 Around the time of the Panda's launch, Fiat set about developing a three-door city car to replace the Cinquecento.Driven by the tremendous success of the Smart Fortwo, especially in Italy, Fiat began examining a variety of small car concepts "to regain its small-car crown," — developing an "intense interest at producing a Smart (Fortwo) competitor" — and concluding that "most customers want more than just the Smart's two seats.