Quality Indices (QI), that allow the vehicle's technical features to be correlated to customer perceptions so that the car can be tailored to its customers in accordance with corporate brand values;

Setting-deployment-achieving targets, that take customer targets and translate them into technical design targets for the various vehicle systems: engine, suspension, body, interiors etc;

Multidisciplinary structural optimisation, used to optimise the design to create efficient structures that offer maximum performance and minimum weight;

Crash and biomechanical procedures, that afford the passenger compartment cell the best possible occupant protection and ensure the car front end is compatible with vulnerable subjects (pedestrians, cyclists etc.) in compliance with current and future legislation;

Computerised fluid flow dynamics, that allow car aerodynamics to be optimised for improved fuel economy and wind noise while also ensuring the best possible design in terms of internal comfort and well-being as determined by climate and air quality;

NVH (Noise-Vibration-Harshness) methods, aimed at minimising noise and vibration to ensure a comfortable, noiseless passenger compartment under all driving conditions to reduce stress and benefit the driver's health and alertness;

Car dynamic processes (handling), a traditional trait of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa cars, allowing a satisfying, predictable drive under all speed, manoeuvring and grip conditions via careful design of the suspension and controls (steering and brakes). More specifically, on the Panda 4x4, the presence of a four wheel drive system led to the development and application of new simulation and testing procedures that allowed an appropriate choice of layout and facilitated the process of development with the aim of maximising the compromise between performance and stability;

Physical and cognitive ergonomics, backed by virtual reality for more effective design of spaces, interior systems (seats, facia etc.), main and secondary controls, moving parts and communication interfaces to ensure that driver-vehicle interaction is considered at the design stage.

70 bhp 1.3 Multijet

The new small 1.3 Multijet diesel engine and its control system were created at the end of the Nineties in the Fiat research centre, which also developed the engine control strategies that make it unique in the field of performance, fuel consumption and emissions. The Multijet system is protected by more than 30 international patents.

The high performance levels and simultaneous substantial reduction in the emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases were achieved through a combination of factors, namely:

the adoption of second generation Common Rail technology (Multijet);

the design of a cylinder head with 4 valves per cylinder with high swirl values;

optimisation of the combustion chamber. In particular, at the design stage extensive use was made of advanced mathematical modelling and 3D simulation techniques of the fluid dynamic, injection and combustion processes that underlie the engine's operation.

Lastly, the painstaking design of the structural part of the engine and targeted testing activities combined with the potential of Multijet technology allowed us to ensure not only a highly reliable and long-lasting engine but also very high acoustic and vibrational comfort.

Elasis
 
The Panda 4x4 is fitted with the FIRE 1.242 8v power unit that offers one of the best performance levels at low engine speeds in its segment and ensures that the vehicle is able to perform well even over difficult terrain as in the case of off-road routes. This feature was achieved by focusing on optimising engine flow dynamics.

This power unit has also won appreciation on other Fiat Group models due to its smooth torque delivery from low rpm levels. Special attention was devoted to the development of the torque-based drive by wire engine control system produced by Magneti Marelli. The Elasis Centre, working in conjunction with engineers based in Bologna, tuned the vehicle's specification to achieve a problem-free take-off from steep gradients over slippery surfaces to guarantee the vehicle outstanding handling for a safe, problem-free drive under all surface conditions.

Lastly, much work went into the optimisation of emissions and fuel consumption and the operation of the EOBD system that must ensure the emission control system is correctly monitored even in difficult and particularly harsh vehicle service conditions.

Dynamics

Elasis used the most up-to-date systems currently available in the automotive sector to develop the Panda 4WD to meet NVH standards.

For this purpose, an innovative roller bench was used to determine the vibrational profile of the driveline (propeller shaft and half axles), to calibrate the dynamic dampers and determine the main points where noise enters the car from the road by independently acquiring noise and vibration signals from the front and rear axles.

Static and dynamic characterisation benches were used to develop and optimise systems that affect internal passenger compartment noise (body, facia and trim elements). In particular, acoustic readings were taken using a Four Poster dynamic characterisation bench (readings of internal noise excited by vertical loads) and modal testing chambers (dynamic rigidity of body and components).

SEE

Functions essential for operation and safety are controlled by electronic systems on the Panda 4WD, which means that these systems are subject to an even greater requirement for safety. For this reason, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing was an essential stage in the development of the Panda 4WD. During an extremely tough set of tests conducted at the ELASIS Centre at Pomigliano d'Arco, the vehicle was subjected to electromagnetic stresses of an intensity equal to 25 times the maximum value specified by Italian law on EM pollution in civil and industrial areas.

In the ELASIS EMC laboratory, which is unique in Italy and in the vanguard of the sector within Europe, extreme electromagnetic environments can be simulated by reproducing situations of interference generated by radio-TV transmitters, mobile transmitters, CB, mobile phones and meteorological electrostatic discharges.