Opera on four wheels: star tenor Bocelli and the new Fiat 500e

Created: 06/27/2022, 12:00 p.m

By: Rudolf Boegel

A Fiat for music lovers: Star tenor Andrea Bocelli (right) with his son Matteo (left) and Fiat CEO Olivier Francois at the presentation of the Fiat 500e La Prima by Bocelli.

©Fiat

Hear like Andrea Bocelli.

In the new Fiat 500e it sounds like in the living room of the star tenor.

But the e-car has a lot more gimmicks.

• With the special edition "La Prima" Fiat honors the star tenor Andrea Bocelli

• The hi-fi sound sounds like the opera in Pisa or the maestro's living room

• And another gimmick: you disinfect your smartphone in the glove compartment

Nobody would have thought that either.

Not VW, not Mercedes, neither BMW nor Audi - the most dangerous Tesla hunter comes from Italy and is a cult smooch ball.

The

, affectionately known as the

second place

in European

statistics

.

Only Tesla is bringing more electric cars to people with the Model 3.

And: Fiat can deliver within a reasonable period of time.

It should currently take about two months, and in the best case scenario, until you get the 500 either as a hybrid or as an electric car.

A song for the premiere: Andrea Bocelli's son Matteo wrote his own song "Tempo" for the advertising campaign of the 500e.

©Fiat

Fiat 500e "la Prima by Bocelli" - the Maestro is also there

No more pure combustion engines?

You read that right.

The

dares to take this step and switches to

.

Is it because of that alone?

In any case, the third generation of the Cinquecento launched in 2020 (after 1957 and 2007) is on the road to success that is pulling the whole of Fiat along.

The smallest as the savior of the brand.

Once again.

And what do you do when things are already going well?

Further model variants follow.

It can be a little more exclusive.

For example with the

The

not only contributed his good name, but also the entire sound of the audio system.

And so it is no wonder that the Maestro is personally present at the presentation of the noble body.

The bathing huts at Alpemare have USB ports and their own safes: a cool place to showcase the 500e by Bocelli © Fiat

Forte dei Marmi: luxury residence of the Agnellis

Alpemare

is written in curved letters on the entrance, which is befitting its location between two pine trees.

We are in

, an important Tuscan seaside resort on the Ligurian Sea.

Marmi stands for the plural of

.

If you look east from the fine sandy beach, you will discover torn mountain flanks and peaks everywhere.

Carrara.

The finest marble in the world is mined here.

And just as noble is Forte dei Marmi.

The former Fiat owners, the

, had their summer residence here.

So that they didn't have to cross the street from the villa to get into the sea, they even had their own tunnel under the busy beach promenade.

also read

This is how expensive it becomes if you accidentally set the parking disc incorrectly

Motorhomes must now undergo another test

The special equipment of the 500e La Prima by Bocelli includes the white leather and the sound system from JBL.

©Fiat

Exclusive bathing establishment with a prominent owner

The Alpemare is also a very special bathing establishment.

Changing rooms and the bar shine with the iconic pastel tones of an Italian ice cream parlor of the 1960s.

Bedouin-like tents are enthroned above the 48 loungers on the beach.

The cabins are equipped with a personal safe and plenty of USB ports.

There is only one thing that is not available: a parking lot, because the guests – noblesse oblige – are picked up directly at the hotel with a limousine service.

The Alpemare definitely has style – after all, it has to suit the owner.

And his name is Andrea Bocelli, the most successful tenor in history.

If you set "My Music Room" on the JBL sound system, you end up at least acoustically in Andrea Bocelli's living room.

©Fiat

Bocelli-Fiat: The idea was born in lockdown

The lockdown is to blame for the fact that Fiat is presenting a new car in the Maestro's outdoor pool.

had his home office in Forte dei Marmi.

And so it came as it had to come.

One day, the maestro and the car boss got talking – the special model “Prima by Bocelli” was born.

Together with the sound specialist JBL, the Fiat now sounds like the tenor's four favorite places.

This

, which, with the help of 320 watts, two tweeters and four mid-range drivers and a subwoofer, acoustically takes you to four sometimes quite private places.

On the one hand there is the maestro's living room, which, as he says himself, is dedicated to "perfect sound".

Then his personal recording studio and the place where Bocelli made his debut: The Opera House of Pisa.

And then, in terms of sound, we go to the

, an amphitheater located in the Tuscan hills.

The Theater der Stille, so called because music only plays there once a year, is part of Bocelli's latifundia, as is the bathing establishment.

Beach visit: The new Fiat 500e La Prima by Bocelli in front of the Bedouin tents in the exclusive Badeclub Alpemare.

©Fiat

Disinfect in the glove compartment in three minutes

The good manners of the Bocelli 500 include a whole range of

that is already known from other models.

• Large screen (10.25 inch)

• exclusive seat covers in the color “ice beige”

• Full LED headlights

• 17 inch alloy wheels

Just like the idea of ​​creating your own Bocelli sound, the special equipment in the glove compartment also goes back to the pandemic.

At the push of a button

, a special

smaller objects such as keys or smartphones .

Of course, all this has its price.

The special edition costs

and 38,490 euros as a

Like all the others, the Edel 500 is equipped with the 87 kW motor (118 hp) and a 42 kWh battery, which should ensure a range of 320 to 460 kilometers (city traffic).

In rich Fiat red, the Fiat 500X hybrid has a particularly beefy appearance, but the motorization is unfortunately lagging behind.

©Fiat

This is how the new XL variant of the Fiat 500 drives

If the 500 is too small for you and if you don't quite put your trust in electric technology, Fiat now offers the new

on.

The X variant is more of an XL variant and about 70 centimeters longer, 17 wider and 7 centimeters higher.

In addition to the small 120 hp petrol engine, there is now a hybrid combination of a 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine with 96 kW (130 hp) and a 48 volt electric motor, which controls an additional 15 kW.

When starting, parking and even solo.

The electric unit then manages just three kilometers in electric mode.

Otherwise it is purely a support command, mainly used to eliminate the turbo lag of the combustion engine.

It does that properly, which makes the test drive into the hinterland of Forte dei Marmi quite amusing at first.

But only on the level.

Because as soon as you want to exhaust the 130 hp on the mountain route with a strong step on the gas pedal, you first have to wait until the transmission wakes up.

And then the petrol engine howls like an old mountain wolf.

It is better to move the 500er-X leisurely and confidently - then consumption values ​​of around 6.6 liters are also realistic.

• Specifications Fiat 500X hybrid

• Engine: four-cylinder turbo petrol engine

• Displacement: 1469 cc 

• max. system performance: 96 kW (130 hp)  

• Max. system torque: 240 Nm  

• E-machine:

• max. power: 15 kW (20 hp)

• maximum torque: 55 Nm 

• Drive: Seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, front

• 0-100km/h: 9.1 seconds

• Top: 194km/h

• Standard consumption: 6.6 l/100 km

• CO2 emissions: 133 g/km 

• Length / width / height: 4.27 / 1.80 / 1.60

• Trunk: 350 - 1,000 l

• Empty weight / payload: 1405 / 645 kg

• Towing capacity (used): 1,450 kg

• Price from 28,990 euros