Turin, Italy - Fiat's 500 minicar will be launched here on July 4, 2007, 50 years to the day after the launch of its predecessor in the same city, and will be in showrooms in Europe immediately afterwards.
South Africa, however, will have to wait until early 2008.
The 1957 500 was a symbol of Fiat's recovery after the Second World War and the company hopes the new version will underscore an equally crucial revival after its own recent financial woes.
The new 500 was developed by the Fiat style centre and will be built in the company's plant at Tychy in Poland. It's a very small, three-door hatchback - only 3.55m long, 1.65m wide and 1.49m high.
It will be available in Europe with a choice of three engines: a 55kW, 1.3-litre Multijet turbodiesel and two petrol engines, a 52kW 1.2-litre eight-valve and a 75kW, 1.4-litre 16-valve, each driving through either a five or six-speed manual gearbox.
No decision has yet been made as to which engines will be available in South Africa but Fiat SA is hoping to include in the line-up an as-yet-unspecified performance derivative.