The English love the concept of "what if", uchrony, which allows us to imagine alternative histories. Imagine the fantasy: Lancia doesn't replace FIAT in the World Rally Championship in the early 80s. The 131 Abarth was still going strong, but Audi revolutionized rallying with the Quattro. Then Peugeot arrived with its little 205, demonstrating the benefits of small cars in terms of weight and agility. Fiat had to react and, against all expectations, abandoned the Ritmo Abarth in favor of a Group B Panda!
This delirium is not far removed from what the unique project unveiled by M-Sport in 2021 represents: Panda by M-Sport. A radical Fiat Panda 4×4 prepared for rallying. The real Panda, thanks to its famous 4×4 version, has had its share of rally-raid preparations, but never in such an extreme way.
When you think of M-Sport, you tend to think of Fords. The RS Cosworth, Focus WRC, Fiesta RS WRC and Puma Rally 1, not to mention the R2/R5, have been rolling out of the workshops of Malcolm Wilson's company since 1997. The Panda 4×4 project, however, presented an entirely different challenge: building a bespoke vehicle for a customer. This Pandamonium was in fact the first avatar of the new M-Sport Special Vehicles department, designed to produce made-to-measure vehicles.
Ford Fiesta Panda
The Panda by M-Sport began life as a standard Fiat Panda shell. The engineering team took the foundations of a Fiesta R5 Mk1 as its starting point, the most successful customer competition car ever produced by M-Sport. The original Panda shell was carefully widened by 360 mm and 12.6 cm was added to the wheelbase to enable it to fit the Fiesta chassis; this provides a more stable platform for cornering performance.
To avoid overloading the Panda's original shape, aggressive wheel arches have been sculpted and fitted, with the added effect of giving the car an extreme Group B look, somewhat in the vein of the 205 T16 Evolution 2 or the MG Metro 6R4. It's square, cubic, it doesn't turn the rustic Panda into a supermodel, but it's deliciously too much. Obviously, there's no FIRE engine under the hood, but a 1.6-liter Ford EcoBoost engine, producing 300 hp and 450Nm of torque thanks to a five-speed sequential Sadev transmission, coupled to custom front and rear differential units.
Vintage look, but modern rally car kit
The Panda by M-Sport perfectly combines old and new. The interior features a dashboard inspired by early Fiat Panda models, but with all the modern necessities: six-point harness, FIA-approved roller cage surrounding driver and co-driver, OMP bucket seats and harness, snap-off steering wheel with digital screen and touch controls, digital instrument cluster, sequential gearshift and hydraulic handbrake.
The running gear has been upgraded with Reiger 3-way adjustable suspension, AP Racing braking and 18″ wheels that make those on the original Panda look like shopping-cart wheels. Like all modern rally cars, the rear seat bench has been removed to make way for spare wheel storage, while the rear hatch now features a neatly embossed "PANDA 4×4" badge, in homage to the original model. The short video belowis a must-see!
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