
private imports had already seen the tiny Scorpion car
represented on the Japanese roads.
Proving
already to be hit with urban Japanese buyers, sales
of the diminutive 500 are currently running at around
two hundred units per month. "However there are a lot of
devoted fans in Japan," says the Bambino
club's Masuo Ken-ichi. "We
have received coverage in Tipo magazine this
year, and this event will be published in 500
magazine. We Bambino
are aiming to reach 500 members," he adds. For more information on
Bambino please visit:
http://www.club-bambino.net/
ItaliaspeedTV:
Fiat 500
Bambino Club "Picnic" - Municipal Fruit & Flower Park,
Kobe, Japan
