NF500 / rest of the world

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 a broad ranging conversation held with Fiat UK head of marketing Peter Newton this week, NF500 sought clarification and reassurance for eager fans regarding the release schedule of the new Fiat 500 in the UK and other markets.

This all began with reports that the phenomenal success of the new 500 in it’s début markets of Italy and France, were orders have exceeded 60,000 cars, would lead to the rest of the World waiting longer as the factory in Tychy struggles to meet demand.  Potential 500 customers have understandably gotten twitchy with this news, wondering if their agonising wait could be further delayed by the veracious appetite of continental consumers.

The good news is that everything is on track for a release early next year, and while country specific allocations may be reshuffled and reassessed to best meet demand (as is common practice in the automotive industry) there is no reason to believe that those who have already managed to place themselves on priority lists at their local Fiat dealer should be waiting any longer than expected.

While discussing pre-orders and waiting lists, Mr Newton suggested that order books for UK Fiat 500 customers are likely to open “not before October” of 2007, by which time prices and specifications for the UK market should all be settled and in place, ready for launch. But many dealers already have lists of customers keen to get their hands on Fiat’s new baby as soon as possible, many taking small deposits to ensure you’re ahead of the queue when the books officially open on the reborn 500.