Abarth cars

2012 Abarth 695 Competizione

Frankfurt Motor Show is usually a show of power and performance and this is exactly what Abarth has shown with their latest 695 Competizione - the first "street legal" Scorpion racing car.

The Abarth 695 Competizione was inspired by the Abarth 500 Assetto Corsa and is painted in an exclusive Grigio Competizione Opaco livery. Other exterior features include Xenon headlights, 17" rims borrowed from the "Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari," and stronger suspension and brake systems. This is all joined by "695" logos and "Competizione" graphics.

The interior of the special edition is a main attraction all on its own with "Abarth Corsa by Sabelt" seats in black leather with Alcantara red inserts, a carbon fiber shell, and a black leather steering wheel with a tricolor hub and red inserts, fitted with 5-speed "Abarth Competizione" gearshift paddles. The carbon fiber dashboard with the Abarth Blue&MeTM MAP satellite navigation unit and a telemetric function developed in conjunction with Magneti Marelli is highlighted with the car’s Jaeger instrument panel. The Grigio Competizione Opaco color found on the exterior of the car also finds its way inside as the new roll bar - replacing the rear seats - is found donning the shade.

Power for the Abarth model has also been upgraded, so even though there’s a 1.4L Turbo T-Jet 16v engine found under the hood, it has been tuned to deliver more than 180 HP. This engine is mated to an "Abarth Competizione" gearbox with race-inspired steering wheel controls.

Top Gear Season 17: Episode 2

Last Sunday, the second episode of Top Gear’s 17th season aired and like most of the shows these days, we were treated to some hilarious segments, a rather pointedly pointless car review, some canned and scripted studio jokes, and - for once - a surprisingly fast lap on the Kia Cee’d. Par for the course for Top Gear.

In this episode, James May will tell you things about the Aston Martin Virage that you already probably know. This is then followed by a highly-entertaining hot hatch triple threat madness along the streets of Italy that included finding a dog, an ice cube, and branch from a cedar tree.

Comedian Russ Noble also stopped by for a little chat with Jeremy - an entertaining interview by our measure - after which the former strapped on his helmet for his hot lap on board the show’s Reasonably Priced Car.

The show concludes with a sort of dream of dreams, at least as far as Jeremy Clarkson was concerned: three laps around the Monaco Grand Prix. It probably didn’t matter that the cars they were driving were the same three hot hatches they drove in Italy. At the end of the day - Clarkson especially - had a blast to finally drive their way around Monaco’s world famous street circuit.

Full details after the jump.

Alfa Romeo 4C might get Abarth and Maserati variants

While everyone is waiting for the Alfa Romeo 4C GTA to debut in production form and find its way over to the US, other variations may currently be in the pipeline as well. New reports suggest that the 4C concept will not only preview a two-seater model for Abarth and Alfa, but will also come in some other derivatives, including a Maserati model.

The 4C GTA concept is powered by a "4 cylinder" 1750 Turbo Petrol engine located centrally in the rear of the vehicle and mated to a new automatic "Alfa TCT" twin dry clutch transmission. With a total output of 200 HP, the engine will sprint the concept from 0 to 60 mph in just 5 seconds, while top speed goes up to 155 mph. However, we anticipate that the Maserati variant will be both more powerful and sportier, but we’ll have to wait until about 2013 or 2014 to see it in action.

2011 Abarth 500 "Motore Centrale R230" by Anzom

Aznom’s work on the Abarth 500 isn’t so much about the added output the little Italian hatch gets – 230 ponies for good measure – but more so on how they did it. You don’t get to wake up everyday and see an engine placed inside a clear, transparent box, do you? Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Traditionally a front-engine car, the folks over at Aznom decided to turn the Abarth hatch into a mid-engine, rear-drive vehicle, one that harkens back to the days of the original 500. Even better than rearranging the car’s overall set-up was the fact that the tuning company also tuned the car’s 1.4-liter turbo four engine all the way up to 230 horsepower and 243 lb/ft of torque. Figures may not mean much in a world littered with 300+ horsepower sports cars, but for a tiny hatch that weighs less than a ton, that’s a mighty impressive number.

Throw in other goodies like a new suspension with Bilstein dampers, upgraded brakes, and a set of Kumho tires, and you’ll have a car that’s going to make heads turn for all the right reasons. Let’s just all hope that the people over at Aznom won’t charge as hefty a price tag for the privilege of owning one in the future.

2011 Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari by Romeo Ferraris

The Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari is no doubt the most powerful Fiat 500 in the line-up. It is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged T-Jet engine that delivers a total of 180 HP, a significant increase over the 500’s standard 101 HP. But, as usual, there is always someone out there who believes that any car can be improved, and Italian tuner Romeo Ferraris has taken on that challenge with the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari.

Romeo Ferraris got their hands on two of the limited edition Tributo Ferraris so they could tinker around with their insides. Starting off with the original project’s 1.4-liter turbocharged T-Jet engine, Romeo Ferraris used new camshafts, a new turbine, oversize injectors, a remapped ECU and a new exhaust system complete with sports catalyst and dual rear exit to get the Tributo Ferrari up to 260 HP. That’s a 80 HP increase over the standard 180 HP.

Abarth had originally left the 500’s power output unchanged, but they did strengthen its suspension and braking system. Since the handling was already there, the tuner just opted for installing a new Brembo brake system to handle the extra juice.

As far as looks are concerned, no aesthetic modifications needed here. The original Fiat 500 used for the project was already Ferrari red before Abarth added performance-enhanced and Ferrari-designed 17-inch alloy wheels, carbon fiber door mirrors, and Xenon headlights. With the car looking that good already, Romeo just had to power it up to get a good response.

The two Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari models will be offered to the American market, but there are no words just yet on the update’s prices. We’re guessing that, with only two units up for grabs, there will be a lot of disappointed folks out there.

2011 Geneva Motor Show Preview

The biggest international auto show of the 2011 calendar year is getting closer and closer to opening its doors when the event kicks off on March 1st, 2011. Unlike recently concluded auto shows we’ve had since the calendar turned to 2011, the Geneva Motor Show is always the one that gets our juices flowing. Not that those other events weren’t any good, but Geneva brings out all the goods. All the big boys come out to play at this event, so much so that making this preview took more days than we expected because everyday, a new model was being announced as attending the event.

Now that the Geneva Motor Show is less than two weeks away, we feel like it’s time to give you a sneak peek on what cars to expect at the event. A lot of brands that routinely skip other auto shows will all be in attendance at the Geneva Motor Show, proving that without a shadow of a doubt, this Swiss spectacle is one of the most important - if not the most important - events in the automotive calendar.

Hit the jump to check out just who will be in attendance when the show opens its doors on March 1st, 2011.

2011 Abarth 500C Anniversario by Romeo Ferraris

At the end of 2010 Romeo Ferraris unveiled the Abarth 500 Estremo, but now the company is celebrating their 25th anniversary and an occasion like that calls for a much more stylish and special vehicle: the Abarth 500C Anniversario.

The car is painted in a two-toned fully chromed exterior paint, which captures the attention with its unique reflections, but does not dazzle in the sunlight, as the percentage of chromium does not exceed 60%. The top is painted in silver chrome, while the lower is painted in red. The exterior kit is finished by a new set of 17" wheels wrapped in high performance tires.

Under the hood, the 1.4 liter turbocharged engine has been tuned with a new air filter, turbocharger (this also includes turbo accessories), a downpipe with fresh catalytic converters. The result is an increase of 63 HP up to a total of 203 HP. The competition kit is finished with new Brembo parts (280 mm rotors and four-piston calipers for the front axle).

2011 Abarth Scorp-Ion Concept by IED

While we are all waiting for Abarth’s very own two-seater sports car, some students from IED design Milano decided to work on a concept of their own. Under the supervision of Luca Borgogno, senior designer at Pininfarina, and Luigi Giampaolo, a designer for Maserati, these students have created the Abarth Scorp-Ion, a concept car that was presented in a 1:4 scale at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Scorp-Ion concept is being built on a 2.35 meter long wheelbase and measures 4.1 m x 1.90 m x 1.19 m. The concept is an electric vehicle powered by four electric motors (one per wheel) that get their power from a lithium-ion battery located in a central position. This will not only help in delivering an optimal weight distribution between the axles, but it will also help lower the vehicle’s center of gravity.

"It’s always exciting declares César Mendoza, Director of IED Turin and also a source of a particular apprehension to know that our school participates each year at the Geneva Motor Show without having a definitive vision, from the outset, of the project we will present; a vision that is gradually refined and takes shape once the concept has been completed by the students. It is this silent confidence in our students and which exists among the school, lecturers and students that underlies the professional growth of each single designer. The concept premiered this year is already a source of great satisfaction as it has provided us with the opportunity to carry out research into a great Italian marque, its character, also considering the use of alternative sources of energy. This study has encouraged our students to conceive bold, innovative styling and volumetric solutions."

2011 Fenice-Milano La Dolce Vita Gold and Diamonds 500C

Okay, just reading the name of this car should make everyone wonder just how much it is going to cost, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that. First let’s introduce the car. The Abarth 500C is typically no more than about $25,000 and features lots of little goodies, like that four cylinder inline engine that delivers a weak 140hp. Now add a tuning package from Fenice-Milano that consists of a little bling bling, and now this expensive ride starts to sparkle.

Just how expensive is this little car? Well, take the base Abarth 500C, add 24k gold inserts and an Apple iPad Supreme Edition made out of 24k gold and diamonds, and now you got yourself a $660,000 vehicle. That’s right, that is what a Chinese customer ordered and paid for this bedazzled 500. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Intriguing? Hell yeah!

Hit the jump to read more about the Fenice-Milano La Dolce Vita Gold and Diamonds 500C.

2010 Abarth 500 Estremo by Romeo Ferraris

A standard Abarth 500 develops a total of 135 HP, but how about cranking it up a few notches and almost doubling the output? The package capable of this comes from Romeo Ferraris and is called the Estremo (that’s Italian for extreme). Their package develops a total of 260 HP and can be ordered for both coupe and convertible versions.

The car is painted in Blu Pozzi, an exterior color reserved for supercars like the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB. The exterior also gets ice cap chromed mirrors, opening vertical doors, and "260 hp Far" applied on the hood and tailgate .

For the interior, the tuner is has chosen tobacco colors for the grain leather coating for the sports seats and all the plastic parts (instrument panel, door panels, rear panels, pillars). The sun visors and surface of the trunk get special carpeting and Alcantara.

In order to obtain the 260 ponies, the tuner has modified the parameters of the ECU and replaced most of the standard components of the engine compartment with high-performance products (turbine, injectors, pistons, camshaft, flywheel intercooler and front).