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| Stories have swirled over
the last few days in the Italian press linking takeover expert Roberto
Colannino with an €8 billion plan for the Fiat Group. Colannino, who
mounted a successful takeover of Italian phone giant Telecom Italia in
1999, before being ousted in 2001, is believed to have a proposal to invest
around €1bn of his own money, the rest coming from asset sales, a
capital increase, and forging an agreement with GM for greater imput in
exchange for invalidating the key buy option.
It is believed that Colannino has been looking for a way to but himself back at the forefront of Italian business, and rumour has been rife since he created a new investment vehicle in November. On Monday Colannino was linked by market watchers to a block sale of 2.1% of Fiat shares at a price 30% above the market, while on Tuesday he, along with Fiat Chairman Paolo Fresco, attended a board meeting of Mediobanca, the highly infuential Italian investment bank which recently headed the consortium that purchased 35% of Ferrari's shares. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hinted recently that Italian entepreneurs could offer solutions to Fiat's predicament, and the unions would be expected to favour any plan that would keep power out of GM's hands. However it would remain to be seen if the Agnelli's could be won over, and their avowed desire to keep the group together addressed. |
| The ageing current Fiat
Punto, which undergoes its third and final facelift in June, will receive
an all-new front end styled around that of the Fiat Stilo, to harmonise
the "family" look. Larger headlamps with slim indicators mounted underneath
( as used on the Ulysse MPV and Doblo ) along with a more pronounced grille
and rubber protector strips under each headlamp complete the Stilo look.
Meanwhile the Fiat Multipla, praised continually by motoring journalists but never accepted by car buyers, will have its outrageous looks toned down when a revised version goes on sale in 2004. A Doblo-style front grille will be complemented by larger headlamps, and a front bumper with larger spoiler cut-outs will complete the front end makeover. A distinct swage down the side, drawn from the Stilo, aims to give the new Multipla a more solid appearance. |
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| Further artists impressions
of the Lamborghini Gallardo, based on the heavily disguised prototypes
caught testing, have emerged. The 'Baby Lambo', internally codenamed project
L140, will make its debut at next March's Geneva Motor Show. Lamborghini
last week confirmed that the car will be called Gallardo.
The Lamborghini Gallardo will be a mid-engined four wheel drive sportscar which aims to take head on and eclipse the Ferrari 360 Modena, and is powered by a brand new 5.0-litre DOHC V10 engine which puts out 500bhp. Power transmission will be available through either a manual 6-speed gearbox or a sequential-style unit operated via steering wheel paddles. Production of the V10 has begun on an all new line at the Sant'Agata factory's engine factory. |
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 Fiat
have agreed to sell their stake in General Motors, fractionally under 6%,
for a price around US$1.16 billion. The 32.05 million shares were aquired
by Fiat in an equity swap with the US giant carmaker General Motors which
took up 20% of Fiat Spa along with an option to buy Fiat from January 2004.
GM recently wrote down almost all its 20% holding.
Fiat would not identify the institution that had purchased the stake, but insiders pointed to it being Merrill Lynch, the investment bank that has been advising Fiat on its restructuring. The sale will not affect the option requiring GM to purchase the remaining 80% of Fiat. Last week Fiat also sold a 51% stake in Fidis, the customer financing arm, a move that will further reduce net debt. The stake went to four of Fiat's creditor banks, Capitalia, Sanpaolo IMI, UniCredito and IntesaBci. The move, for sometime under negociation, was a requirement of the banks summer loan to keep the group afloat. |
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 The
influential fortnightly 'Automotive News Europe', the European edition
of the American magazine 'Automotive News', has elected Cristina Siletto
as 'Woman of the Year 2002'. This prize rewards the determination and professional
skills of this Fiat Auto engineer who leads the 199 Project, the car which
will replace the Fiat Punto in 2005. |
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| Further images of the new facelifted Fiat Barchetta coupe have emerged. The ageing shape is still mainly original, with a few cosmetic extra details that add impact. The front is dominated by a new front grille, an enormous horizontal black mouth that makes the model look more aggressive. This impression is reinforced by a bigger exhaust tail-pipe, revised headlamps, more up-to-date bumpers at front and rear and foglights as standard throughout the range. The open-topped sports car also features Titanium-coloured panels, air outlets and door handles. The cloth used for the seats and door handles and the embossing on the facia are also brand-new. | ||||
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| The Fulvia will make a comeback
when Lancia unveil a concept car at March's Geneva Motor Show which will
draw heavily on the 1970's 2+2 sports coupe for inspiration. Designed by
Centro Style under the guidance of Flavio Mazoni, this modern interpretation
will clearly show Fulvia traits in its overall design.
Zagato has been involved in the project, based around the Fiat Barchetta, and if feedback is favourable, plans are at an advanced stage to put the project into production. |
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