Fiat 500 convertible cabriolet news - Sun star - 2008

Euro-chic fashionistas, get your ludicrously oversized designer sunglasses at the ready: the Fiat 500 is going cabrio. 

Fiat styling director Roberto Giolito has confirmed that a convertible version of the new Cinq is on its way. The big news is that the cabrio is likely to retain its roof rails and door frames, with a roll-back canvas roof replacing the hard top - just like the Nuova 500 first built in 1957.

It is believed that Fiat was considering a full-folding canvas roof like on the Mini - a folding hard top would have been too bulky and too expensive - but eventually opted for the narrower, simpler cloth roof to keep the price down and also echo the looks of the original Cinq.

The only bad news is that there's no word on when the 500 Cabrio will reach production. We're not expecting to see it before the middle of next year, but hell, we've waited more than 40 years for a new 500 convertible, so what's another year or so?