Abarth UK is giving a taste of what's to come this year with two new models that are being shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2016. It's rare for such a small company to have two debuts at the same time, and both are pretty significant ones at that.
At a glance, the 595 looks just like every 500 that you've ever seen. However, this isn't the car your mom drives... or maybe she does if she's really cool.
The 500 was showered with praise when it came out in 2007. Rather than mess with a good thing, Fiat gave its little success story a makeover for 2015. Now all those facelift updates have trickled down to the Abarth version, making its appearance at Goodwood.
From the outside, it looks meatier yet also more modern. Bright paint, curved and enlarged air intakes and lowered suspension are all part of the Abarth mantra.
While MINI's Cooper S switched to a bigger 2-liter and the Polo GTI adopted a 1.8 TSI, the Abarth has not upsized. Fiat has been using the same 1.4-liter turbo engine for quite a long time, but it's a perfect match for the 595. In its Competizione spec, this can be matched by a fruitier Monza exhaust system.
The other great new debut from Abarth is its version of the 124 Spider. That model is the only way in which you can have 160 horsepower, as the regular versions offered in Europe have just 140 hp.
That's not all. The body looks different, thanks to revisions of the bumpers and color scheme. The biggest benefit of going for the Abarth is the upgraded suspension system. To cement its reputation as a rebellious motorsport brand, the Scorpion will enter the 124 in rally racing pretty soon as well.
One is the same as the old car, but with a different bumper. The other is a Mazda Miata with the wrong engine. So why do we love these things so much?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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