With the Fiat 500 Abarth and 500 Abarth SS set to debut at the Geneva International Motor Show in March, e-Fiatisti have been eagerly awaiting the inevitable internet sneak peek leak of the scorpion-branded Toppolinos. Andiamo! Autospies.com brings us this official (if photochopped) image of the "small but wicked" Abarth. With its 1.4-liter turbo four making 135 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, Fiat's mighty midget is only stage one in Abarth's twisted scheme to make Europe's Car Of The Year speziato. Stage two? The 500 Abarth SS, which Auto Motor und Sport reckons could stump-up 180hp. If so, that's a full eight horsepower more than the Euro-pocket rocket standard bearer, the MINI Cooper S. Which is, methinks, the point. In any case, it remains to be seen if the Abarth's TTC (Torque Transfer Control) kills front wheel-drive helm squirm and/or makes the Italian [toy] stallion a better steer than its Germano-British competition. TTAC central command has charged our man Schwoerer with that particular piece of investigative journalism. Bastardo. [TTAC welcomes Edward Niedermeyer, son of contributor Paul Niedermeyer.]
[Pixamo slide show of new Fiat 500 Abarth here.]
Yeah, that’s me.
And I’m saying: welcome, Edward!
I can’t wait to see 20 of these charging around a race track… and it looks like they’re going to be a lot of fun to drive.
HI Edward!
I beleive these cars cold be sold at the existing American Ferrari dealerships without doing any brand damage to anyone.. I want one so bad…
Two things:
First, YES this is a photochop and YES it’s official. Fiat launched the initial images of the Punto Abarth this way, too.
Second, I’d buy one of these in a second if they were on sale in the U.S.
Uber-Cool.
I’d consider having 6″ of my femurs removed to be able to drive that hot little roller-skate! ;-)
Hey guys… thanks for the welcome!
My girlfriend is currently mulling over new car options, and nothing has caught her eye quite like the Toppolino. As a newbie to the Ameri-jection phenomenon, it really hit her hard when she realized that the sweetest rides never make it to this side of the pond. She may just have to make do with a Mini after all…
I want one, preferably the SS (180hp) version.