Good Thinking

The SMEG 500 takes a Fiat bonnet, returns with retro styled Peroni chiller

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Unveiled in Paris, the SMEG 500 is collaborative tribute to the design partnership Fiat and SMEG held in the 1950s
SMEG 500 gets an A+ energy rating, three removal bottle holders, dedicated can shelf, and enough room for 100 liters of chilled Peroni
Unveiled in Paris, the SMEG 500 is collaborative tribute to the design partnership Fiat and SMEG held in the 1950s
Available in white, green or red, the SMEG 500 fridge can be ordered directly from Fiat starting this June
in the 1950s, Italy's "white goods" economy, saw company's like SMEG become an integral part of the Italian economy through the manufacture and sale of appliances, furniture, etc.
Design is based on late fifties Fiat 500, not current day versions
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Have you ever been sitting around watching that professional sporting event and wished you had a Fiat full of carbonated beverages. Or what about that road trip when you wished the space under the bonnet was stocked with cold drinks rather than the pesky 1.4 MultiAir engine? Turns out your dreams of an enhanced liquid refreshment environment may just come true thanks to the SMEG 500, a chilling collaboration between Italy’s Fiat and appliance manufacturer, SMEG.

Unveiled in Paris, the SMEG 500 collaboration is a tribute to the design partnership Fiat and SMEG held in the 1950s. In 1957 Fiat launched the very much small, very much iconic 500 in Turin. It was also about this time that Italy was transitioning from an agricultural state to a production economy in which furniture and white goods played an important role. This change was highly influential in building Italy's modern reputation as a design powerhouse.

So what better way to celebrate a half century of Italian design than to take the nose of a 1950s era Fiat 500 and transform it into a retrofied, auto-inspired refrigerator? The resulting cooler has an A+ energy rating, three removal bottle holders, dedicated can shelf, capacity for 100 liters of chilled Peroni and a bonnet.

Available in white, green or red, the SMEG 500 fridge can be ordered from June 2013, but there's no word as yet on price.

Product page: Fiat 500 design collection

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6 comments
f8lee
Feh... if they had used a Lambo or Ferrari front end I would be interested...sure, it would only hold 2 cans but boy I'd drink them fast!
shhiggins
SMEG? Really?! Was this named by the same marketing genius that gave us McDonalds McWrap?
Ed Campbell
Sounds to me like the name is from a Red Dwarf fan.
Gregg Eshelman
If a Green Bay Packers fans buy these, does that make them smegheads?
The Skud
Yay for Red Dwarf! I laugh every time I see that trade name in whitegoods adverts. Whatever the final price, I bet it would be cheaper - and a lot less smegging (sorry) space-wasting - to buy his-and-her bar fridges, cover them with matching wallpaper or faux fur fabric, and still have a few extra cartons of brewski in the garage to refill them.
BigGoofyGuy
I think that is really cool; pun intended. I love it.