Gianni Agnelli, Fiat’s legendary playboy, and the updated 500X

The 500X's 7" infotainment display screen. (Photo: Stellantis)

By Melinda Ferguson

19 Feb 2023

When thinking of the Italian car brand Fiat, the Agnelli dynasty and the iconic Fiat 500 go hand in hand.

Recently, I fell a little in love with Gianni Agnelli, the legendary poster boy for Fiat, after watching an HBO doccie on his dazzlingly glamorous life.

His father died in a plane crash when Gianni was just 14 years old. Thereafter he was raised by his grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, who founded Fiat SpA (an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino) in 1899. When the plant opened in 1900, a staff of just 35 made 24 cars in the first year of operation.

By the end of WW1, Fiat was the third-most successful industrial company in Italy. Unfortunately Agnelli Snr became a pal of dictator Mussolini and was appointed as a senator for Benito’s National Fascist Party in 1923. This alliance would come back to burn him badly.

By the end of WW2, with much of Italy (which had fought on the side of the Nazis) in ruins, Giovanni Agnelli was accused of collaborating with Mussolini’s fascist regime. As punishment he was temporarily denied ownership of all his companies including Fiat. His grandson, (my crush) Gianni, would go to great lengths to clear his grandfather’s name.

Giovanni was finally acquitted of collaboration when it came to light that Fiat had in fact played a significant role in supplying vehicles and petrol to the Italian resistance, but the stress had affected him badly. Before he died, broken-spirited, in December 1945, he told his grandson, Gianni, “Don’t go straight into Fiat.” He advised him to rather “enjoy life” while Fiat’s managing director, Vittorio Valletta, ran the ship. And so play, Gianni did.

The poster for the HBO documentary, Agnelli. (Image: HBO)

For the next two decades Fiat’s heir apparent lived a jet-set life oozing with wealth and glamour. In the doccie, which shows vintage footage and interviews with people such as Henry Kissinger and fashion designer Valentino, Gianni’s love for fast cars, high-risk adventure and beautiful women is brilliantly documented. Ruggedly handsome, highly intelligent and disarmingly charming, the cultured trendsetter was much loved both in Italy and abroad.

His reputation as an international playboy seemed to increase his popularity. He married a Florentine beauty, Marella di Castagneto, but over the years had a long line of mistresses including actresses Anita Ekberg and Rita Hayworth and allegedly had an affair with then US First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

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When he finally became the head of Fiat in 1966, he steered the company to new heights to become one of the major car manufacturers in Europe. However in the 1970s Fiat was plunged into crisis when a wave of labour unrest and a recession swept across Italy. The Red Brigade, a terrorist organisation, kidnapped high-profile businessmen including Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro, who was held hostage for 54 days before his bullet-riddled body was found in the boot of a car.

In the 1980s Gianni, fondly nicknamed L’Avvocato (The Lawyer) because of his law degree, managed to steer Fiat Automobile back onto a winning trajectory. Unofficially crowned the King of Italy, Agnelli would play a significant role in the rebirth of Italy’s economy.

At the heart of the company’s resurgent success was the legendary Fiat 500, first launched in 1936 as the Fiat 500 Topolino. Gianni himself drove one although he sneakily added a Ferrari engine into the tiny two-door hatch and was often seen racing daredevilishly through the narrow streets of Turin.

The legendary Fiat 500F. (Photo: Stellantis)

And so two-thirds through watching the Agnelli doccie last week, I was excited to get behind the wheels of the refreshed Fiat 500X, a crossover high-riding version of the tiny 500, at its Gauteng national launch.

With crossovers accounting for a massive 20% of the total South African car market, Fiat SA (now part of the Stellantis Group) needs to wager its 500X in this segment where competitors such as the VW T-Cross and the Hyundai Kona are gobbling a significant slice of the pie. You'll also see the likes of the Mini Countryman, the Mazda CX-30 and Peugeot 2008 vying for market share.

First launched in 2015, the latest 500X clearly resembles its smaller Fiat 500 sibling by way of design, but it actually shares the same platform with Stellantis’ stablemate, the Jeep Renegade. The updated 500X can be distinguished from its predecessors by its revised front grille and lighting design, while a bold 500 badge replaces the Fiat logo.

The 500X's badge is boldly displayed on the front grille. (Photo: Stellantis)

Available in a 1.4-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, with peak outputs of 103kW/230Nm and a six-speed automatic transmission, there are three models in the current line-up.

First up is the Fiat 500X Cross with its 18-inch wheels, a full set of LED headlamps and LED fog lights as well as roof rails and skid plates. The mid-range 500X Sport is more upmarket with 19-inch wheels, Sport badging and dual chrome exhaust tips. In the cabin, the 500X Sport is kitted out in techno leather, a titanium-styled finish on the dashboard and a nifty Alcantara leather steering wheel. The top-of-the-range 500X Sport EST has the bonus of an extended soft top. The large canvas roof opens pretty much the entire length of the cabin with a single touch and goes down in just 15 seconds while on the move up to 100km/h.

The launch route outside Johannesburg at times put the 500X under a lot of pressure – with it having to contend with severely potholed roads. There was plenty of sudden swerving but thankfully I found the steering responsive when rapid moves needed to be executed to avoid damaging rims. Overall the drive was solid and well planted with minimal road noise on tarred surfaces. Where the 500X excels is in its safety systems. Six airbags come as standard, facilitating Active Crash Protection, for the driver and all the passengers. There’s also Lane Assist, which activates a warning when veering off course and then corrects the steering back into the lane, and of course there’s the usual ABS, Electronic Stability Control and Hill-holder, which helps with tricky uphill pull-offs. Fuel consumption is impressive at around 6L/100km.

The 500X's 7" infotainment display screen. (Photo: Stellantis)

I, however, found the 7-inch infotainment touchscreen on the small side after recently driving a string of vehicles like the VW Amarok and BMW 7 Series, which host massive tablet-like screens, and in the new 500X lanky rear-seat passengers might also feel a bit squashed for legroom.

On the flight back to Cape Town I watched the end of the Agnelli doccie. I found the part achingly sad where his son Edoardo, a deeply troubled heroin addict and clearly a great disappointment to his father, committed suicide by jumping off a 60m-high bridge in Turin.

Less than three years later in 2003, a heartbroken Gianni would die of prostate cancer at the age of 81. Italy went into mourning and more than 10,000 people attended his unofficial state funeral in Turin. The words Gianni’s niece Diane von Furstenberg remained in my mind long after my plane touched ground:

"Every woman was in love with him, every man wanted to be him.”

Pricing

Fiat 500X Cross R509,900

Fiat 500X Sport R560,900

Fiat 500X Sport EST R580,900

The Fiat 500X is sold with a five-year/100,000km warranty, five years’ roadside assistance and a three-year/60,000km service plan. DM

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