The 62nd IAA at Frankfurt this September is all about ‘seeing what’s driving the future’ and Fiat does not disappoint with their Fiat Panda Aria Concept, with CO2 emission levels limited to 69 g/km. The concept uses a 80 bhp SGE 900cc Turbo twin-cylinder engine in combination with Fiat’s Multiair electronic inlet valve control system. The engine is capable of running on petrol and CNG (70% methane, 30% hydrogen).

The Multiair system controls air-inflow without the usual throttle valve resulting in an optmised combustion efficiency. This is achieved with an electrohydraulic valve activation system which inserts a certain amount of oil between the camshaft and engine inlet valve. There are three approaches, namely Early inlet valve closing, Late inlet valve opening and Multi-Lift which gives the engine enough options to pick the most economical one. Side extra is the fact that the air pressure upstream on the valves is always constant which results in undelayed torque response, increasing the ‘fun to drive’ factor on this ‘environmental manifesto’.

The Panda Aria comes with the Stop&Start system which saves approximately 10% of fuel consumption during city driving. Also, the car is made with eco-compatible materials (meaning recycled, recycable or natural materials) like cotton, linen, woven coconut fibre on the interior and semi-transparent eco-resin and opaque ‘totouch’ paint on the outside.

I can’t help but feel that Fiat should have spent some more time on designing the concept instead of resorting to a green Panda body.