GARLENDA (AFP).- More than 1,200 Fiat 500s from across Europe revved into the Italian foothills on Saturday to mark the 60th birthday of the iconic little car.

The Italian classic took its first spin on July 4, 1957.

Eighteen years later, more than 4.2 million had rolled off the factory line. Production then took a 22-year break before the model was relaunched in 2007 with some modern tweaks, although it retained its traditional curves.

Since then some two million more Fiat 500s have been made, according to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

The birthday bash saw hundreds of the original models park in Garlenda, northwest Italy -- the 34th gathering of its kind, with demo events, talks and a parade for the participating cars.

A cheap city vehicle that proved enormously popular in post-war Europe, the Fiat 500 had its status as a design icon sealed this week when a 1968 original entered the collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

In Garlenda, a whole museum is devoted to the car.


© Agence France-Presse