Filed under: Economy, Sedans/Saloons, Geneva Motor Show
Fiat Abarth 500 makes a comeback!
According to U.K. mag Auto Express, Fiat's new 500, due for a 2007 launch, is getting the Abarth treatment in a high-performance version of the new minicar.
The new Fiat Abarth, shown in the sketch above, has the trademark monster fender flares of the original Abarth 500, covering wider wheels and a stiffer suspension. The new car is said to be powered by a 150-hp, 1.4-liter turbo, capable of pulling the car from 0-60 mph in around 8 seconds. The Abarth version will debut alongside the Fiat 500 at the Geneva Motor Show.
Compare it to the original Fiat Abarth 500 after the jump!
Austrian-born tuner Carlo Abarth became famous for his hot rod Italian cars, producing several variants of the diminutive Fiat 500. The artist's sketches of the new Fiat Abarth carry the 695 model number, the same as Abarth's top-of-the-line pocket rocket in the early '60s. In the race-ready 695SS version, the 500's air-cooled two cylinder engine was bored out to 689cc and fitted with Weber carbs, a high-capacity aluminum oil sump (undoubtedly to help cool the engine!), and a "stinger" exhaust. In street-legal trim, the 695SS put out a ground-pounding 38 hp, but race versions could make more than (gasp!) 55 hp. A small car, but huge fun!
[Sources: Auto Express, ultimatecarpage.com forum]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Doogs 3:27PM (4/28/2006)
Sweet!
Of course, the chances of ever seeing it in the US are about, what, 0.000%?
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bloggaru 3:37PM (4/28/2006)
return of the small cars! love it
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Tim UF 3:41PM (4/28/2006)
little dune buggy, in the sand...
little dune buggy, in my hands...
or not, damn the brits for having small cars well never see...
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Scott Eaton 3:53PM (4/28/2006)
I've never seen "sport" and "cute" collide so well before! I likes it.
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Gardiner Westbound 4:04PM (4/28/2006)
The Fiat Abarths were the most fun you could have in a car with your clothes on. Abarth souped-up, the stone-age term for a tuner, a very tiny Fiat Topolino (called the 500 here) and turned it loose. How small were they? A VW Beetle looked like a limo!
It was more about sports car noise and the feeling of speed than speed itself. The Fuller Brush man's Ford 6-cylinder business coupe with a three-on-the-tree would probably out-drag it, but it didnt sound like it. At 30 mph a Fiat Abarth sounded like a Japanese super bike in first gear at 9,000 rpm.
Unfortunately, like all Fiats, they were biodegradable and had the mechanical longevity of a fruit fly.
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CoffeeJedi 4:17PM (4/28/2006)
finally MINI has some real competition!
(seriously, what else is there? VW Beetle?)
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Peter Reynolds 4:18PM (4/28/2006)
I think there's room in the car market for another small retro car.
My first car was a 1969 Bambina (that's what we called them). I couldn't afford a used mini. It was great around town, and had a cool canvas sunroof, but I never drove it on the highway. Too slow.
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moerenhout guy 4:19PM (4/28/2006)
it good that fiat return to his roodts,small and fast
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hooper 4:33PM (4/28/2006)
Well with gas prices what they are and the general move to look down on hummers, maybe we could start to talk about getting rid of the idiot bumper requirments that forced (along with smog pumps and other non electronic engine management items) a lot of producers to begin to lose money and escape the US market.
drop your congressman a line to say mini cars should be exempt... and see what Ford and GM do with their pucker power...
Course... denny hastert will continue to drive his 4 MPG land barge after driving up in the hybrid for the photo opp.... ****HEAD
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matt 4:45PM (4/28/2006)
awwwwww
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Doogs 5:15PM (4/28/2006)
"7. I think there's room in the car market for another small retro car."
I do, too. Problem is, Mini was able to piggyback on BMW for a distribution channel. Fiat would...what, exactly?
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Dirk Dundenburg 5:38PM (4/28/2006)
I like it. Looks like the lovechild of a Beetle and a Mini. Give it a CRD diesel, say 100hp and 160 lbs/ft torque and you'll be looking at over 60 mpg with a faster 0-60 than the gasser.
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digi01 6:37PM (4/28/2006)
ahh,, the cinquecento. I love these. So much so that I was looking to try and get one here in the states, but it is nearly impossible. Meanwhile, tons of these still buzz around italy in that really beautiful vintage cream/khaki color that only vespas and fiat 500's look good in.
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Adam Singer 7:38PM (4/28/2006)
Wow, that rendering looks amazing. I would buy one of those ASAP if only the sold them in NA.
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Charles 7:49PM (4/28/2006)
Isnt Fiat partnering with Ford to export these to the US? http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0509/11/autos-309605.htm
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Bob Zeliff 8:27PM (4/28/2006)
Great
Years ago while stationed in Italy I had a cinque cento (sp??) with Arbarth Exhaust ( straight pipes with fat section).
This picture captures the essence. Let my wife have the Mini, this is better
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FredF 8:43PM (4/28/2006)
I hope it makes it to this shore via Ford but if they don't ... just buy a Fiat 500 from Europe and make your own Abarth with parts that are easy to get and very inexpensive! Fun to drive, babe magnet, great gas milage, inexpensive. Where is the downside?
Heres a photo of the one I brought over from Holland last year:
http://tinyurl.com/nyuaz
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Campisi 9:16PM (4/28/2006)
Ever since I received my first car (which I still drive), I have used it as a benchmark to rate other cars against. Sadly, this post just proves that pretty much every single car on the planet can now outperform my car, with its 105 HP 1.8l 7AFE engine.
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bobdobbs 9:40PM (4/28/2006)
I'd sell my MINI for this in a second.
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Stoneman 10:20PM (4/28/2006)
Wow! Return of the micro-micro hot hatch. I like it. Now add another 100 bhp and make it AWD, and you got my attention.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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