2006 Fiat Croma

Fiat Croma 8V

The Croma 8V prototype was developed by Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro to honor Giovanni Agnelli, who was an enthusiast of the 1985 Croma model.

The Croma 8V is spacious and innovative and of stunningly high quality. The exterior design heralds the elegance of this high-performance car. The executive interior cradles passengers in an atmosphere of richness and refinement.

The low-slung second row seating makes access easier for passengers, who do not have to climb up or down but can slide comfortably into their seats. This solution stems in part from experience gained in designing the Maserati Buran concept car, a compact, luxury saloon created in 2000.

The Fiat Croma was produced from 1985 to 1996. The name was revived in 2005 and remains in production as a second generation vehicle. The original design was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro and built on the 'Type Four' chassis. This chassis was collaboration between several companies including Saab for their 9000, the Lancia Thema, and the Alfa Romeo 164. The Fiat was a large family car and served as a replacement for the Fiat Argenta. When production ceased in 1996, Fiat abandoned the large family car segment. The Fiat Marea served as the replacement for the Croma and targeted at the small family segment. The largest vehicle in Fiat's line at the time was the Tempra.

The second generation of the Croma is a cross-over wagon featuring styling by Giugiaro. The chassis is from General Motors and based on the Epsilon platform sharing components with the Opel Vectra and the Saab 9-3.

by Dan Vaughan