It's tough to build a brand based on a single product, especially at the lower end of the market. Although Fiat recently expanded its North American offerings with the introduction of the Fiat 500L, a subcompact four-door people mover based on the same platform as the two-door Fiat 500 hatchback, the compact is still chasing the diversification strategy successfully executed by MINI, which has leveraged the Cooper into a host of niche players.
Until it can build on the momentum provided by the 500L, Fiat has elected to continue to produce special editions of the standard Fiat 500 in an effort to keep showroom traffic flowing. The automaker naturally chose the 2013 Concorso Italiano at this year's Pebble Beach festivities as the launching point for two new versions of the automobile.