Abarth who? Yes, Abarth of Turin, Italy, has been making road and race cars and high-performance exhaust pipes and tuning kits and what not since 1949. They have a history, no doubt, and a long one at that.We shall fast-forward for want of time and take it that they are one of the brands that Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. has under their motley umbrella.
Fiat India has introduced the brand Abarth at the Expo and one of the cars in the Fiat stall is carrying a scorpion on a red and yellow shield – the logo of brand Abarth. The plan is to launch this premium performance hatchback Abarth 500 this year in India, with the possibility of assembling its CKD kits at Fiat Ranjangaon.
The Abarth 500 is a three-door hatchback with seats for 4 and is derived from the Fiat 500 of 1957. The retro Abarth (or Fiat) 500 is being produced in Poland and Mexico since 2007 and comes in the guise of 3-door hatchback and 3-door cabriolet. Abarth will kick-off its Indian operations with the front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback positioned to match wits with celebrities like Volkswagen Beetle and BMW Mini Cooper. Understandably, the little Abarth has some big-league competition and Fiat’s plans with regard to local assembly might just give them the edge. The competition, when last checked, brought in their Beetles and Minis CBU; hence the outrageous price tags on those cars.
Fiat 500 gets power by the 1.4L turbocharged T-JET petrol engine which produces 140PS of power output and over 200Nm of torque. The 0-100kmph sprint comes in only 7.9 seconds and has a top speed of over 200kmph.
The Abarth 500 despite its retro looks features modern gas-discharge headlights, sunroof, cross drilled brake disc, sports seats, lowered suspension with up-rated springs, 17” alloy wheels, 7 airbags, turbo boost gauge, twin exhaust outlets, ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) and HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assistance), parking sensors, fog lights, hi-fi music system and some more luxury appointments.
Fiat will launch Abarth 500 in India later this year apart from the Linea facelift and Avventura crossover.
Complete Coverage of Auto Expo 2014
Fiat 500 Abarth Image Gallery (Including Interior Shots)
