So the Fiat 124’s been Abarth’d already?
Absolutely. After years spent performing minor miracles on hatchbacks and city cars, you get the feeling Fiat’s performance subsidiary couldn’t wait to get its hands on a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive two-seater.
This new Abarth 124 Spider is the product of two and a half years’ work, and developed in parallel to the standard 124. The Abarth crew have tweaked the standard set-up with a lower ride height, Bilstein shocks and unique settings for the springs, anti-roll bars, steering and stability control.
The black-bonneted wonder also gets a mechanical limited-slip differential as standard, a tweaked version of the Fiat Punto Abarth’s 1.4 turbo four-pot nestling longitudinally under the bonnet, Brembo brakes and a freer-breathing exhaust.
Looks pretty funky
It’s amazing how good a matt black bonnet and boot can look, and they're a nice nod to Abarths past. The Abarth 124’s further differentiated by a bulge in the bonnet, black wheels, bespoke Bridgestone tyres, a more aggressive front bumper and side skirts.
Inside you get a little competition car chic in the form of a welcome smattering of alcantara, a red rev counter, a red stripe to the top of the wheel and an Abarth certification plate screwed to the bulkhead between the seats. There’s also a Sport button, which sharpens the steering, throttle and the gearbox response (if you’ve inexplicably gone for the auto) and lowers the stability control threshold.
Fundamentally, little’s changed from the 124 or MX-5, so there’s an optional but excellent iDrive-style infotainment system, a fine driving position that’s not quite as adjustable as you’d like, the same clever, quick and ultra-light folding soft-top and the general feel of a cockpit right on the cusp of cosy becoming claustrophobic – 6ft-plus pilots will struggle.
Fundamentally, little’s changed from the 124 or MX-5, so there’s an optional but excellent iDrive-style infotainment system, a fine driving position that’s not quite as adjustable as you’d like, the same clever, quick and ultra-light folding soft-top and the general feel of a cockpit right on the cusp of cosy becoming claustrophobic – 6ft-plus pilots will struggle.
Sounds funky too?
Oh yes. Ok, so it’s not the most sophisticated of noises – this being a modern turbocharged four – but the Record Monza exhaust is vocal and adds plenty to the driving experience, broadcasting every movement of the throttle pedal with a rasping, metallic blare that’s entirely in keeping with the Abarth’s retro styling touches – and it sounds for all the world like a ’60s twin-cam four-cylinder on maximum attack. Too loud? On a mainstream car it’d be unacceptably wearing but here it feels entirely appropriate.
All mouth and no trousers?
Just as you’re pondering whether 168bhp is enough, consider that the manual 124 Abarth only weighs 1060kg. And that turbo torque, which chimes in at 2500rpm and is really kicking on by 3500rpm, lends the 124 a deceptive turn of speed. A Fiesta ST will leave you for dust, certainly, but at speed in the Abarth, with the engine roaring through its exhaust, you couldn’t care less.
The delivery is impressively linear, so much so that blundering into the 6500rpm rev limit is easy. But while you could argue that isn’t how a little sports car engine should behave, in truth this is the best engine yet to grace the MX-5 platform. It makes a playground of every first, second and third-gear corner, and brings calm assurance to overtakes. The Abarth knocks less than a second from the Fiat’s 0-62mph time but at the wheel the feeling is of a significantly stronger motor.
And to steer?
A thing of joy, thanks to those excellent Mazda fundamentals (low weight, 50:50 weight distribution, rear-wheel drive) and Abarth’s superb chassis set-up. This little team can legitimately stick the Lancia 037 and Delta S4 rally cars on its CV, and in more recent years has worked wonders with more mundane metal, as anyone who’s driven any of its silly but very impressive track-ready 500s will know.
The set-up feels somewhere between the two MX-5 options: the standard tune and that of the Bilstein-equipped 2.0-litre cars. The Fiat rides almost as well as the softer Mazda but controls body movement like the Sport-equipped MX-5. And there’s such delicious balance and transparency to everything it does that within a mile you’re flicking to Sport for its sharper responses, knocking off the stability control and having a blast in a car that delivers all that the GT86 and MX-5 promised and didn’t wholly deliver.
The set-up feels somewhere between the two MX-5 options: the standard tune and that of the Bilstein-equipped 2.0-litre cars. The Fiat rides almost as well as the softer Mazda but controls body movement like the Sport-equipped MX-5. And there’s such delicious balance and transparency to everything it does that within a mile you’re flicking to Sport for its sharper responses, knocking off the stability control and having a blast in a car that delivers all that the GT86 and MX-5 promised and didn’t wholly deliver.
Its key advantages are torque and that limited-slip diff. Together they mean meaty traction and drive when you want to keep things neat and graceful, slow-motion slides when you don’t. Factor in the light, accurate and communicative steering – you can feel grip levels across the front axle ebb and flow as you pass from dry road to damp – the strong, linear brakes and the lovely six-speed manual ’box and you start to wonder whether, at 2600 units for the first year, Abarth will find itself with a long waiting list.
Verdict
Comparing the £30k Abarth 124 Spider to the MX-5 is inevitable but unfair. A 1.5 SE Mazda is more than £10k cheaper and a 2.0-litre Sport Nav still only £23,295. The BMW 220i M Sport is comparable on price, packs a little more power and is a fair bit more practical, but it’s also a third heavier at 1595kg for the convertible.
A 2.0 TFSI Audi TT will surely out-grip the Abarth but can’t touch it for driving satisfaction or emotional clout. Both Germans are more rounded products, more versatile. But if you know what you really want, you’ll really want an Abarth 124 Spider.
