FIAT

SCORPION RISING Fiat’s fastest 500 is the Abarth. Steve Walker takes a look.

Unmistakably a Fiat 500 but, at the same time, thoroughly modified to give a harder, faster edge, the 500 Abarth will appeal to a different market than its lovable standard sibling. With 133bhp from a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine, sharper steering and upgraded suspension, it’s a properly quick hatchback that retains the retro style of the original.

Karl Abarth was already a five-time European motorcycle racing champion, something of an expert in the field of car modification and married to the secretary of Ferdinand Porsche’s son-in-law when he established Abarth & C in 1949. This car tuning business began its association with Fiat in the early 1950s, specialising in making racing and performance modifications to the Turin manufacturer’s products. Then, in 1971 Fiat brought the firm in house and began using Abarth’s expertise and scorpion badge on its quickest cars. Today, Fiat is busy forcing the Abarth brand back into the limelight riding on the bodywork of fast Fiats like the 500 Abarth. The Fiat bit could almost be dropped from the title of the Fiat 500 Abarth. It’s certainly been made scarce elsewhere on the car. There’s not a single Fiat insignia visible on the exterior or in the cabin and instead, the 500 Abarth is littered with the red and yellow crest and lone scorpion of Abarth. This is clearly a Fiat 500 but the Italian manufacturer is telling us it’s a very special one, worthy of its own sub-brand. The question is, can it live up to this billing? The conventional Fiat 500 is not a car that instantly strikes you as being ripe for conversion into a rip-roaring hot hatchback. It’s a little bit soft and bouncy in its suspension and although this helps it ride well over surface imperfections and makes it an amiable companion for scooting about town, it doesn’t exactly encourage you to hurl it into corners. As befits its target market, the 500 Abarth is a very different prospect with far-reaching modifications designed to transform the driving experience. First is the 1.4-litre turbocharged powerplant that produces 133bhp and a smooth flow of power from 2,000rpm. It’s capable of firing the 500 to 60mph in under eight seconds and on to a 127mph top speed, which is plenty quick. The suspension has also been firmed up significantly to increase composure through the bends and the brakes have been upgraded to sportier items for more secure stopping.

"Anyone who said they’d believe in a proper performance version of the Fiat 500 when they saw it had better start believing…."

The 500 Abarth might be small but it’s equipped with some interesting technological trickery. Fiat’s TTC torque transfer system can detect wheelspin and by braking the wheel that has lost traction, divert the engine’s torque to the other wheel where it can be effectively deployed. It adds up to scrabble-free acceleration out of junctions and away from tight corners, increasing the 500’s poise and making it easier to utilise the car’s power. Fiat’s famous ‘city button’ as featured in the standard 500 models is changed to a sport button in the 500 Abarth. Instead of making the steering lighter, it weights the helm up for more feel and a sportier driving experience but that’s not all. A press of the clear plastic domed button on the dash also frees an extra slug of torque from the engine. With the Sport mode engaged, the 500 Abarth has 206Nm of torque at 3,000rpm instead of 187Nm at 2,500rpm which equates to more muscle to make the most of the car’s handling. The Fiat 500 is a car that trades on its looks at least as much as any other single part of its make up. In creating the Abarth version, however, the designers were faced with the problem of making one of the market’s cutest cars look aggressive and purposeful. The effect is something of a mix and match between the 500’s trademark features and the kinds of racy extras you find on today’s leading fast hatchbacks. Abarth badging is everywhere from pride of place on the grille to the rear wings, the 16" alloys wheels, the steering wheel hub and the tailgate. Even the engine gets an Abarth scorpion crawling across it. At the front, below the 500’s double headlights, a pair of fog lights is set into the air-intake and these jewel-like additions are mirrored by the chromed exhausts that protrude from the rear diffuser. Side skirts and flared wheelarches dominate the flanks along with the distinctive Abarth racing stripe decals. Inside, much of the standard 500’s interior design is retained but there wasn’t a lot wrong with it anyway. The swathe of body-coloured plastic runs across the dash with the gear lever integrated below and the air-con controls arranged in neat circles. The sports steering wheel is trimmed in leather and is extremely tactile while the sports seats also get leather coverings and large side bolsters to hold you in place. The turbo boost gauge is another addition for the Abarth and at its centre is a warning light that prompts the driver to change gear at the opportune moment. It shows the best time to shift up or down for the greatest fuel economy in normal mode but press the Sport button and it turns its attention to maximising performance. Despite its obvious charm, Fiat’s 500 Arbath will have a tough task on if it’s to make it big in the UK’s hot hatchback sector. It goes up against some tasty rivals such as the MINI Cooper S, Renault’s Twingo Renaultsport and Peugeot’s 207 GTi, all of which have something to be said for them. Even sportier versions of Alfa Romeo’s MiTo are available for similar money to that which Fiat wants for its fastest 500. Still, even in this esteemed company, the Abarth is a unique proposition and the great potential for customers to personalise their car with various items from the options list will be a further draw. Fiat is even making a tuning kit available which boosts the Abarth’s power to 158bhp, but at £3,500 it doesn’t come cheap. Being the compact size that it is helps the 500 Abarth achieve respectable fuel economy and emissions. The combined cycle economy figure of 52.3mpg and emissions of 155g/km make the Abarth one of the most affordable fast hatchbacks to run and make it accessible to groups of buyers who may have previously considered such cars out of their price range. The Fiat 500 Abarth is the car given the difficult task of replacing the standard 500’s cheery grin with the menacing snarl of a hot hatchback. Remarkably, the little car looks to have pulled it off in some style. Its look has been thoroughly revised from the badges to the bodywork but the biggest changes come beneath the skin where the suspension is firmer, the steering heftier and the brakes far more capable. Even the labour saving City button is now a licence threatening Sport one that unleashes even more torque from the 133bhp motor. Anyone who said they’d believe in a proper performance version of the 500 when they saw it had better start believing. There may not be a Fiat badge anywhere on the 500 Abarth but it’s unmistakably a 500 and the standard car’s retro charm will be a key reason why buyers take the plunge. There are larger, faster and more dynamically capable models around for similar money but very few are as fashionable right now as the Abarth and that counts for a lot.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Fiat 500 Abarth PRICES: £13,500 - on the road [est] INSURANCE GROUPS: 12 [est] CO2 EMISSIONS: 155g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph 7.9s / Max Speed 127mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 52.3mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver and passenger airbags WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 3657/1627/1485mm

CINQUECENTO IN POLE POSITION The latest in a line of chic, retro-themed boutique cars, the Fiat 500 packs plenty of style into 355cm. Andy Enright reports

Although the shape may be vaguely reminiscent of the 1957 original, little else about the Fiat 500 sticks to its predecessor’s back to basics appeal. This time round, the 500 is unashamedly chic, offering an upmarket look and feel that will doubtless carve a sizeable chunk into MINI’s bottom line.

Fully half a century after the launch of the original Fiat 500, it’s back. It was one of the worst kept secrets in motoring, the Italian maker displaying the Trepiuno concept car back in 2004 with most realising that productionising this car, based on a modified Panda chassis, shouldn’t prove too difficult. Three years later, here it is, polished, primed and with its sights set squarely on BMW’s MINI. Fiat has latterly built a reputation for having a wide range of excellent powerplants, especially at the smaller end of the product portfolio. It was to Fiat that Suzuki turned when they wanted a small diesel for their SX4 model, offering the Italians what was to become their Sedici in exchange. Indeed, the 75bhp 1.3-litre 16v Multijet diesel engine fitted to the 500 is so good that it rather overshadows the otherwise excellent pair of petrol powerplants. These comprise an entry-level 69bhp 1.2 8v and a punchy 100bhp 1.4-litre 16v. Five or six speed manual transmissions are offered and the 500 has been designed to replicate the original car’s nimble feel and ability to put a smile on its driver’s face. A 155bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged Abarth model is also available, fully tooled up with beefier steering, retuned suspension and a few aerodynamic tweaks. Much of the underpinnings are based on Panda running gear – no bad thing as the Panda is a fun steer. Like the Panda, the 500 uses simple MacPherson strut suspension up front and a basic torsion beam at the back. A few centimetres have been added to the width of the car’s track, giving it a foursquare appearance and Fiat claims that body rigidity is around 10 per cent better than the Panda. The 500 is significant in more than the obvious ways. Built at the Tychy plant in Poland alongside the Panda, the chassis also forms the basis for the all-new Ford Ka. At 1.65m wide, 1.49m high and 3.55m long, the 500 doesn’t take up a great deal of space. For reference, a MINI is 1.91m wide, 1.40m high and 3.68m long: in other words much wider, a little lower and a fair bit longer. Even Renault’s second generation Twingo, at 3.60m, won’t fit into some parking spaces the 500 will be able to squeeze into.

"Delicious design details drip from the 500…"

Delicious design details drip from the 500. It’s like a tiny pearl, especially when the ivory finish interior is specified. There’s a very well-judged blend of retro chic and ruthlessly modern contemporary design inside, with circular head restraints, a glass roof and iconic 500 badging on the Panda-sourced dashboard. Chrome-ringed vents and a fascia that can be specified in the same colour as the body, mirroring the painted metal dash of the Nuovo 500, are just some of the interior design features. The exterior treatment is cool and clean with only the front grille and door handles differing significantly from the Trepiuno show car. Hats off to Fiat in this regard. So often we see cars that look fantastic as prototypes on a show stand only to arrive in production form virtually unrecognisable. Prices are surprisingly reasonable given the hype surrounding the 500. Starting at just over £8,000, the car is only fractionally more expensive than the Panda citycar on which it is based. Prior to the 500’s arrival, the speculation was that it would target the kind of premium prices that BMW charges for its MINI but Fiat is sticking to what it knows with affordability remaining a key weapon in the 500’s armoury. This is a far more faithful interpretation of a classic motoring icon than the Bavarians have been able to achieve. And, if you don’t care about badge equity, don’t mind about the fact that you only get three doors and get the right deal, the Fiat will make plenty of sense. Fiat’s Panda is one of the cheapest cars to own, so the ‘500’ will prove little different. The Multijet diesel version will average over 65mpg, with the 1.2-litre petrol unit not far behind on around 50mpg. Depreciation won’t be anything like at MINI levels but will be much better than you’d expect on a Panda. Which is good news since insurance costs shouldn’t be much more expensive. Whether you love or loathe the Fiat 500 very much depends on your standpoint on retro design. Some see it as a shameless plundering of a company’s crown jewels, a pastiche that suggests the manufacturer has run out of good ideas. Others see retro cars as a celebration, offering the style and appeal of the oldies with modern safety and efficiency. I have to admit that I fall somewhere between these two extremes. When done well, as in the MINI and the Ford GT, retro works. On the other hand, I was glad Lamborghini never brought the rehashed Miura to market and feel that the new Beetle never really did enough to justify its existence. The 500 seemed destined to succeed from the outset. There’s such a cheekiness and personality to its design that people would have bought the car even if it was irredeemably awful in every other respect. The fact is that it’s actually rather good thanks to its Panda platform share. If you’re looking for cheeky, cheap and practical, a Panda is still a slightly better car. If a style statement is more your thing, the 500 gets the vote every time.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Fiat 500 range PRICES: £7,930-£10,672 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-6 CO2 EMISSIONS: 110-149g/km PERFORMANCE: [1.4] 0-62mph 10.5s / Max Speed 113mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4] (combined) 38.5mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver and passenger airbags WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 3550/1650/1490mm