NF500 / de meo

Rumours have begun circulating this week that the Fiat group may go a step further with the Abarth brand.

Rather than merely being a separate division of the Fiat group, producing hot versions of Fiat cars and being behind one make race series, Abarth could become a car maker in it’s own right.

The Abarth cars would share Fiat platforms and technology, but have their own unique sporty attitude and style, and the car to kick this all off could be a roadster, based on the new Fiat 500 platform.

These rumours have sprung from a conversation between motoring publication Caradisiac and Fiat Director Luca De Meo, where Mr De Meo apparently hinted that Abarth could create it’s own models and become a stand alone “halo” brand within the Fiat group, which was then picked up by AutoBlog and the rest of the World.

While the appeal of the Abarth name and it’s historic racing pedigree is clear, creating a new range of cars for the marque could be an expensive and risky process. Rumours suggest that if this were to happen the Abarths would most likely be sold by Fiat dealers, bringing customers into the showroom who would otherwise perhaps be disinterested in less sporty or dramatic Fiat offerings.

During the press conference for the launch of the new Fiat 500, which was broadcast via the official Fiat 500 website, Fiat Automobile’s CEO Luca De Meo revealed to the assembled members of the media that the new Fiat 500 Abarth, possibly the most exciting variant of Fiat’s new baby, will be officially unveiled for the first time to the public at the Tokyo Motorshow, which takes place in October 2007.

Most people had their money on a public début at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, but De Meo revealed Fiat had other ideas while fielding questions regarding the importance of the new Fiat 500 in the Asian markets, where the mini car segment is extremely important and fiercely competitive.