NF500 / fiat 500 abarth

From racing to our everyday roads, but always with a sporty approach. This is the goal behind the debut of the long-awaited ‘500 Abarth’, announced for the coming Geneva International Motor Show. The new car was developed by the Fiat Group Automobiles Style Centre in the spirit of the legendary Fiat 500 Abarth of the 1960s, and will be marketed from July through the exclusive Abarth network.

With a strong sporty personality, the new car will be powered by a Fire 1.4 16v petrol Turbo engine, which delivers a maximum of 135 bhp (99 kW) at 5,500 rpm and peak torque of 206 Nm at 3,000 rpm in ‘Sport’ mode (in ‘Normal’ mode, torque is reduced to 180 Nm at 2,500 rpm). This brilliant, smooth new engine is also a friend of the environment: like the regular Fiat model it is derived from, the new Abarth will respect future Euro 5 legislation.

Another interesting feature of the 500 Abarth is the fact that it adopts the new TTC (Torque Transfer Control) system, which improves the transfer of drive torque to the wheels, but, above all, ensures that the car behaves impeccably on bends, making it safer and more entertaining even with a sporty driving style. In other words, it is faithful to the phrase coined for the Abarths of the 1960s ‘small but wicked’.

NF500 also brings you all available images of the new Abarth 500 in high resolution, including a cut-away of the interior which reveals some exclusive styling enhancements for the Fiat 500, including front bucket seats. One thing seems for sure, if the Abarth 500 has handling and performance to match its looks, Fiat are into a winner!

The images of the 500 Abarth shown here are available at full, very high, resolution at our Flickr page for the Abarth 500.

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.

Images of the hot new Abarth version of the Fiat 500 have hit the web, via motoring blog site Carscoop, ahead of the planned release dates for information and images later this week.

Here’s a sample of the chunky, scooped goodness Abarth will bring to the 500, which will be shown to the public for the first time at this years Geneva Motorshow early in March.

Further details are expected this coming week from official sources, but the photos do reveal all concerning the exterior styling of Fiat’s baby hot hatch. One interesting absent feature are the much commented bonnet scoops, seen on several test vehicles, which could perhaps be being saved for the even hotter Abarth SS version of the 500.

It would seem that some people (well, 442 to be precise), have been chosen to receive a slightly different email from Abarth than the regular ‘500 Wants You’ email promotion concerning the upcoming web event for the Fiat 500 Abarth, due to take place on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Apparently these 442 individuals revealed their Abarth Spirit when completing questionnaires on the official website, and as such could be up for a special treat come next week.

We’d like to know, were you one of these 442, and if so, what happens next week?!

Members of the 500 Wants You website have been emailed this week, telling them to watch the official Fiat 500 website for updates and information on the new 500 Abarth model. The emails are suitably vague and mystic, but say to watch out on Monday and Tuesday 18th and 19th February. The official Fiat 500 website has also been updated with a link to the Abarth website, and other new features.

Monday is also the opening date for the new Abarth headquarters in Turin, so it will be interesting to see what reports come back from there, as well as what will happen on the Fiat sites ahead of the Geneva Motorshow, where the 500 Abarth will be officially revealed to the public for the first time.

So says Auto Express, who’ve whipped up some photoshop images of how they believe the new Fiat 500 Abarth will shape up when launched later in 2008.

Auto Express have changed their view about the forthcoming line up from previous articles, and now seem to agree with our own predictions of a 135 hp Abarth and 155 hp Abarth SS, while their earlier predictions of a 180 or 200 hp Abarth SS version have shifted to an official tuning kit offering a power figure somewhere in that ballpark.

The piece doesn’t really say or show anything new for 500 devotees, but as you can read the article for free online there’s no harm in reading a little more 500 hype as the UK launch creeps ever nearer. You can see the photos and read the report on the Auto Express website

According to inside reports the hot Abarth versions of the new Fiat 500 could arrive in the UK as early as the second half of 2008, will be available in two flavours, and on sale at dedicated Abarth dealerships.

Rumour suggests the Abarth dealerships will be stand alone units, although they may be attached to Fiat dealers in a similar way to the association between BMW and MINI dealerships.

The two Abarth Fiat 500s will be the 135 hp 1.4 litre petrol engine Abarth and a hotter 155 hp Abarth SS derivative, also powered by a 1.4 litre t-jet petrol unit.

Apparently the little pocket rockets will be serviceable at around 35 Abarth service centres nation-wide in the UK, presumably made up of the ten dedicated Abarth dealerships and 25 or so chosen Fiat service centres.