The Abarth 124 Spider has made its debut in Geneva, offering a first glimpse of the hopped-up variant of the Mazda-based Fiat 124.
We first saw the new Fiat 124 Spider in Los Angeles, where it was announced that the Italian roadster would be offered with a 160-horsepower variant of the 1.4L MultiAir turbo engine available elsewhere in the FCA lineup. Paired with the 124′s 2,400lb curb weight, we expected performance similar to that of the Miata on which it is based.
Featuring a 170-horsepower version of that same MultiAir engine, the Abarth 124 also incorporates other performance features to make it the enthusiast’s 124 of choice. A mechanical limited-slip differential is standard, for starters, along with Brembo brakes and Bilstein dampers made specifically for Abarth. There’s good news on the transmission front, too. The Abarth 124 will be offered both with a six-speed manual gearbox and a sequential automatic.
170 horsepower may sound soft when you consider that the base car for the U.S. already produces 160, but bear in mind that this is a European annaouncement. Abarth models sold overseas are not as potent as those we see. (For example, the 500 Abarth that we get in the U.S. is equivalent to the Abarth 500 “esse esse” model sold in the home market.) Fiat stressed in the announcement that the powertrain specified in the technical data is only for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) markets.
The exterior is all Abarth, with a prominent scorpion badge up front and red and black accents from nose to tail. That theme continues inside too, where the otherwise very obviously Mazda-derived cabin shows off red seating surfaces with quilted ribs, an Abarth-branded wheel with a red leather centering stripe and Abarth-specific dash and console trim materials.
We expect to learn more about the American-market version of the Abarth 124 in the coming months. In the meantime, to see (and hear) the new Abarth 124 in action, check out the video below.
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