NF500 / abarth

According to a report by AM-online, Fiat in the UK will have 12 specialist Abarth dealerships in the UK by July 2008, of a total of 14 planned outlets for the Fiat family’s sporting brand.

Apparently some Abarth dealerships will have their own stand alone sites alongside or near to current Fiat franchises, while others will have an Abarth zone integrated into their current showroom space.

In the AM-online article they also reveal it will cost existing Fiat dealers anything from £40-£80,000 to become an Abarth franchise, which that investment potentially being repaid within a year.

It’s been almost three months since we published the first, full and official 500 Abarth press release on NF500, but today, to coincide with Abarth’s appearance at the Mille Miglia and unveiling of the 500 Abarth Assetto Corse, Abarth have published a further release, many of which is repetition, but does include some previously unpublished details of the new car.

First of all, we have another confirmation that the car will go on sale via the exclusive Abarth dealer network from July 2008, but NO details of where these dealers will be located, and if and how the release will be staggered for different markets.

In terms of styling, the twin exhausts will be embossed with the famous Abarth scorpion logo as a nod to Abarth models of the 1960s. At the front, it’s all about aerodynamics and feeding the engine with cool air. The three part pattern formed by the front air intakes features a larger central intake than on the basic 500, and the slot above the number plate housing is also wider than standard. To the side of the bumper are what Abarth refer to as “nostrils”, which appropriately enough allow two corresponding intercoolers (which can be seen through the openings) to breath. Abarth also claim that the rear roof spoiler and “slide” attached to the base of the body is not only for show, but planned carefully to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the Fiat 500.

The Abarth logo also “floats” on a finned surface that acts as an additional air intake. Abarth badges are positioned on the sides, crossed by a three-coloured thunderbolt, exactly as on the Abarth 595 and 695 Abarth of the 1060s, to symbolise the brand’s racing vocation. The wheel rims, available in 16 and 17 inch sizes, come in different styles: from multispoked rims to rims bordered by holes (the reference to the forged wheel motifs of the 1970s is clear).

On the inside the 500 Abarth features specific instruments and an analogue pressure gauge used to measure the turbo pressure. The main gauge, with sporting graphics, is lipped on top to offer further protection against glare while the three-spoke steering wheel incorporates moulded grips for the thumbs and is levelled off at the base to ensure increased passenger room and space for adjustment. The aluminium pedals with rubber inserts also reflect Abarth’s racing heritage and flavour, as does the leather trimmed sports gear knob and unified seats with the head restraints incorporated in the backrest. This is all topped off by a roof trim and side inserts in black, intended to give the passenger compartment a hi-tech, sporty look, and hopefully not too claustrophobic!

Official photographs are still frustratingly thin on the ground for those of us yet to see this car in the metal, but there are some good detail shots of the items mentioned in this latest press release on Flickr, especially this set from the Geneva motorshow.

Technical specifications:
500 Abarth 1.4 16v Turbo T-Jet 135 bhp

1. Engine - 4 cylinders in line, 4 valves per cylinder, 1368 cm3.
2. Power output: 135 bhp ( 99 KW ) at 5500 rpm.
3. Peak torque: 206 Nm at 3000 rpm in SPORT BOOST mode.
4. Supercharging by means of a fixed geometry IHI RHF3-P turbocharger.
5. Transmission - 5-speed gearbox C510
6. Suspension - Front: MacPherson layout and anti-roll bar
7. Rear: inter-connected arms layout on torsion beam with anti-roll bar
8. Lowered sports suspension.
9. Steering - Dualdrive Electric power steering in SPORT mode.
10. Brakes - ZPH 4.1.2 floating front calliper, ø 54mm piston.
11. Self-ventilating front brake discs, ø 284 x 22 mm.
12. CII 34 floating rear calliper, ø 34 mm piston.
13. Rear brake discs, ø 240 mm x 11 mm.
14. Wheels - Standard: 6.5”x16” aluminium wheels
15. Tyres: 195/45 R16”
16. Option: 7”x17” aluminium wheels
17. Tyres: 205/40 R17”
18. Ecology level - Compliance with the Euro 5 CEE-F5 standard
19. CO2 emissions - 155 g/km
20. Fuel consumption - Urban consumption (lt./100km): 8.5 (33 imperial mpg)
21. Mixed consumption (lt./100km): 5.4 (52 imperial mpg)
22. Extra-urban consumption (lt./100km): 6.5 (43 imperial mpg)
23. Performance - Top speed: 205 Km/h (127 mph).
24. Acceleration (0 to 100 km/h (62mph)): 7.9 sec.

Special thanks to KevinB who originally posted these images on our New Fiat 500 forums.

The photographs, taken by a super sleuth based in Poland, show the recently revealed Abarth version of the popular Fiat 500 strutting its stuff on the streets among everyday traffic.

While these images in themselves reveal nothing new about the forthcoming hot hatch version of the Fiat 500, it is always nice to see future models mixing it on the street, apparently in the latter stages of development and testing. The only visible disguise here is the clever(?!) covering of the Abarth badges, which may fool some, but it wasn’t fooling Kevin’s spotter, or us for that matter, nice try Fiat.

[Disclaimer: We may have added the NF500.com stickers shown in the windows ourselves]

Forbes are today echoing reports from October last year regarding Fiat’s intentions to increase annual production of the new 500 model to 190,000 vehicles from the start of 2009.

We’re not sure if this is new news, because Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying as much in October 2007, but if it is a reaffirmation on Fiat’s part, then that’s got to be a good sign of their confidence in the continued success of the Fiat 500, no doubt boosted by the hype and hysteria surrounding the 500 Abarth model and Aria concept due to show at Geneva next month.

We somehow failed to pick up on this first time around, but it seems many outlets have just starting reporting on a small but significant nugget of information revealed at the last weeks unveiling of the Fiat 500 Abarth.

Abarth officially revealed that an Esseesse tuning kit will be available for the 500 come November, which will boost power further still over the Abarth version to 160 hp. The kit will be available either at time of order, or as a retrofit, reportedly to 500s under 20,000 km or one year old.

Should be fun.

While we sit here in freezing cold old Blighty, the folk over at AutoBlog.it have been enjoying themselves at the launch of Abarth’s new Turin headquarters.

No surprise that the event was combined with the unveiling of the new 500 Abarth model, and AutoBlog.it have a tonne of good photos on their website, link after the thumbnail image..

See the full set at AutoBlog.it.

Abarth, one of the world’s most exciting motorsport brands, today officially opens its new premises at the Fiat Group’s Mirafiori complex in Turin.

The motorsport, design and manufacturing company, which is also home to Fiat’s revered Abarth Racing Team, has just moved into a purpose-built 23,000m2 building, which took a mere eight months to construct – living up to the brand’s enviable reputation for high performance. It will house more than 100 employees.

Located in the former Mirafiori engineering plant – known as Officine 83 – the Abarth building is perfectly placed to interact directly with the Fiat Group’s Style Centre (Centro Stile), experimental construction centre and the Engineering and Design departments.

Inside, the new HQ has been divided into several different areas: competition cars, prototype development, cars derived from standard production, and the Racing Department. Technical and design offices are located right next to the workshops, while marketing, sales, finance and other units are housed on the floor above.

The new workshop, which is equipped with eight vehicle lifts, features an area set aside as a future assembly line for specialist cars in small production runs.

The building’s entrance hall houses the company’s characteristic ‘Wall of Fame’ showing famous Abarth victories, while next to the entrance is a 560m2 showroom displaying models and artefacts from Abarth’s rich history.

The opening ceremony, performed by Abarth CEO Luca De Meo, also presented an opportunity to disclose Abarth Racing Team’s 2008 plans, starting with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge using two factory prepared and entered Grande Punto Abarth S2000 cars. The team will also contest the Italian Rally Championship.