Fiat Grizzly: New model pushes Fiat a little further upmarket

The first images and details about the new Fiat Grizzly have been revealed at the Stellantis investors conference, where the company revealed a product onslaught and the return of the Citroen 2CV.

While the Grizzly may be less hotly anticipated than the return of the famous 2CV nameplate, the bear-themed SUV will play an important role in growing the Fiat lineup, both numerically and in terms of physical size.

Currently the European Fiat range is biased towards to small city cars, and is limited to the 3.6m 500, 3.65m Panda, 4.0m Grande Panda, and 4.17m 600. The brand’s largest model on the Continent is the van-based Ulysse people mover.

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The Grizzly will be available in two body styles: a conventional (and more practical) SUV, and a ‘coupe SUV’ with a fastback rear end.

Judging from the images revealed at the conference, the Grizzly is closely related to the 4.4m-long Opel Frontera and Citroen C3 Aircross, but possibly a little shorter.

If that’s the case, it could possibly fill the space between them and the related Grande Panda. The Frontera and C3 Aircross are available with seven seats, while the Grande Panda is strictly a five-seat offering. It’s unclear how many people the Grizzly will accommodate.

Like the Grande Panda, C3 Aircross and Frontera, the Grizzly is based on the Stellantis Smart Car Platform, which supports petrol, mild hybrid, and electric drivetrains. Although no drivetrain details have been released so far, it’s probably safe to assume the Grizzly’s powertrains will be shared with the Opel Frontera and Citroen C3 Aircross.

The C3 Aircross and Frontera are available with a 48V mild hybrid that has a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol at its core, and which is tune to make either 81kW or 107kW. A 74kW entry-level version of the 1.2-litre engine without hybrid assistance is also available on the C3 Aircross.

Electric variants have an 83kW electric motor driving the front wheels, and a 44kWh battery pack for a WLTP range rating of around 400km.

The production version of the Grizzly SUV and ‘coupe’ are expected to make their debut at 2026 Paris motor show in October. If so, it will have to share some of the limelight with the concept version of the second-generation Citroen 2CV.

The Grizzly and 2CV are two of the 60 new cars Stellantis plans to launch between now and 2030 as part of its FaSTLAne 2030 turnaround plan.

The electric 2CV is due to go into production in 2028, and will be accompanied by a Fiat sibling that replaces the third-generation Panda that was launched way back in 2011.

In addition to these models, the Netherlands-based automaker has revealed its model plans for the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge brands.

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