Abarth

Fiat is discontinuing sales of the smaller 500 in the United States. So instead of throwing a fit over the demise of the little Fiat 500 and its feisty Abarth doppelgänger, let’s take a look at the vehicle that first sported the triple digit badge: The aptly named, “Fiat Nuova 500.”

Designed by the inimitable Pininfarina, this gorgeous concept car embraced the best of Italian sportscar design, while sporting the almost always daft underpinnings of Fiat’s Abarth division. The one-off prototype was based on the chassis of a Fiat Abarth 2000 Sport Spider, but clearly had a dramatically more impressive body design than its sibling.

Inevitably, when I meet someone who likes cars and they find out that I teach people to drive on a racetrack, they ask me “What is the best track car?” This is a loaded question because everyone has their own opinion on that.

Of all the cars coming out this year, the one I’m currently most excited about driving is the Abarth 124 Spider. After all, this 2-seater shares its DNA with the already awesome Mazda MX-5, but it looks even better, has a more powerful engine, and then to top things off, it’s been massaged by the house of Abarth.

When FIAT announced the 124 Spider late last year, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. Yes, it had the turbocharged engine from the 500 Abarth, but it wasn’t designed to be the snarling little roadster that it could’ve been.

When you enjoy a car this much, relating that joy into words becomes increasingly difficult. How do I explain that a car – one which has a modest 160 horsepower – left a perpetual smile on my face?

Designer David Obendorfer pays homage to the 60th anniversary of the Fiat 1955 Fiat 600 racing cars (a glimpse can be seen below) with an updated Fiat 600 Abarth design concept. The modern version of the 600 Abarth brings over the original’s three-bar front grille albeit with a far smaller Fiat badge, but has updated and styling all around.

Fiat USA is looking to broaden the appeal of the Fiat 500 Abarth sports hatchback/cabrio with the addition of an optional automatic transmission. The 500 Abarth was first brought to the U.S. with only the manual transmission available, something that might not suit all drivers, many of whom are either not comfortable driving a stick or have never even learned to drive one.

YouTuber Marchettino is best known for getting up close and personal with high-end sports cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Paganis. But his car is actually a Fiat 500 Abarth, a car you could buy for as little as $22,000.

The aftermarket tuning specialists at Pogea Racing have applied their magic to the Fiat 500 Abarth and boosted the 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine to 168hp. That may not seem like a big power output, considering the 500 Abarth rolls off the line with a 160 hp under the hood, but it does mean that Pogea was able to access the locked down EUR 6 ECU of the 500, something that other aftermarket tuners haven’t yet been able to accomplish.

The Fiat 500 Abarth is great fun to drive and performs incredibly on the track, especially given its diminutive size. But how many people actually get to take one on the track and compete against other drivers?

Fiat unveiled its latest Abarth creation at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show and it isn’t subtle: in fact, it’s the fastest street-legal Abarth ever made. The Abarth 695 biposto is made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the original Abarth 695 and it is a worthy successor to the name.