Fiat Oltre Unveiled: Hummer Gets a Rival From an Unlikely Source
Date posted: 12-01-2005



BOLOGNA, Italy — Ever since Iveco, the commercial vehicle arm of Italian carmaker Fiat, introduced its new LMV (Light Multirole Vehicle) military off-roader, the creation of a civil version was an open secret. And now it is official: Fiat unveiled its Oltre concept car at the Bologna Motor Show.

The Fiat Group is no stranger to the military off-roader. Back in the early 1950s, Alfa Romeo produced the Matta for the Italian army, while Fiat manufactured the Campagnolo for both civil and military use from 1951 through 1973.

The Oltre is huge, especially for a vehicle with the Fiat nameplate: 191.7 inches long, 80.7 inches wide, and 86.6 inches tall, with an impressive 19.7 inches of ground clearance. It looks rather Hummer-like but with a bit of Italian flair. It is powered by a 3.0-liter common-rail diesel engine with a variable-geometry turbocharger and intercooler, capable of 185 hp. The big number to notice, though, is the torque figure: a whopping 3,336 pound-feet at 1,800 rpm! One more technicality: the Oltre weighs 7 tons.

The five-seat monster off-roader comes equipped with 26-inch wheels and a sturdy four-wheel-drive system, so it is no wonder that it can climb even a 40-percent lateral gradient. When fitted with a special "breathing" system, the car can cross 5-foot-deep water, too.

What this means to you: After such grandiose vehicles as the Lamborghini LM002, and the Rayton-Fissore Magnum, Italy's best-known carmaker is really going for baroque here.

what's with the rear wheel wells? I really don't see the HUMMER competition...is the HUMMER portfolio even marketed in Europe?

It looks like the poodle version of an H2...all the parts you think would look better covered are shaved off. Akward, to say the least.

Cool! Fullscale Transformers!

I thought the Europeans were too good and intelligent for big, bulky, and gas guzzling SUVs. I guess if they make them, it's alright! I also find it funny that there is a demand for the 9-7x in Europe and soon they will be exporting them there. Isn't that vehicle inferior too? What is the world coming to? Hypocrites. The lot of them.

Why does this look strangely based off of the H2? Well, whatever, it looks hideous.

This isn't the first stab at HUMMER from Italy. Remember the Cog' T-Rex from 2000? Actually, thinking back to that truck, it was HUMMER based, I think. Except they blew the platform up to make that goliath even bigger. I'm serious, too. It could eclipse a damn H1. Anyhow, it carries the feel that it was made entire of Legos. Maybe it's the paint, I don't know. But I get the feel that it's patina is owned by a set of Star Wars Legos maodified to make a HUMMER knock-off. This will end up like the Lambo LM in Little Italy: DOA. But, there's a chance that this could be a sign that FIAT is re-entering the U.S. market with a HUMMER competitor to be sold at the U.S. Matserati dealers along with Alfa Romeo.

It is powered by a 3.0-liter common-rail diesel engine with a variable-geometry turbocharger and intercooler, capable of 185 hp. The big number to notice, though, is the torque figure: a whopping 3,336 pound-feet at 1,800 rpm!

WHAT?! :omfg:

That is insane!

kinda reminds me a little bit of the Lambo LM002

What the crap is that. Mexico meets Hummer. WTF?

WHAT?! :omfg:

That is insane!]

[post="52082"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

It is insane, it's only 336 lb-ft

you mean it's only 3360 lb-ft. The thing weighs 7 tons, it has to have that much torque.

whatever, it looks hideous.

[post="52040"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

+1