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Paris Preview: Fiat Abarth 500 esse esse revealed
by Damon Lavrinc on Sep 22nd 2008 at 8:01PM 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse
The first official images of the production Fiat 500 Abarth esseesse (SS) have made their way onto the Web and as suspected, it's as racy as a hot hatch can get.
The esseesse is fitted with a full body kit consisting of a new front fascia, lower side skirts and a redesigned rear bumper housing a diffuser and pair of chrome exhaust tips, while 17-inch (?) wheels and a small spoiler round out the appearance package.
Inside, a set of bolstered buckets keep drivers planted in the bends and expect a revised IP, red trim and Abarth logos emblazoned into the dash. No engine specs have been released yet, but expect the turbocharged 1.4-liter to put around 160 hp through a six-speed manual before it reaches the front wheels through a Q2 Torsen C limited slip differential.
All the details will be revealed next week when we make the trek across the Atlantic to cover the Paris Motor Show. Stay tuned.
Gallery: Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse
[Source: Autoblog.it]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kumail891 8:06PM (9/22/2008)
looks a little over done...
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Rob 9:44AM (9/23/2008)
Agreed.
If it looked like the 1.4L sport with a lip spoiler, abarth badges and perhaps different wheels I'd be interested as opposed to now with the the splashes of color everywhere and over-the-top bodywork.
Brian 8:09PM (9/22/2008)
Looks F-in awesome! I want one
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geo.stewart 9:04AM (9/23/2008)
agreed. looks awesome.
Is the 500 turning into a Euro mustang, with all the variants available? Except no one here is complaining about that.
Corey L 8:16PM (9/22/2008)
ey vato... check out my esseesse, ese...
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Travis 8:23PM (9/22/2008)
good GAWD I want one. price it around / under the Mini Cooper S, bring it to the US, and you'll have my deposit as soon as they can figure out what dealership it's going to be selling under...
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friko 9:59PM (9/22/2008)
It won't coss less than a Cooper S. The not "esse esse" version of the 500 Abarth will cost about the same than the Cooper S. I guess it will cost the same as a JCW Mini.
Charlie Styr 3:34AM (9/23/2008)
Erm, the Non-esseesse version is competing with the Cooper, the normal Fiat 500 competing with the Mini One. This is their CooperS competitor.
JF 8:24PM (9/22/2008)
That's gotta be pretty peppy and I'm liking the 6-spd manual + lsd, but I'd rather trade for smaller wheels (less rotational inertia too) and a little more sidewall.
Overall well done.
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Giuseppe 8:25PM (9/22/2008)
I like the standard look of the 500 Abarth more
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AntBee 9:39PM (9/22/2008)
The more I see, the more I want!
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hydrogenvodka 11:58PM (9/22/2008)
yes, overdone, and will have a good drive with a torsen lsd
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montoym 12:25AM (9/23/2008)
I like it!
But, I'm also a hot hatch sort of guy. The more we have available here, the better.
Sounds like a pretty good amount of power for a car so small.
Something like that would not find itself too far behind the larger, more powerful hot hatches we have here now(MS3, Cooper S, GTI). Might have better handling too with less weight to drag around. Almost like a new-age Mk1 or Mk2 VW GTI. If only VW would do the same, like a Polo GTI perhaps??
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Mirko 2:50AM (9/23/2008)
Volkswagen does a Polo GTI, with a 150hp 1.8T and plaid seats, and a hotter version called the Polo GTI Cup with 180hp.
montoym 3:28AM (9/23/2008)
Elsewhere yes, but not in the US where we would buy them as well.
With the Golf getting bigger with each iteration, something smaller and closer to the size of the original Rabbit would be a nice addition given the current market conditions and move towards more efficient transportation. The Polo would fill that niche nicely. I'm not really holding my breath for it, but it would be nice to see.
With the Fiesta(definite), Beat(possibly), and 500(possibly) coming here, VW as an opportunity to throw the Polo into that mix. It would be an interesting mix of cars all of which have their own unique styling. Could be very fun times.
Charlie 3:36AM (9/23/2008)
I like this, although, I'd personally love all of these power in just one of the normal looking 500s. Obviously, not many people would want that, hence, they won't do it, but I would :-)
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Ryan 10:12AM (9/23/2008)
"redesigned rear bumper housing a diffuser and pair of chrome exhaust tips"
Once again, the regular Abarth 500 has these features, a mistake was made similar to this on the last bit of Abarth 500 news.
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Jellodyne 11:08AM (9/23/2008)
Hey, Chrysler, here's your new Dodge Hornet. Slap a badge on it and bring it over!
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montoym 8:04PM (9/23/2008)
It's already the Ford Ka. Both are built on the same platform.
I'm pretty sure Ford would prefer to bring it here than let Dodge have it.
Stumpy 11:31AM (9/23/2008)
Now that is a hot Hatch! Too bad it is slower than it looks, but still a sweet little car.
Think I would take the toned down version.
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