Fiat 500 enters MoMA's permanent design collection

The Fiat 500, the iconic Italian city car designed by Dante Giacosa, has been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The specific model acquired is a 500 F series, the most popular variant produced between 1965 and 1972 in over 4 million units. The car originally cost 465,000 lire and measured less than three meters in length, embodying post-war Italy's desire for freedom and independence. It won the Compasso d'Oro award in 1959 and was named Car of the Year in 2008. MoMA's Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, Martino Stierli, stated that the Fiat 500 is an icon of automotive history that changed car design and production forever, and that adding this 'everyday masterpiece' expands the museum's narrative of automotive design. The acquisition coincides with the 60th anniversary of the car's first production. Fiat brand chief Olivier François remarked that the car 'was never just a car.' The Fiat 500 is also currently available in a new 'Anniversario' edition, both as a sedan and a cabriolet, paying homage to the original model with a contemporary reinterpretation of its design cues from the Dolce Vita era.