NF500 / fiat 500 abarth

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.

This time it’s Auto Express who have a collection of images of the forthcoming Fiat 500 Abarth, under disguise and in testing.

The photos show front, side and back profiles.  Through the heavy black cladding it is possible to make out panel modifications and intakes that may or may not make the final production version of the hot 500.

In the article Auto Express claim the vehicle in the photos to be the 500 Abarth SS and that we can expect “at least 180 hp” from the 1.4 litre engine.  We’ll have to wait and see on that front.  You can see all the photos and read the full article over at the Auto Express website.

According to reports which originate back to Auto Express, the Fiat 500 Abarth, due to be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show later this October will not be taking a bow in Japan after all. The official public début has reportedly been put back to the Geneva Motor Show, which will be held in March 2008.

The reason being cited is the incredible sales figures Fiat have experienced for the new 500, the demands of which they are struggling to meet, which has left bosses feeling they could not cope, nor do they require, any further clamour for orders for the hot Abarth versions of the vehicle at this stage in the products life cycle.

Auto Motor und Sport have published a longer video of the new Fiat 500 Abarth during testing at the Nurburgring.  The video shows nothing new in terms of detail, but we thought it well worth a watch and bringing to wider attention.

Unfortunately we can’t show the video here as embedding has been disabled, but you can watch it all over on YouTube.  Enjoy!

The same red Fiat 500 Abarth that was caught testing last month and seen on WorldCarFans.com has  popped up again, and this time Evo have the exclusive photographs on their website.

Disappointingly there’s only two images, and the text does nothing more than reitterate previous rumours, with Evo claiming there will be a 135 hp Abarth, an Abarth 500 SS with 150 hp, plus a more powerful 200 hp version.  The 200 hp hot 500 is most likely (sadly) to be used exclusively in a one-make race series Fiat are rumoured to be planning for launch some time in 2008.

The online version of Car Magazine is carrying some very good spy photos of the new Fiat 500 Abarth in testing in Germany.  The photos appear to be from the same sessions that the photogrpahs of the 500 Abarth shown on WorldCarFans.com came from.

This time however the snaps show the red 500 Abarth test vehicle fleeting along in the pouring rain.  See the full photo set and read Car’s opinions on their website.