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2013 Fiat 500C Abarth rocks you like a hurricane

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:06:00 EST

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, Fiat

The 2013 Fiat 500C Abarth is debuting in the City of Angels. It's the super-tuned version of the 500C combining all the best of fresh-air motoring and heightened performance from the scorpion-badged marque. As with the vanilla 500C, the Abarth's folding canvas roof opens all the way at up to 50 miles per hour, and will slide back to the rear spoiler at up to 60 mph.

Sweetening is found everywhere else, with Fiat's 1.4-liter MultiAir good for 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque in Sport mode (155 lb-ft standard), which takes the baby hatch from standstill to 60 miles per hour in just over seven seconds. Shifting is via a five-speed manual, but the sound of that engine running straight from the dual exhaust pipes to your ears with no roof to intervene should help you forget about the anachronistic transmission.

Underneath its skimpy bits of metal, the Abarth gets tons of tweaks compared to the 500C to support its sporting nature. Things like a reworked suspension with stiffer springs, larger half shafts and CV joints, quicker steering and larger brake rotors, a three-setting ESC and optional 17-inch alloys all add to the fun. The cabin throws plenty of black leather around, along with one-piece seats that get racing harness pass-throughs.

If the engine note isn't enough to satisfy your aural requests, the 500C Abarth is the first convertible in the world to get a Beats by Dr. Dre audio system, boasting six speakers and a subwoofer. Buyers can also take advantage of the Abarth Driving Experience free of charge, taught by instructors at - of all things - the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Sit tight, we'll have live pictures of the new performance ragtop live from the 2012 LA Motor Show for you shortly.

Continue reading 2013 Fiat 500C Abarth rocks you like a hurricane

2013 Fiat 500C Abarth rocks you like a hurricane originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fiat confirms 500 Abarth Cabrio for LA with F1-inspired video

Steven J. Ewing — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:28:00 EST

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, Videos, Fiat

In addition to the electric 500e, Fiat will be debuting a new 500 Abarth Cabrio under the lights of the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month. And to get everyone excited about the scorpion-stung droptop, Fiat has launched this promo video showing the cars zipping around a track at the hands of Ferrari Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

Fiat confirmed the car's LA debut in its one-sentence description of the video on the company's YouTube channel.

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa tested the Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio in Austin, Texas, in anticipation of its North American debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.

There's a lot to love about the 500 Abarth - we've enjoyed it on several occasions - and we can only assume that this new Cabrio model won't disappoint. And how could it? After all, one of our favorite parts about the Abarth experience is the utterly amazing sound that shoots out of the tailpipes, and that aural pleasure will only be enhanced with the roof flipped back.

Scroll down to see the short video for yourself, and stay tuned for the full details as part of the LA Auto Show festivities.

Continue reading Fiat confirms 500 Abarth Cabrio for LA with F1-inspired video

Fiat confirms 500 Abarth Cabrio for LA with F1-inspired video originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Abarth 695 Maserati Edition bows at Mille Miglia

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Specialty, Luxury, Fiat

The Fiat 500 in its various guises positively romps on its popularity, making special-edition hay with terrific frequency. This latest outing in the form of the Abarth 695 Maserati Edition follows a familiar trail, coming three years after the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari that debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

That hatch had a tuned 1.4-liter turbo four putting out more than 180 horsepower, a variable exhaust system and paddle-shifting automated manual under its Ferrari 430 Scuderia-mimicking paint scheme. But aside from the paint, this one gets much the same treatment: 180-hp output, Abarth Competizione gearbox and dual mode exhaust.

It goes the GranTurismo route instead of hard-core sports car, though, using the convertible Abarth as a base and adding Pontevecchio Bordeaux paint with a gray top, sand-beige leather and black interior, Jaeger instrumentation, and 17-inch Maserati-style Neptune wheels and hexagonal tailpipes. Still, it gets even bigger Brembo brakes than the Ferrari version.

Just 499 will be made for "mainly" European markets, naturally, so the closest we'll get to it is the high-res gallery above the the press release below.

Continue reading Abarth 695 Maserati Edition bows at Mille Miglia

Abarth 695 Maserati Edition bows at Mille Miglia originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 May 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2010: Abarth 500C blows its top

Noah Joseph — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:37:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Fiat

Abarth 500C - Click above for high-res image gallery

For every car, there's a prospective customer. And for a car like the Fiat 500C, a cutesy retro mini with a pseudo-cabrio sliding canvas roof, we hardly need to point out who that target demographic is. But as if to highlight what a difference the little things can make, the Abarth version is another beast entirely.

By "little things", here we mean stuff like a 140-horsepower, 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a five-speed sequential paddle-shift transmission and a badass two-tone paint job. All that may not sound like much, but when applied to a little thing like the 500C, it represents the difference between the stock Fiat's potential customer and the car nut who takes her out for an evening on the town.

If the collaborative minds at Fiat and Chrysler deem us worthy, we'd enthusiastically count ourselves among the Abarth 500C's potential customers. But for now we'll just have to enjoy admiring it on the show floor here in Geneva where it's just been unveiled, and we have the photos to prove it along with more details in the press release after the jump.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: Fiat 500C Abarth

Gallery: Abarth 500C

Continue reading Geneva 2010: Abarth 500C blows its top

Geneva 2010: Abarth 500C blows its top originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Topless Hotness: Fiat reportedly planning 500C Abarth cabrio

Noah Joseph — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Europe, Fiat

Fiat 500C - Click above for high-res image gallery

With the Fiat 500 still selling like hotcakes, the Italian automaker's performance division is reportedly working on a new combination to further bolster interest in the retro hatch. Melding the best elements of the 500 Abarth and the new 500C convertible, Fiat is said to be preparing a 500C Abarth for launch overseas in time for the next sunny season.

Porting over the engines from the fixed-roof 500 Abarth, the cabrio would be offered with the 133hp 1.4-liter turbo four, upgradable to 157hp with the optional Esse-esse kit. But while most convertibles loose their rigidity and gain weight when the top is lopped off, the 500C's unique roof rail structure keeps torsional twist at bay - to say nothing of the Cinquecento's iconic profile. Pricing would be competitive with the new Mini Cooper Cabrio, and with both the Abarth and convertible variants expected to appear Stateside by 2011, there's a good chance Fiat will throw this one into the mix, too.

Gallery: Geneva 2009: Fiat 500C

[Source: Autocar]

Topless Hotness: Fiat reportedly planning 500C Abarth cabrio originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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