Forgotten prototypes: Fiat Marrakech Concept (2003)

This Panda is part convertible, part all-terrain vehicle with four-wheel drive

By: Alberto Carmone

Mar 9, 2024 at 6:18am ET

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Throughout its history, the Fiat Panda has undergone numerous and unusual changes and adaptations. But this design study, which the manufacturer presented under the name Fiat Marrakech at the 2003 motor show in Barcelona, is somehow quite crazy, even for the Panda series. It is in fact a tiny convertible with all-wheel drive for the beach promenade or desert dunes.

From the city to the countryside

The Marrakech, dedicated to the Moroccan city of the same name, confirms the proportions of the Panda of those years. With a length of 3.57 metres, a width of 1.61 metres, a height of 1.48 metres and a wheelbase of 2.30 metres, this very yellow Fiat has the right dimensions for narrow city streets.

The concept features some particularly interesting solutions compared to normal off-the-shelf convertibles. For example, the low, windowless doors and the tubular supports that protect the passengers, they are reminiscent of the Jolly beach cars of the 50s and 60s based on the Fiat 500, and then there is the all-wheel drive.

This is a system with a viscous coupling, which is intended to provide grip even in difficult conditions - without obviously overdoing it. The technology and engines of the Fiat concept are not known and the technical data only mentions a satellite navigation system and the Dualogic automatic transmission.

The heritage

Today, such a concept may seem completely comical, but for the time it was not such a daring experiment. Small convertibles were quite popular at the time and competitors such as Citroën, Peugeot, Opel or Nissan presented equally interesting models.

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Just think of the C3 Pluriel, the 206 CC, the Tigra TwinTop or the Micra CC. All vehicles based on small cars that have been transformed into charming cabriolets. A segment that has long since disappeared, not least due to the current market situation.