Hi!

Since my girlfriend got her panda, i am a total fiat nut! I am very interested to buy a barchetta for my bimmer next summer, but i am afraid to be to "large" for this kind of car. I only know the metric system, but i am 196cm tall. Is this to much for this beautiful car? I hope not, because this is one of my absolutly dream cars.

Please feel free to tell me the truth

Bye, Wolfy

Hi

Barchettas are not designed for anyone over the 6ft ish size as the seats don't go back that far, My friend is 6.ft 2" which is slightly smaller than you and fits ok, the thing is you have to have the seat upright and as far back as possible, not the best driving position. if your big wasted then again you may struggle.
Sorry I am imperial!

If you can fit into an MX5 then you can fit into a Fiat B.

Where do you live?, maybe some one on here lives near and can let you sit in one.

Suprising what a shuffle can do.

Thanks a lot Nino!

I live in Klosterneuburg, thats next to Vienna - would be much luck if anyone here isn´t far away. Unfortunatly i never sit in an roadster of this format before - but i am not very optimistic. I am afraid the MX5 will be to small for me too - from the outside i guessed, that the B is a little bit bigger to sit in than the MX5.

1 year ago i had a student job - i was driving cars for a famous car rental company. I BMW Z4 was nearly impossible for me - ok, i could drive it, but i would never buy it. The (old) Mercedes SLK was the perfect car for me - no problems at all. It is very hard for me, that i can´t fit into my dream cars. Weight is not the problem, i would describe me as a normal person in this aspect - but unfortunately me legs seem to be very long.

I can´t understand why i fit in any small car (perfect in the panda) but have no chance in real dream cars.

Is the Barchetta still produced? If yes, i visit a dealer even if i planed to buy a second or third hand one.

Anyway - mille grazie for giving notice to my problems and taking it serious.

Thank you!

Bye, Wolfy

Wolfy, It sounds like you've had everybodys dream student job! The barchetta is still in production (although I'm not sure for how much longer), except that FIAT may have gone on holiday for the summer.

By the sounds of it you are very tall, you should try and find a dealer who has a barchetta you can test drive, usually fiat are quite good on leg room (so I am told) so you might have a pleasent surprise!

The Barchetta is very much in production, however they have only produced 51,000 or so since 1995, they limit the sale of them as Fiat do not believe they will sell many, WHY????????

They are hand made By Magora in Italy. In the UK it's hard to find a good one, best place is Germany, they are much cheaper there.

In the Uk Fiat B's have been the lowest selling car for the past 3yrs, 5 brand new ones last year. People rarly buy new. Second hand ones have the problems sorted out, Fiat's do fall apart if you don't look after them.

SIZE - Bigger than the MX5 but not much, the seat sits higher but you may be looking over the windscreen...

Let us know what you decide, good luck.

I've heard a rumor (autocar magazine) that FIAT may be stopping producing them at the end of the month, but you'd have thought they'd have said something by now, and considering the plant has already shut down for the summer, it would be an odd time to do it.

Hello Alex and Nino!

Thanx a lot for your answers! My student job was not bad, right - i also drove other great cars like Jaguar, Mercedes S-Class and if only for 5 minutes a Maserati 4200!

I really hope to fit in it - if i fit in, it will become actually next year because i sell my BMW this summer and save money by sharing the Panda with my girlfriend.

The market for B´s is great in Austria - Austrians like Italy because it is a good neighbour and therefor buy also their cars. At the moment i could buy 4-5 B´s @ around 7000 Euros in my region.

Thanx a lot and i will give feedback, if i find time to sit a B!

Bye, Wolfy

I'm 186 cm tall & I have absolutely no problem sitting in my barchetta.