Abarth 695 75° Anniversario Launched Down Under, Costs the Equivalent of a New Mustang

Unveiled last month, the new Abarth 695 75° Anniversario is the swansong of the ICE-powered series. It commemorates the brand's 75th anniversary, and its production is capped at 1,368 units, clearly referencing the displacement of the 1.4-liter engine in cubic centimeters.

Out of the total 1,368 copies that will see the light of day, 75 of them are destined for Australia, where the automaker has opened the order books. It boasts 132 kW (180 ps/177 hp) and has 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque from its 1.4L turbo, has a 225 kph (140 mph) top speed, and deals with the 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) acceleration in 6.7 seconds.

The new Abarth 695 75° Anniversario also features an exhaust system with active valves and stacked tips and comes with Koni FSD shocks at the front and rear with selective damping. The automaker also mentions the uprated brakes with Brembo calipers in black and states that this subcompact hot hatch rides on 17-inch alloys with a gold look and black hub caps.

Speaking of the look, it features a special scorpion livery that was applied to the roof. This feature has a gold look and contrasts the black finish of the car. Other exterior highlights include the gold Abarth logos, 75° Anniversario decals, and that's about all.

Inside, the 695 75° Anniversario has Alcantara upholstery wrapped around the dashboard, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with Alcantara and carbon fiber details, black fabric on the seats with a check design, a Beats audio system, a 7-inch infotainment with smartphone integration and DAB+ radio, a 7-inch TFT instrument cluster, and automatic air conditioning.

Abarth offers the 695 75° Anniversario in the hatch body style with a black finish solely, asking AU$52,695 for it, which equals US$34,822 at today's exchange rates. This makes it AU$9,190 (US$6,073) more expensive than the regular Abarth 695 sold locally when paired with a manual transmission and AU$6,977 (US$4,611) pricier than the same model when ordered with an automatic gearbox.

For the equivalent of nearly $35k, one could buy a brand-new Ford Mustang in the United States. The Blue Oval's muscle car starts at $30,920 in the EcoBoost Fastback configuration, using a 2.3-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine. On 93-octane fuel, the power unit kicks out 315 hp (320 ps/235 kW) at 5,500 rpm and 350 pound-foot (475 Nm) of torque at 3,000 rpm. The Mustang GT has an MSRP of $41,960 and uses a 5.0L Coyote V8 motor that steams out 480 hp (487 ps/358 kW) and 415 pound-foot (563 Nm).