Fiat Seicento Sporting | Spotted
City cars are cool again - and nobody does small and speedy like the Italians
So small, light, modestly powered cars appear to be making a battery-powered comeback. And that’s great news, especially when they look as funky as the current crop: electrification makes scooting around city streets a breeze, and seeing four-wheeled bonbons drive around is preferable to another tank-like SUV. Having a battery under the floor makes them more spacious than their footprint would suggest, too.
It's no real surprise that the French and Italians are leading the charge as far as titchy EVs go, because it’s a niche that they’ve always done so well. Alongside the Mini, of course. We surely all have stories from a misspent youth in a Citroen, Fiat, Renault or Peugeot, driving a sweet little city car much harder than it ever should have been. It’s nice to know that future generations will get (almost) the same opportunity in cars like the new 2CV, a 500e or a Twingo.
But as we know, the original city car pioneers are collectable classics, be they a Mini, a Fiat 500 or a Citroen 2CV. Because they were so innovative, so stylish and so popular, those that remain are highly prized. So what to do if you want some continental city car chic for less? Simple - you buy the less highly prized one.
Behold the Fiat Seicento Sporting. Not as well known as a Fiat 500, not even as well known as the Cinquecento that preceded it (or the Panda which came after), the Seicento is nonetheless the quintessential Italian city car: small, light, simple, a hoot to drive and potentially written off by a brush with a food waste bin.
These were never meant to last. Even by turn-of-the-century standards, the Seicento was a cheap and cheerful proposition, with minimal concessions to driver safety or convenience. But that didn’t matter, because that’s not what these things are about. It was about getting from A to B as fast as you dared, scrubbing off as little speed as possible in the process.
For the Sporting, drivers were helped in that endeavour with a power boost to 55hp from the 1.1-litre FIRE four - the standard 900cc Seicento had just 40hp. Suspension was lower and anti-roll bars fitted, too, so there really was no excuse to lift. Ever. This one isn’t a Michael Schumacher special edition, though it is yellow, and it seems to have survived 23 years remarkably well given the original remit and half a dozen owners. Not perfectly, given the biff in the front bumper and a radio in a storage bin, but probably better than expected. With last year’s MOT gripes sorted for 2026, it’s now for sale at £3,495. Or not much more than a down payment on the current crop. And for making 30mph feel like 100, the Fiat will surely take some beating.
SPECIFICATION | FIAT SEICENTO SPORTING
Engine: 1,108cc, four-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 55
Torque (lb ft): 63
MPG: 43.5
CO2: 155g/km
Year registered: 2003
Recorded mileage: 57,000
Price new: £7,495 (1998)
Yours for: £3,495
Much safer too, at least 6 airbags.But this made the speedo under read.....she won two speeding tickets in a week!
It ended badly, she was T-boned by a taxi running a red light and 'er passenger grumbled about a sore back so the firemen chopped the roof off. I gave £500 for it and was happy when the insurer agreed on £575!
Anyhow £3500 is a joke, bet it's great but and a bit of nostalgia, however this is a sub £1k car.
An utterly utterly terrible car, in all respects, the main one being safety (or lack of). You read stories about how cars feel like they are flimsy, well this car is the definition of that, IMO borderline dangerous.
She kept it for just under a year and we replaced it with a 6mth old Lupo GTi, which was a world apart.
Whats going on with the front bumper fitment around the lights too? Looks like either its had a brush with an immovable object or that the bumper is off something totally different!?
I regarded it as sure-footed rather than flimsy. It had funky red seat belts as well. I forget how many miles we did in it, but I do recall doing a booze-cruise in it and passing a Cavalier SRi on the M20.
It was a refreshing alternative to my 911SC and 325i Cabrio which were garaged and used primarily as summer cars.
What puzzles me about the safety issue, however, is that people always say that about cars like this, while ignoring that same reality when it comes to a wide variety of classics. (Is it just because they've seen the crash test results of these?)
We used to go to Maccys in one of these, 4 up on sixth form lunch breaks. The performance being blunted somewhat by four lads meant it wasn't the speed that was likely going to kill us, it was literally anything else on the road including mopeds hitting us. Thankfully all good.
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