Picture it — Bologna, Italy, December 2011. You make your way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and also you’re auto show sure. You push past the crowds that used to swarm auto shows, and walk as much as the Fiat booth. You see essentially the most powerful version of the updated Punto hatchback, and see something unusual. No, not the unique matte yellow paint with metal flake in it, though that does look nice. Do those seats say “born this manner”? They sure do. Fiat produced a “Born This Way” special edition of its then-new Punto that it insisted wasn’t inspired by Lady Gaga’s impregnable anthem “Born This Way,” which was conveniently released earlier that yr.
Fiat claimed that its Punto Born This Way concept was created by the Fiat Style Center to showcase the brand new Punto’s decisive, passionate and magnetic spirit. Sure, Fiat. No person would need to capitalize on the pop star’s feel-good anthem of the yr, arguably of the last decade. Articles written in regards to the Punto Born This Way concept from 2011 stress that the special edition was not related to Lady Gaga, though they cited the ironic timing of the 2 uses of the phrase.
It had performance, power, and polarizing style
The Fiat Punto Born This Way show automotive featured essentially the most powerful engine that Fiat had planned for the Punto on the time of reveal, a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbo 4 that produced 135 horsepower and about 152 pound-feet of torque. That is not particularly polarizing, but its details sure were. The Born This Way special edition was shroud in a bespoke combination of Fiat’s “to the touch” matte yellow paint that also contained metal flake to make it sparkle. It also had a contrasting gloss black roof, door handles, and 17-inch alloy wheels in addition to a custom B-pillar design.
The true Born This Way influence is clear on the show automotive’s interior where parts of the dashboard and the middle portion of the seat upholstery were emblazoned with “Born This Way” messaging in distressed yellow and grey block letters. Fiat called it “InkLeather” upholstery and justifies its distressed appearance as a “lived-in” effect. No matter its justification, the pattern also featured words including provocative, irreverent, open minded, daring, and iconic.
Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” was an anthem encouraging radical self-acceptance, no matter your perceived flaws and/or unique traits. Details in regards to the 2011 Fiat Punto Born This Way edition are slim, but it surely doesn’t appear like it ever made its strategy to production. I’m not mad that it didn’t get produced; while I just like the paint color and the ‘high performance’ powertrain, the inside is a bit gauche. I ponder what known automotive enthusiast Lady Gaga thinks about it.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
