Introducing the new Fiat 124 Spider by the Fiat Chrysler Group. Set to be released next year, the Group is promising to release a comfortable version of the Fiat and a more extreme version with the Abarth.
The new Fiat 124 Spider looks very masculine. Fiat-Chrysler Group's Chief Operating Officer Alfredo Altavilla said that it will be a "comfortable" Fiat model in standard guise, whereas the Abarth version is going to be more "extreme."
According to a report by Auto Express, a more aggressive body also includes a carbon-fibre splitter and side skirts, stiffer suspension, beefier brakes and other similar hardware tweaks.
The car owner would expect a more performance-oriented model. Abarth, a detuned version of the 1.75-liter TBi engine from the Alfa Romeo 4C detuned to somewhere in the region of 237bhp.
It is combined with a very low curb weight which is identical to a power-to-weight ratio of the Porsche Boxster GTS. makes an average of 0-62mph sprint time for every five seconds.
According to Car and Driver, Altavilla said that the rejuvenhe rated 124 Spider will spawn an "extreme" Abarth variant and he wants his team to be more focused on the performance of the car.
The report quotes Altavilla as saying, "What I wanted to do with Biposto was mark a very clear cut with the past. Abarth is all about performance and so I've told my team to stop working on colors and trims. Any new version of an Abarth car should deliver some sort of a performance enhancement, otherwise it is useless."
He added, "We went too far with the Punto Abarth - the Punto is a family car and the Abarth version was seen as a bit of a stretch. I stopped production of it 15 months ago because it was not targeted at the true Abarth customer - an Abarth has to be something special and a family car cannot offer this."
Car enthusiasts can look forward to the Fiat 124 Spider's release second half of 2016.
