Fiat 500 Giardiniera -next Italian mini-SUV

Fiat’s upcoming 500 Giardiniera could be a mini-SUV.  With all this talk of mergers and acquisitions, it would be easy to forget that Fiat has its own model lines to update and supplement. So while Sergio Marchionne flies back and forth between Detroit and Turin, a report has emerged suggesting Fiat could be preparing a crossover version of its popular 500 retro-hatch.

Italian automaker Fiat is apparently working on a mini SUV model based on the already-popular and over-discussed 500, which will be marketed as the 500 Giardiniera. Fiat will be bringing an AWD variant of its acclaimed 500 mini car to market in an effort to compete with the slew of recently launched and upcoming models from Mini.

Obviously, nobody knows for sure the official launch date of the mini suv but rumors are pointing that the first models are expected to arrive sometime around 2010. Fiat is reportedly planning to produce around 30,000 units per year.

The upcoming model will feature a four-wheel drive system likely to be sourced from Fiat Panda 4×4, with three-door architecture and a suicide-door format unlikely to join the range. However, the car might still come with roof rails and a retractable canvas sunroof, similar with the one sported by the newly-launched 500 Convertible. This should help keep development costs fairly low and this in turn will mean a better deal for customers when it appears in showrooms late next year.