Italian automaker Fiat has teased the 500 Abarth on Twitter, hinting that the vehicle’s launch is just around the corner.
Fiat launched the Abarth 595 Competizione in India a couple of weeks back after a very long wait. The vehicle is priced at a staggering Rs. 29.85 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi), bang in the territory of the MINI Cooper S and the Mercedes A-Class. The company also displayed the Punto Evo Abarth which will be launched in October this year. We all have been waiting for Fiat to launch the 500 Abarth since a long time and it seems that this wait might come to an end very soon. Fiat India has uploaded a picture of the 500 Abarth on their Twitter page and it says that the vehicle is ‘Coming Soon’. How soon? Let’s see.
The Fiat 500 Abarth comes with the retro styling of the regular 500 hatchback which is quite a cult vehicle with a lot of fan following since the past many years. The hatchback is compact and looks cute and the Abarth version makes it look very sporty and adds a nice youthful appeal to it. The 500 Abarth is powered by a 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol engine which is a 4-cylinder, 16-valve unit. This powerplant produces 160 BHP of power at 5500 RPM and 230 Nm of torque at 2500 RPM. The engine is mated to a slick 5-speed manual gearbox. Fiat had displayed the 500 Abarth with the esseesse kit a number of times on various occasions but never got on to launch the vehicle.
With the arrival of the 500 Abarth, choices in the luxury hatchback segment will only increase. Customers will now be able to choose between the BMW 1-Series, Mercedes A-Class, MINI Cooper, Fiat 595 Competizione and of course the 500 Abarth. Looking at how the 595 Comeptizione has been priced, we can expect Fiat to launch the 500 Abarth at a cost of approximately Rs. 23.99 lakhs (ex-showroom). But, while Mercedes, BMW and MINI have well-established service networks in major cities in India, Fiat lacks a bit in this department as not all dealers will sell and service Abarth vehicles.
