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Fiat recycles 23-yr-old Panda name for new car

MILAN, July 30 (Reuters) - The Panda returns.

Just five weeks before Fiat is due to unveil the small car it hopes will drive it back towards profit, the Italian automaker said on Wednesday it would rename the car the "Panda" after a spat with Renault .

Fiat had planned to call the sporty new car the Gingo but Renault complained it sounded too similar to its own entry-level Twingo and threatened to take Fiat to court.

Rather than risk a costly post-launch rebrand, Fiat has reverted back to Panda, the name of the 23-year-old box-on-wheels which has traditionally been Italians' cheap option for a city car that is super-economical on petrol.

"Sweet, easy to remember and strengthened by more than 20 years of success...the name Panda is part of Fiat's heritage," the 104-year-old car company said in a statement.

But the reaction on the street was not so positive.

"I had a Panda when I was 18 because it was cheap. That's not the message I want to send now I'm 30, even if I'm not much richer," said Alessandro, a barman in central Milan.

The old Panda is due to go out of production on September 5 to be replaced by the new one, which will be made in Poland and is due to be launched in Lisbon on September 1.