Supernova!

The original Fiat Panda enjoyed a remarkably long production run, as 23 years went by between its launch in March of 1980 and September of 2003. At first glance, it may seem the Panda hardly changed over all those years, but appearances can be deceiving.

Matteo Licata
Roadster Life
Published in
3 min readAug 11, 2021

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Fiat Panda
The refreshed 1986 Panda (c. Stellantis Emea Press)

1986 was a landmark year in the Panda’s long run, as the original model was superseded by a substantially redesigned one known as “Supernova,” although that name was never used commercially.

The rear section of the floorpan was redesigned, as the cart springs of the original gave way to the so-called “Omega axle” for improved comfort and stability. The front suspension and steering components maintained the original layout but, like the “Omega axle” itself, were mainly shared with the Autobianchi Y10, presented in 1985. At this point, though, it’s worth mentioning that only the front-wheel-drive Pandas received the new rear suspension design, while the 4x4 carried on with its live axle and cart springs until the end of production.

Lancia Y10
The updated Panda shared the Y10’s underpinnings (c. Stellantis Emea Press)

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Matteo Licata
Roadster Life

I’ve been obsessed with cars for as long as I remember and, after working in automobile design for a decade, now I’m a lecturer, a published author, a YouTuber