For such a small car there’s a lot of attention and fuss being given to the 500 Abarth So why all the fuss for what essentially looks like a Fiat 500 with a red stripe and some flash alloy wheels? Well, for one thing it’s more than that – it’s supercar like performance wrapped in a super-mini’s funky little body.
Fiat’s new 500 has been one of the more unique looking super-minis on the road since the Italian manufacturer resurrected the model number in 2007. With it’s quirky. Cute and fun styling it won a league of devoted followers. As if to capitalise on the 500’s popularity with the younger market, Fiat will be unleashing the new 500 Abarth into a hungry market in 2009.
There will be only 1,500 of the Abarth 500s on available in the UK and they’re likely to be snapped up no sooner than their wheels have touched dealer forecourts, so why all the fuss? How can what’s essentially a jumped-up student’s car get a standing ovation at the Goodwood Festival of Speed while running along with Astons and Maseratis?
Well, it’s far more than a jumped-up students car. Sure, from the outside the Abarth 500 looks near-identical to the standard Fiat 500, albeit one with an odd yet strangely appealing paint job. The real difference lies under that bonnet with the Abarth scorpion painted on it almost as a warning. The standard Fiat 500 will kick out 69bhp, the Abarth offers 135bhp and straps it to an equally beefed-up chassis so that the ride is thrilling and controlled rather than a terrifying ordeal in a tin can.
The Abarth 500’s improved chassis is matched with steering that betters the original’s, softer rear springs and heightened grip. Then there’s a ‘Sport’ button that sharpens it up even further and gives endless amounts of driver delight.
With its Alfa Romeo gear box and clutch stolen from its big-brother Punto, the Abarth 500 is capable of powerful statistics, a max speed of 127mph and 0-60 in 7.9 seconds. Ok, so these aren’t supercar stats but when you consider that you’ll be attaining these figures in something so small and tight it’s like a go-cart with a jet engine, you begin to see why the smiles are so large. Not only that, but it retains the original 500’s practicality.
You can trek the Abarth 500 around town and expect just a little over 33mpg. It’s heightened steering and handling prowess means it’s even more of a doddle to park and when the lights go green and the traffic clears, it’s going to pull away a damn-site faster than most over cars there too while managing to grab a few smiles from onlookers as it is, still, a cute little motor.
What Abarth have done with the 500 is a take a car that’s considered cute and cuddly and given it a powerful bark while somehow retaining all its original charms, all for a little over 13k. A huge feat and that’s why the Abarth 500 is proving such a desirable car.
