THE people involved in putting a new car through its paces made a series of refuelling stops in Wells – to fill up with pasta and pizza at Rugantinos restaurant.

The eatery at The Ancient Gatehouse, owned by Nick Rossi, provided lunch for national and regional journalists test-driving the updated Fiat 500X, along with the Fiat project team.

For three days in a row, a number of drivers set off from Bristol and made their way to Wells where they had a two-hour meal-break at Rugantinos before heading back to Bristol.

Rugantinos chefs Peter Grafton and Sami Hanchi created dishes to order for the lunch guests – and even designed a table centre-piece pizza topped with the word 'Fiat', which earned an appearance in The Sun's motoring section.

"We can't have a Fiat launch without going to an Italian restaurant. This has a great heritage and does genuine Italian food. It's the perfect Italian restaurant for an Italian car brand," said Fiat PR director Kate Saxton.

Nick said: "We were honoured that Fiat decided to use Rugantinos as the venue for their launch. It was a pleasure and a lot of fun catering for the Fiat team and their guests. There were journalists from What Car?, Auto Express and Auto Trader to name just a few. The feedback we had from the MD and the head of Fiat's PR team was awesome – the best pizza and pasta they have had outside of Italy."

The Fiats were parked on Cathedral Green during the stops in Wells.

The 500X is a bigger version of the best-selling 500. Originally launched in 2015, the latest version has adjustments to the exterior and a new choice of engines.

• Picture: Nick Rossi, right, and fellow Rugantinos team members Jon Rossi, Sami Hanchi and, in front, PJ next to a table of food prepared for the Fiat guests