Fiat/Abarth 500

[Moglet]

Mine's not an Abarth

69bhp is a lot less fun than 200 (or 130 as standard).

 

[Jim Prower]

Meh, 89 feels like 69 after 21 years and thru a 3-speed auto...

 

[130tc]

Or, for close to the price of a new one :-

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=20740

Does look like a great sleeper and its easy to park :-)

 

[Jim Prower]

Aye...though I might've gone Raptor 700 or YFZ450R, instead of the little Raptor mill...why stop when there's bigger engine to be had?

Or...wait...That was in the '90s. Still, I'd have gone a leeeetle further up the lineup. ;3

 

[Moglet]

Helloooo.....

 

[Eric.]

Mine's not an Abarth

69bhp is a lot less fun than 200 (or 130 as standard).

It'll still roll.

 

[Moglet]

It'll still roll.

Not in my hands it won't 👍

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Not in my hands it won't 👍

*Watches Mog's 500 spinning upside-down on it's roof*
Nasty swirls there. T-Cut?

 

[Moglet]

Nasty swirls there. T-Cut?

I wouldn't let T-Cut near my car in a million years! It'd be a full machine polish

 

[homeforsummer]

Anyone seen these cars race? They Support the WTCC and every race ive seen, ends with at least on car on its roof. 200 bhp plus high centre of gravity and narrow track sounds "fun"

Ah, good old one-make series. I remember the Fiesta series that used to support the BTCC back in the late 90s. Every single week Autosport magazine would have a picture of one of the cars rolling over. Great series though, current BTCC champ Colin Turkington was an ex-Fiesta racer. I expect some of the touring car champs of the future will be racing in that Abarth series.

 

[Azure Flare]

I think I've seen a turbo that big on a Corolla one time. made a billion HP. all it did was spin the wheels

 

[Jim Prower]

Nooo...that's from something like an ALCo. :3

 

[chepe371]

Nothing is powerful enough. I'm sure there are people out there (like me) who want the Veyron to gain another 1000 HP.

People like you need a Bombardier Learjet.

 

[Jim Prower]

Or, even better, an F-4 Phantom II.

 

[Moglet]

Good move, Fiat

A bit of a shame for people who already have an Abarth but oh well.

 

[Jim Prower]

*bounces* I hope it comes here. 8D

 

[sumbrownkid]

People like you need a Bombardier Learjet.

People like me would actually want an F-22.

 

[Moglet]

An Abarth 500 Convertible has been confirmed by a source on the Fiat Forums;

Thought this may be of interest to some of you, taken from the Abarthisti website and forum. The source was the National Abarth dealer conference at Gaydon manor on the 2nd of December:

A brief overview for the members to let you know what is in the pipeline from Abarth for 2010.

There are two new products for 2010.

The much anticipated Abarth 500C will reach our (UK) shores in June of 2010. Although details are still a little scarce, it will run the same power plant as the Abarth 500 but will be aimed a little more towards the ladies. That doesn’t mean that the girls can't still have fun as the esseesse kit will still be available.

The Abarth 500C will come with Xenon headlights and rear parking sensors on top of the standard spec. Price is still to be confirmed.

At this moment there will be no MultiAir engine for Abarth 500 in 2010.

The 500C will be joined by the face-lifted Abarth Grande Punto in July of 2010.

It will be the first Abarth to carry the new MultiAir engine producing 170 bhp for the Normal Production unit. It will also have the Start&Stop function as standard but that can be disabled from the dashboard when you are not in traffic.

Face-lifted Grande Punto will also be the first Abarth to offer the option of the new (C635 MTA) automated manual 6-speed gearbox but it will not be available at launch.

Assetto Kits will be available from launch with the esseesse kit being finalised later.

Price for the car and gearbox are to be announced.

 

[Moglet]

First official photos of the convertible Abarth and it has awesome paint that I want;

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/247742/

Power for the Abarth 500C comes from 138bhp, 152lb ft 1.4-litre T-Jet engine, and a six-speed automated manual gearbox with paddle shifters will be standard. It can get from 0-62mph in 7.9sec and reach a top speed of 127mph.

Paddle shift? Dear oh dear. The whole point of these cars is they're old fashioned fun, not technological show offs. Poor choice.

 

[homeforsummer]

Paddle shift? Dear oh dear. The whole point of these cars is they're old fashioned fun, not technological show offs. Poor choice.

The whole thing is a bit of a marketing exercise really considering there was never an Abarth version of the old roll-back-roof 500. It was pretty inevitable that they'd release an Abarth cabrio but even though it looks pretty cool it doesn't really sit with the Abarth ethos.

 

[Clark]

Brand dilution is very depressing.

 

[McLaren]

Paddle shift? Dear oh dear. The whole point of these cars is they're old fashioned fun, not technological show offs. Poor choice.

That might have been their point at first, but like the Mini & Beetle went through, they've become accessory icons....

 

[homeforsummer]

That might have been their point at first, but like the Mini & Beetle went through, they've become accessory icons....

True that. The 500 is essentially a Panda in a frock. The good old-fashioned fun comes from something like the Panda 100HP which is noisy and uncomfortable, just like a small Fiat should be

Actually, I'm not adverse to paddleshifts anyway. They're long past the jerky stage where they were neither as good as a proper manual or a proper auto. Most of the dual-clutch ones are excellent and a lot of magazines now reckon the twin-clutch ones make the cars so much better to drive.

I think Fiat have been developing a twin-clutch box so hopefully the Abarth at least has that, rather than another development of the system used in the old "F1" Ferrari road cars, Selespeed Alfa Romeos and so on (in other words, the jerky and unreliable one).

 

[Moglet]

Turns out AC were talking a load of old bleep, and the flappy paddle box is optional, as is the 2 tone paint.

I'd have one in the exact specification shown in their press release images! 👍

Here's the official page, it's all in Italian mind;

http://www.abarth.it/it/CMSIT/Pages/500C.aspx

 

[homeforsummer]

I did think it was a bit strange that such a box would come "as standard" when the regular Abarth has a proper manual.

Didn't notice this earlier either, but it reaffirms for me how good looking a car the Punto is, even if they recently ruined it's face a little. The old face was so much simpler and more attractive.

It's got great proportions, even more so in Abarth trim. Much as I like the MiTo on the same platform, I don't think it's as successful a design as the Punto.

 

[Moglet]

I do love the Punto Evo, especially the new nose and the Abarth version looks better than the old one IMO. Those wheels are superb, too.

If I were to go for an Abarth it would be the original Punto, not the 500. More performance and space for less money!

 

[Jondot]

I don't like it. They've made the poor little 500 look far too angry. I mean if you want something mean-looking, don't start with the automotive equivalent of Elmo.

I did think it was a bit strange that such a box would come "as standard" when the regular Abarth has a proper manual.

Didn't notice this earlier either, but it reaffirms for me how good looking a car the Punto is, even if they recently ruined it's face a little. The old face was so much simpler and more attractive.

Yeah, why exactly did they decide to ball-gag it? I really don't understand Fiat sometimes...

 

[Philly]

The Punto needs to come to America as a Dodge ASAP.

 

[niky]

That might have been their point at first, but like the Mini & Beetle went through, they've become accessory icons....

Despite its accessory status, though, the Mini is still a crackling drive, even in the base Clubman version with an automatic (six-speed automatic, mind you). The only thing wrong with what is arguably the worst of the Mini range is that without the optional paddleshifts (found on the Cooper S automatic), you can catch it hanging between gears in the corners... but give it the beans and 90% of the time, it'll find the right gear.

I'm not mentioning the twin rear-doors here. They don't block the rear view as much as you'd expect, but they're still horribly ugly...

And they all still handle like go-karts... in keeping with the Mini ethos. I wonder, though, if they'll be able to keep the purity of the line with the new crossover line.

I doubt it, but there's hope.

At least the Abarth gets an automated manual, instead of the Mini's torque-converter box.

 

[Clark]

I think they ruined the Punto withe new nose, the new Abarth is OTT. I think Fiat have sold out the Abarth brand and tarnished. The original Abarth Punto was perfect and the 500 was acceptable, now they're just vulgar.