The first series of Fiat Panda revolutionised the Italian industry and became one of the Italy’s legends.
The 4x4 Panda’s history started in 1983 when the Austrian company Steyr-Puch developed a four-wheel drive specially for the mini car.
The model released in June, 1983, was equipped with a 965 cmc engine developing 48 hp. The aesthetics of the Panda was completely refreshed in 1985.
In 1986, the 4x4 Panda got not only visual, but mechanical revisions as well. The engines were replaced by slightly bigger ones, a 769 cc with 34 hp instead of the old 1985 652 cc, and a 999cc with 50 hp instead of the 965 cc with 48 hp.
In April 1986, the Panda got a new 1301 cc engine developing 37 hp that was mated with a 5-speed manual transmission.
The body of the car was strengthened and also, due to their tendency to rust, Fiat decided to fully galvanise the models.
A van variant was also introduced in 1986, changes including removing the rear seats and replacing the rear windows with plastic blanking panels. To keep the car’s original shape, meaning minimising costs, the rear of the van had a black steel extension with side hinged doors.
The Panda 4x4 was designed for the people that lived or needed to go to rural areas in Italy that were not easily accessible.
The small segment car could be named the first Italian crossover with a 4x4 driving system, pretty much like the German’s Golf Country.