Abarth is headed to 2019 Geneva Motor Show with a spicy special edition sports car that pays tribute to the Abarth 124 Rally racer that triumphed in the 2018 FIA R-GT Cup. The special edition 124 Spider is appropriately called the Rally Tribute Special Edition, and it packs a collection of exclusive features that celebrates its status as a tribute car to the rally racer that, in addition to winning the R-GT Cup, also collected 40 class victories in the 12 national championships in which it competed. Only 124 units of the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute will be made. Pricing and allocation details haven’t been announced, but expect the special edition 124 to fetch north of $30,000 on account of the base Abarth 124 that starts at $28,295.

What Makes the 2020 Fiat 124 Rally Tribute Special?

You can always count on Fiat — and Abarth — to have something special in store for the Geneva Motor Show. Last year, it was the Abarth 124 GT that was present in the show. Two years ago, it was the Abarth 124 Scoprione. This year, Abarth is tapping into an easy source for a special edition model: a championship-winning race car.

That racer, the Abarth 124 Rally racer had an eventful 2018. The only blemish on that record occurred at the Rally di Roma Capitale when a Porsche 997 GT3, the only other make-and-model to compete in the series, squeaked in with a third-place finish. In addition to its thorough annihilation of the R-GT Cup, the Abarth 124 Rally car collected a whopping 40 victories in 12 different racing competitions for the entire year.

So if Abarth wanted to build a special edition 124 for the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, it’s only fitting that the automaker pays tribute to the seemingly untouchable Abarth 124 Rally race car. Well, don’t look now because that’s exactly what Abarth did.

In keeping the spirit of the latter alive, the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute is available in two colors: Costa Brava Red and Turini White: A matte black hood and trunk complement the predominantly red (or white) body. This particular color setup is more than just fancy aesthetics; the matte black hood helps reduce the sun’s reflection, which was a critical part of the Abarth 124 Rally car's success. Abarth also added mirror caps and parts of the bumper that are finished in either gunmetal grey with a Costa Brava Red livery or Racing Red with splashes of Turini White paintwork. A new set of 17-inch alloy wheels finished in a Racing White shade complete the exterior upgrades that are included in the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute. The wheels themselves are lighter versions of the standard stock, contributing a loss of as much as 4 kilos (8.8 pounds) to the car’s overall weight. That might be an insignificant number to some, but that should still be significant enough to give the special edition 124 an extra pep in its step.

Still, there are enough features in this section to justify its special edition billing. The sport bucket seats are wrapped in red leather. That’s always a good choice when it comes to special edition models. The seats are heated, too. That actually counts as one of many features that come standard in the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute. If Alcantara’s your jam, you’ll be happy to know that the special edition sports car comes with generous trim helpings of the good stuff. Automatic climate control also comes standard, as does a premium Bose sound system with nine speakers, four of which are built into the head restrains. These goodies are included in Abarth’s Radio Plus Pack, which also happens to come with an integrated infotainment system, a seven-inch color touchscreen, a DAB digital under, a user-friendly knob on the central tunnel, and a smattering of connectivity ports of the wired and wireless varieties. Two USB ports? Check. An AUX port? You got it. Bluetooth? Yes, sir!

Needless to say, the special edition Abarth 124 Rally Tribute wouldn’t be complete without one of its most important exclusive feature: the Abarth-branded floor mats. Can’t leave home without those bad boys!

There are no engine upgrades included in the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute. I know. Sad, right? If Abarth’s building a special edition version that’s based on a race car, you would think that it would throw in the latter’s engine into the special edition to really drive the special edition label home. Unfortunately, Abarth didn’t play that game. In fact, it didn’t play any games at all with the 124’s engine because we’re getting the standard 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that “only” produces 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. I get the decision to stick with the standard engine because fitting the bigger 1.8-liter unit would have driven the cost up. It’s just that those expecting to have a 300-horsepower special edition Abarth 124 Rally Tribute will be severely disappointed when they find out that they’re only getting a little over half of that output in their special edition models.

The good news is that even with the smaller engine, Abarth coaxed a few performance upgrades in the special edition 124. The go-fast goodies include new Brembo brakes and a Record Monza exhaust with a dual-mode system. You’re not getting a 300-horsepower Abarth 124, but with this exhaust system, there’s a chance that you can get a sports car that sounds like it has 300 horsepower. Besides, the Brembo brakes are nice additions, too. And I did mention that the Abarth 124 Rally Tribute is lighter on its toes, even if we’re only talking about nine pounds of difference. Take your victories when you can get them, folks.

Pricing details and availability haven't been announced, but that's what the 2019 Geneva Motor Show is for. Expect those important pieces of information to arrive then.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider.

Read our full review on the 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth.