Subverting expectations is something the Fiat Panda has always done very well. Take the name, for starters: you might think that it’s named after a large bamboo-munching mammal, but in fact the moniker comes from Empanda, the Roman goddess and patroness of travellers. Furthermore, while you may have parked this boxy little treat firmly under the ‘retro’ heading, the badge has actually been in continuous production since 1980: first-generation cars like this one were available right up until 1995 in the UK (and continued in other markets until 2003); the second-gen came in for 2003 and the current Panda has been with us since 2011.
First-gen Pandas like this one have a fabulous honesty to them – it’s an exercise in how to make a functional motor car with seemingly the fewest possible parts, a masterclass in simplicity… and yet this doesn’t make them utilitarian or unremarkable. In fact, early Pandas have become something of a cult classic; a characterful playmate that you can’t help but admire. And there’s a reason why there are so many of them still plugging away in Italian vineyards and French farmyards – that ingrained simplicity means there are fewer things to go wrong. Indeed, it’s usually the rust that kills them, so if you can find a relatively rust-free one you’re surely onto a winner. And such a car that also has very, very few miles on the clock? Well, that’s a thoroughly attractive prospect.
This isn’t just any Fiat Panda… this is a Fiat Panda Dance. There were a number of interesting spec levels and special editions over the years, and the key identifying feature of the Dance is that it has some frankly astonishing seats. The vivid, brightly-hued seat fabric is so juicyfruit-fabulous it’s almost certainly leaching vitamin C right into your legs as you drive along. Furthermore, this car is the 900 spec, featuring the 903cc four-cylinder motor shared with the Fiat 127, and being a facelift model it has a galvanised body and improved rear suspension.
So we know that it was specced well by its original owner, and it’s evidently lived a fairly relaxed life as it’s showing a very low mileage which does appear to be genuine. Beyond that, not a huge amount is known of the Panda’s history, as it was purchased by the current owner as part of a collection from a deceased estate. It’s a case of ‘what you see is what you get’ – but what we’re seeing is really rather good: a rare variant of an increasingly obscure car, undamaged and unmodified, with low mileage and plenty of life in it. And best of all, it’s got those seats. They’d brighten up every journey, wouldn’t they?
The car comes with all of its original manuals in the correct Fiat wallet, including the two owner handbooks and the service guide. There’s also a recent receipt for a new starter motor at a cost of £258, and the current V5 is present in the file. The MOT is valid until September 2021.
The interior really is the Panda Dance’s party piece, looking like a pack of Starburst ambushing an Innocent smoothie in a Haribo factory. The seat fabric is fabulously vivid, with complementary red fabric trim on the dash and door-cards. There’s a hole in the fabric in the centre of the rear bench, and some wear on the side bolster on the driver’s seat, and the foam inside the driver’s seat base appears to have perished somewhat as it crumbles from the bottom when you tilt the seat forward, but it’s all worn remarkably well for a car that was sold almost thirty years ago at a budget price-point.
The rear pop-out windows work correctly and seal water-tight, and the dash dials are all working. The heater blows hot, the windows wind up and down well on their runners, and the door locks work correctly. The stereo is absent with the aperture disguised by a plastic fillet, but the dash-mounted speakers are still in place. The headlining is all intact, although it has perished a little with age.
Being a facelift model, this early-1990s Panda has a galvanised and strengthened body, meaning that it was markedly more resistant to corrosion than earlier models. As such, it’s not only remarkably straight and un-dented, it’s also largely un-blighted by body corrosion. Indeed, the body panels gleam rather magnificently thanks to the car having recently had a full repaint in its original shade of red. It’s not a perfect job (you’ll find overspray on the boot lock and rear wiper, and in one or two other places around the car), but more than presentable. The bumpers are in good condition, which isn’t always a given with Pandas as so many of them were used as knockabout city cars, and the window glass and mirrors are in good order. All of the lamp lenses are complete, save for a corner missing from the nearside rear cluster. The plastic cover is missing from the nearside door hinge, and there’s an errant metal hook peeping out from the lower edge of the bonnet above the Fiat badge, but aside from that it really is a very presentable little Panda. In fact, it’s becoming extremely rare to find a ’90s Panda as straight, solid and original as this.
The underside of the car does have a little corrosion visible in a few spots, and this is flagged as an advisory on the MOT, but we’ve certainly seen far worse on the underneath of a classic Fiat; something to keep an eye on for the future rather than to panic about imminently.
The 903cc four-pot is a characterful little buzz-box, eager to rev and with a surprisingly pleasing sound to it. The automatic choke holds it at quite a high idle when cold, although we’re advised that this is perfectly normal, and it does settle down to a more even idle once the engine’s warmed up. It runs very well and offers a lot of pep around town, while the transmission is reportedly as precise as you’d hope.
It is worth noting that the spare wheel is absent – you can see from the shape of the fittings on one side of the engine bay that it’s meant to live under the bonnet – but it shouldn’t be hard to source a replacement.
There don’t appear to be any fluid or oil leaks, and the car runs and drives very well – it starts, stops and corners without any undue noises or unexpected occurrences. These cars were built to be simple, frugal, reliable city runabouts, and that’s precisely what this Panda Dance is today.
Oh, it’s just so cute, isn’t it? Every passer-by stopped for a chat as we photographed this car, and the overriding theme was that everyone either used to have one years ago, or was ferried about in one as a youngster by their parents. It’s the nature of affordable utilitarian motoring that cars like this create emotional synaptic impressions in vast swathes of the populace. It’s also the nature of affordable utilitarian motoring that such cars are often viewed as disposable, and when they reach the end of their useful life and things start to break they get thrown away, which is why there are so few first-gen Pandas left on the UK’s roads today. So it’s rare indeed to find one with such low mileage and in such straight condition, and it’s really worth bearing in mind this baby Fiat’s key attraction: it’s not just a fun and quirky little car, it’s an emotional link to the past. That Smarties-hued interior is a portal to a simpler age.
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NO RESERVE! - 1992 Fiat Panda 900 ‘Dance’
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