Italy’s Fiat has announced that it plans to launch a new Dino in 2011. No, not that Dino. Although nameplate was more famously used by Ferrari, Fiat actually launched the Dino badge in 1966 as an affordable sports car based on the company’s 124 Spider.
Like the original Dino, the new-age version will also be based on an already existing model – the Lotus Elise. Fiat decided to team up with Lotus because it gave the firm a low-cost entrance into the sports car segment. “Discovering and creating niches is our goal at the moment,” Fiat CEO Lorenzo Sistino told Car Magazine. “We want to open as many new sectors as we can because that is one very effective way of differentiating ourselves from our rivals.”
Although the 2011 Dino will be based on the Elise, look for the car to feature plenty of unique Fiat design cues.
In addition to the Dino, Sistino also revealed to Car that Fiat is planning a new city car to compete with the Smart Fortwo and upcoming Toyota iQ. Although Sistino kept mum on the city car’s details, he did reveal the new model should be ready to hit the market in 2009.
09/19, 12:10 PM
posted by:
inline6
The original Dino is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest cars of all time.
I hope the new one is, too. The Elise platform is a good place to start.
09/19, 1:30 PM
posted by:
gtv6
Will this have a Ferrari engine, like the original Dino?
09/19, 2:03 PM
posted by:
nitinsharma1000
gtv6, the old dino engine was dino specific. It was not shared with anything else. Fiat Dinos are awesome.
09/19, 4:08 PM
posted by:
VWgrouP
Lets just hope it doesnt go down the drain like the Europa did..
09/20, 12:37 PM
posted by:
C6Racer
My former boss has a ‘67 Dino 2.4 Spider. That thing was a BLAST to drive thanks to a beefed up engine by the previous owner. Too bad it pisses out half a quart of oil every single day because the idiot who built the engine had no clue how to properly seal it.
His ‘69 246 GT was also addicting to drive.