Founded in 1949, Abarth celebrates its 70th year of existence in 2019. Not wanting to let this milestone pass them, the engineers were granted permission to go crazy with the 695. This leads us to the 695 70° Anniversario special edition, whose biggest trick is the Spoiler ad Assetto Variabile.
Before anything, what the hell is Spoiler ad Assetto Variabile? Tested in the Orbassano wind tunnel, this active spoiler can reduce steering corrections by approximately 40 percent when fully deployed. No fewer than 12 positions are available, with inclinations of up to 60 degrees.
Looking even closer at the no-nonsense exterior, the 695 70° Anniversario is more than meets the eye. The Monza 1958 green livery pays tribute to the first 500 Abarth that set six international records at the Temple of Speed that year, and the Campovolo grey details add to the visual drama.
The scorpion stickers, 17-inch SuperSport alloy wheels, red Brembo calipers, and Sabelt Tricolore seats are all standard, as well as the most powerful iteration of the 1.4-liter MultiAir turbo four-cylinder engine. The lil’ un’ hiding under the hood is tuned to deliver 180 horsepower on full song and 250 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm, translating to 225 km/h (approximately 140 mph).
Acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) is nothing to write home about, taking 6.7 seconds from a standstill to the three-digit velocity. The thing is, Abarth didn’t develop this thing to be a rocket on the straights but a pocket rocket where it matters. The Koni rear suspension with FSD trickery is the highlight of the chassis while the short wheelbase helps the turn-in behavior.
Only 1949 units will be manufactured for the 2020 model year, and pricing starts at a mind-boggling €34,600. That’s $37,960 at current exchange rates, which is more than the A 220 4Matic Sedan from Mercedes-Benz.
As expected of such a hardcore city car, Abarth didn’t forget to install a telemetry system to measure lap times, lateral acceleration, you name it. The telemetry is controlled through the Uconnect infotainment system, which also knows how to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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