The Spider is back.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will unveil a new generation Fiat 124 Spider at the Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday -- thirty years after production of the model line ended.
First introduced almost half a century back, the 2017 edition of the Spider is a two-seat convertible designed in Turin, Italy, and built on the Mazda MX-5 platform -- manufactured by the Japanese company at its factory in Hiroshima. The introduction expands the Fiat brand’s product offerings as Fiat Chrysler increases sales in the U.S.
“There’s no better way to celebrate 50 years of the Fiat 124 Spider than to bring back this iconic roadster, pairing its Italian styling of the past with all of the modern performance and technology of today,” Olivier François, global head of Fiat brand, said in a statement.
The car is available with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission and offers safety and security features including blind-spot monitoring and a rear backup camera. The car will arrive in North American stores this summer.
“Fiat’s 124 Spider will have baked-in competition as it goes head-to-head with the new Mazda Miata,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.com. “Product differentiation will be the key to success, as anyone in the market for a roadster will inevitably cross-shop the two models.”
This article originally appeared on Bloomberg Business.
