At its unveiling at this past March's Geneva show, it was immediately apparent that Abarth had carried off a transformation of the Fiat 500 from a demure retro-hatch into a veritable pocket rocket. But for those for whom the 135 hp turbo four is just not enough, the performance division has unveiled a new limited edition "500 Abarth Opening Edition".
Although the name might suggest a convertible, the 500 Opening Edition is a fixed-roof hot-hatch distinguished by a 160hp engine, dropping a half-second off the conventional 500 Abarth's 0-60 time, now down to a sprightly 7.4 seconds. The Opening Edition also gets red brake calipers behind special 17" alloys in white or titanium finish, tinted glass and a revised interior with red leather and special badging with a serial number plate. Available in either pearl white or Campovolo gray (the latter available with a red-and-white checkered roof), only 100 examples of the 500 Abarth Opening Edition will be offered, complete with a special car cover to keep the exclusive vehicle protected from the elements.
Fiat's tuning workshop Abarth has released details for two new performance kits for the Grande Punto Abarth: the Assetto and esseesse (read: SS, for Super Sport) kits.
Starting with the standard 155-horsepower 1.4-liter turbocharged Grande Punto Abarth, both kits can be ordered after the fact and installed by specialized Abarth centers being established in markets around the world. The Assetto package includes an upgraded brake kit with cross-drilled discs front and rear and beefier brake pads, plus high-performance coil springs that drop the suspension an additional 15+ mm and special 18" white alloys with 215/40-ZR18 Pirelli PZero rubber. Customers who opt for the esseesse kit also get a bigger Garrett turbocharger, a BMC Carbon Dynamic induction kit, twin exhaust with chrome-tipped tail pipes, and a remapped ECU, boosting power up to 180 hp.
The kits are hitting the market in Italy this weekend for €2,500 and €4,500 respectively, and coincide with a concerted new Abarth marketing campaign and the opening of the Abarth performance driving school.
You have to admire Fiat's spunky rejuvenated Abarth division. Its first model is barely on the market yet, its second model is about to be unveiled, and it's already taking on challengers and shouting "What's next?" At a media preview for the new 500 Abarth in Turin, Italy, Fiat confirmed speculation that an even more powerful version would be offered as soon as November of this year. The 500 Abarth being shown in Geneva is equipped with a 135-hp turbo four, while the "esse-esse" (read: SS) kit will offer a host of performance and visual upgrades to bring the sprightly retromobile up to 160 hp.
The availability of the optional equipment makes sense, since a similar package was revealed for the Grande Punto Abarth, and the 500's kit is likewise expected to be available direct from the showroom, or retrofitted to an existing 500 Abarth up to one year or 20,000 km after purchase. If the 500 Abarth "esse-esse" is to hit the market in November, we could see it unveiled at the Paris auto salon in early October.
