The Florentine luxury brand Gucci has been around for over 100 years, but as today’s Nice Price or No Dice Fiat 500 proves, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Festooned with the brand’s colors and iconic logos, this tiny fashion icon is a rare example of the collaboration between the two storied Italian names. Let’s see what luxury trappings might cost these days.
Heraclitus of Ephesus, the pre-Socratic philosopher, is best remembered for his controversial postulation that everything we perceive is in a constant state of change. He noted, most profoundly, that “you cannot step into the same river twice.”
As interesting a theory as that might be, the 2001 Lexus GS 300 we looked at last Friday might prove it wrong. Stylish and reliable when new and equally so now, that Lexus—like most—indicates that stasis is, in fact, possible. What might such comfort amid the chaos cost? The dealer offering our GS asked $7,900 for the title transfer, an amount many of you thought fair, giving the Lexus a satisfying 72% Nice Price win.
Cinquecento
As we’ve discussed, Lexus has earned a reputation as one of the most reliable brands on the market, rivaling mainstays such as Timex and Campbell’s Soup for the consistency of its products. The same cannot be said about our Italian friends over at Fiat. While Fiat has been a player in Europe for over a century, its success in the U.S. has been mixed, with the brand absent from the market for more than 30 years due to poor sales. Its return to the U.S., led by the 500 supermini, has faltered as new models failed to gain traction. Today, only an electrified edition of the iconic 500 remains in Fiat’s U.S. arsenal, the company’s multitude of other models seemingly unfit for American consumption.
This 2012 Fiat 500 Gucci Edition hails from happier times at Fiat, and with its fashion house accoutrements, it’s a cheekily stylish edition of the company’s retro-styled small car.
House of Gucci
In the fashion industry, there is perhaps no greater drama than what went down in the Gucci dynasty back in the 1980s. Double crosses, familial fallings out, and a murder for hire all culminated in the remaining Gucci family members being ousted from the company, with some ending up in prison and others in poverty. Director Ridley Scott gave us a dramatization of the whole sordid tale in the 2021 film ‘House of Gucci.” Despite the backroom backstabbing and other drama, the Gucci brand, marked by its iconic double-G logo and red-and-green color combo, has continued to flourish.
Those elements feature prominently on this 500. The car features unique striping, logos, and model-specific leather upholstery, all beacons of the fashion brand. Nothing is too over-the-top, and for anyone immune to the allure of the Gucci name, there’s nothing about this special edition that detracts from its function and usefulness. Save for some minor wear and tear, it all looks to be in fine shape, too.
City Slicker
The 500 has always been positioned as a city car, its diminutive dimensions giving it an advantage on narrow streets and tight parking spaces. A small car needs only a small engine, and the 1.4-liter ‘MultiAir’ inline-four in this car is laudably small and reasonably fuel-efficient. In Gucci guise, it makes 101 horsepower and 97 pound-feet of torque, neither of which is a stellar number, but then this is a small city car, so highway heroics are not its forte. Backing the 16-valve four is a six-speed automatic with manual mode and a Gucci logo shift knob.
That shifter sits atop an outcropping below the stylish dash. Other features of the cabin include a black-and-white color scheme, automatic climate control, and a panoramic moonroof above the two front seats. Everything in here looks to be in good shape, though the white leather on the driver’s seat does show the car’s age and 101,410 miles.
That’s less obvious on the exterior. The white paint still looks serviceable, and the Gucci-branded alloy wheels show no signs of curb rash. There is an odd crease at the pinch weld under the driver’s door, possibly the result of a poor jacking position choice at a tire store.
A lifestyle statement
The car comes with a clean title and the dealer’s assurance that this Gucci Fiat “is not just a car; it’s a statement of style.” Whether or not that’s true—or even relevant given this Fiat’s age and the ebbs and flows of the fashion industry—it’s now up to us to determine if this rare and somewhat iconic Fiat 500 is worth the $8,995 asked to buy it.
What do you say? Is that a fair price to wear official Gucci wherever you go? Or is this Fiat an embarrassing fashion faux pas at that asking?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Leo Parres for the hookup!
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