Intended perhaps as a rival to the Mini Crossover, Fiat is rumoured to be considering a version of its upcoming Giardiniera wagon - essentially a stretched Fiat 500 - equipped with a four-wheel-drive system borrowed from the Fiat Panda 4x4.

While there has been talk of utilising a 'suicide door' system, it will likely not stick too closely to its legendary Giardiniera three-door wagon roots.

We can thus expect it to look somewhat different to the style of the incredibly tiny 1960 500 Giardiniera (above). True to the usual softroader look though, we can expect to see integrated roof racks and Subaru Outback-like exterior trimming.

It is also rumoured to feature the retractable canvas roof, made famous by its classic forebear, and also featuring on the upcoming 2010 Fiat 500C.

It is believed that Fiat is aiming to produce around 30,000 Giardiniera units per year, with a 2010 launch planned. If this is true, we should see some official news and images in the not-too-distant future.

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  Indian Autos Blog says,
  3 years ago

  this should be a good bet against the Mini Clubman. Wonder what else they can do with the Panda platform