Outside, the new feature reflects all the brawn of the Ducati Monster, with its distinctive black livery and other black painted styling features: side strips, mouldings, roof bars, air intakes - and also the headlight and tail-light frames. The rear windows, rear screen and the quarterlight are also dark. The grille and bumper shield are metal coloured while the mean-looking alloys offer a glimpse of gold-painted brake callipers beneath. The same sporty look is evident inside the car, where the upholstery is in black leather and Alcantara Starlight.

Altogether, Fiat Panda Monster is a quintessential expression of the best Italian design. So much so that Fiat decided to change its traditional marketing approach, as you can see from the websites www.pandamonster.fiat.it and www.pandamonster.fiat.com, where customers can see a photo gallery, find out about the vehicle's technical specifications and view the car inside, courtesy of film clips and animations. Interested potential customers may then book a visit with their nearest dealership by filling in a form to request more information. Interested customers are then contacted by the dealer and can then visit a showroom to find out about the new car in detail and learn the on-the-road price (the negotiations are confidential).



Permanent four wheel drive

To meet the needs of customers with different needs and tastes, including the growing numbers of customers who love adventure and an open-air life, all Panda 4x4 cars are fitted with a permanent four wheel drive system with two differentials and a viscous coupling. With this system, the four wheel drive is engaged automatically (i.e. without requiring any engagement by the driver) and allows outstanding drive torque distribution over the front and rear axle according to the road surface and vehicle application requirements. For example, on asphalt roads with normal grip, 98% of drive torque is directed to the front wheels so that the car can behave in a similar way to a front wheel drive vehicle with equally satisfying handling. It also provides excessive fuel and tyre consumption due to small differences in rotating speed between the front and rear wheels.

If the road surface becomes slippery - and grip is reduced - the front drive wheels tend to skid but the viscous coupling immediately corrects this tendency by stiffening and progressively transmitting a rising drive torque percentage to the rear end to cancel out the skid. This torque transfer is not perceptible to the driver except as an outstanding ability to get out of trouble, e.g. on snow-covered, icy or muddy surfaces.

The Fiat Panda 4x4 is also equipped with an antislip system that operates during deceleration by exploiting the potential of the ABS system (i.e. making use of the sensors that record wheel rpm) and the electronic engine control system to prevent the engine braking torque and the viscous coupling from causing the rear end to lock during sudden decelerations on downhill slopes or on bends. Together with the four wheel drive system, this system ensures great driving safety over slippery surfaces. For the first time in the Panda 4x4 range, this vehicle is fitted as standard with an electronic differential lock with LD (Locking Differential) function that acts at speeds below 30 km/h to brake slipping wheels and transfer torque to the other wheels on the same axis: on take-off, for example, and over snowy, icy or muddy roads - and on all occasions when the wheels do not grip to the same extent.

Lastly, FIAT Panda 4x4 drive system makes full use of the viscous coupling that forms an integral part of the rear differential unit. The advantage of this configuration is that the drive system is engaged in a relatively immediate, automatic fashion to offer traction and effort when difficult road surface conditions make this necessary. Now it is time to take a closer look at the way a viscous coupling works. The devices contain a set of perforated or slightly finned discs submerged in a viscous fluid with very specific properties: as the temperature rises, fluid viscosity increases. When the two driven axles slip, they stir up this fluid and cause its temperature to increase. As soon as the temperature rises, the fluid becomes more viscous and tends to drag the discs together and transmit drive torque to the rear axle. This is a striking, clever piece of engineering because the oil acts as a sensor, i.e. it detects the presence of slip between the axles by its temperature - and also as an actuator because it tends to counteract the slipping effect by increasing its viscosity.

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