The Fiat 500 is dead – but what comes next is even cooler!

There's a saying among car journalists – if a car isn't fun to drive within legal limits, it can't actually be considered "fun" at all. It's a bold statement, but it's exactly the reason why I love my little Fiat 500 so much.

It practically has to be fun under 70 miles per hour, because it takes 3-5 business days to get anywhere beyond that. But what it lacks in top speed, it more than makes up for with nimble cornering and pockets of swift acceleration.

Today, the brand has confirmed that the Fiat 500 as we know it is dead. So too are the Abarth 595 and Abarth 695 models. In a report from Autocar, the brand confirmed that stocks will last dealers until the end of the year, when the current design will cease production – some 17 years after it went on sale.

It's worth noting that only the petrol-powered variants are affected. Fiat's best EV – the Fiat 500e – will be unaffected. And while it hasn't been officially confirmed, we'd expect that the Abarth 500e I tested earlier this year to remain available too.

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But don't think for one second this is a sad occasion. Because of course the brand isn't just going to kill one of the most popular cars of the last decade! Instead, the model will return in early 2025 under a new guise.

The Fiat 500 Ibrida is – to all intents and purposes – the 500e, retrofitted with the nifty 1.0-litre hybrid engine from the outgoing 500 model. Whether or not you favour the new or old design will come down to preference, but that's not all the brand are updating this time out.

The new model will see production return to the brand's hometown of Turin, Italy. The Mirafiori plant currently produces the 500e, and will also be graced by the purr of a petrol engine from next year.

I'm really excited by this prospect. I'm a big fan of both the 500e design and the hybrid engine, so putting both of them together is like a double scoop of gelato with both of your favourite flavours. It certainly won't be for everyone, but that – coupled with a return to Italian shores – could make the next-gen Ibrida a knockout.