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Jay Leno Drives Fiat 500 Abarth

What can you get that’s sporty, Italian costs about $22,000. The answer can only be the evil twin brother of the regular Cinquecento, the 500 Abarth. The little pocket rocket joined Tim Kuniskis of Fiat USA in Jay Leno’s Garage.
Yes folks, Jay even did a handbrake turn and a little burnout in first gear with the 1.4-liter turbo engine red-lining it heart out. Seems the years spent in television have not dulled him at all.

Speaking of the engine, the 1.4-liter four-cylinder unit has been turbocharged to the sound of 160 horsepower. That’s quite a lot meatier than the standard 500, but it’s still very economical.

The 500 Abarth has been a great success story for Fiat. Originally, they were planning to make about a thousand of them to the US this year. This was soon boosted to three times that, but it wasn’t enough as the mighty pocket rocket is sold out.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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.
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