Fiat 500 GQ Edition: For the Classy European Gentleman [2013 Geneva Auto Show]

The special-edition Fiat 500 models just keep coming, and now there's another one, for Europe, at least. The latest Cinquecento spin-off is this GQ edition—as in Gentlemen's Quarterly—and it's set to debut at the 2013 Geneva auto show. The GQ edition is unabashedly geared toward men, sort of like the 500 Abarth 695 Tributo Maserati or 695 Competizione as opposed to than the effeminate 500 and topless 500C Gucci editions. But unlike the overtly sporty (and Europe-market-only) 695 models, this 500 isn't for the enthusiast—it's for the "metropolitan man of the third millenium."  So if you're wondering what a metropolitan man of, uh, today is like, Fiat and GQ describe him as stylish, connected (internet terms, he's not a mob affiliate), and receptive to the social aspects of the modern city. Basically, think of GQ's target audience, and you're pretty much there. To us, this would seem to describe the exact sort of guy who wouldn't buy a Fiat 500—after all, it's hard to look cool in an Armani suit while climbing into any Fiat without a horse or a trident on the badge. Regardless, the 500 GQ edition at least looks as though it would appeal to the target demographic, what with its classy and masculine tw0-tone gray-and-black paint job, unique 16-inch wheels, chrome mirror caps, orange badges on the wheels and B-pillars, and available orange-painted brake calipers. Fiat probably could have gone for the same male-attracting effect by simply slapping an enlarged, vinyl sticker of GQ's January 2009 cover (Google it; we'll wait) onto a 500′s hood and calling it a day, but the GQ treatment is attractive and slightly more public-appropriate. Comparison Test: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth vs. 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Instrumented Test: 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo Instrumented Test: 2012 Fiat 500C Inside, the GQ edition gets another orange Fiat 500 badge on the dashboard, leather seats with contrasting orange stitching, metal pedals, and a leather shift knob. The GQ will be available in both coupe and convertible forms, and with several gasoline engines ranging in size and output from a 69-hp, 1.2-liter four to a 100-hp 1.4-liter; Fiat's nifty 85-hp, 0.9-liter TwinAir two-cylinder engine also will be on offer. For now, the GQ will go on sale in Europe in June; Fiat wouldn't confirm the special-edition's future in the U.S. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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