Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Ill take one, throw all the insulating garbage out, then itll drop to reasonable 800 to 900 kg, and then it will go properly....insane as it was meant to be :yum:

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Reaper said:

The punto Grande abarth with the same fiat 1.4 turbo engine was very slow. 0-60 about 8.9. With huge mods, 7.7.

With how small this car is and especially how light, any guesses to the 0-60? Fiat havent made a properly fast car since the coupe. Could this be a new dawn? Or just another Fiat Abarth false dawn.

Click to expand...

cant compare the 500 to a coupe performance wise, it'd be like comparing a cinq to a coupe...

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

got to admit i regret the day i got rid of my coupe. i haven't been able to stick with a car longer than six months since.

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

I am thinking of getting a coupe but have been put off by all the horror stories of everything falling apart all the time and the huge costs involved in putting it back together 24/7. Can you give a brief description of why you miss the coupe and how it drove?

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

I've just taken delivery of my 500 1.4 Sport. Having just come out of an 18 month relationship with a BMW E46 318ci coupé I am very impressed. Performance wise it is comparable, but so much moire chuckable. I found myself taking the B roads home at the weekend. Being a lot shorter it was twitchy over uneven surfaces, but give it 6 months and I think I will be beating a path back to my dealer and chopping it in for an Abarth.

The dealers are to be told whether they have Abarth status in the next couple of months, fingers crossed.

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

willoughbybrown said:

I've just taken delivery of my 500 1.4 Sport. Having just come out of an 18 month relationship with a BMW E46 318ci coupé I am very impressed. Performance wise it is comparable, but so much moire chuckable. I found myself taking the B roads home at the weekend. Being a lot shorter it was twitchy over uneven surfaces, but give it 6 months and I think I will be beating a path back to my dealer and chopping it in for an Abarth.

The dealers are to be told whether they have Abarth status in the next couple of months, fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

I don't think I'll be able to resist ordering one if and when orders are being taken

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

I am thinking of getting a coupe but have been put off by all the horror stories of everything falling apart all the time and the huge costs involved in putting it back together 24/7. Can you give a brief description of why you miss the coupe and how it drove?

Click to expand...

to be honest i've had two, a 20v turbo and a 16v turbo and can't see why people knock them.
both cars i had were totally reliable but being honest the 16v turbo one for me was the best alrounder.
i had it three years and it never needed anything apart from a battery.

i think the horror stories you here are from cars that have been abused badly.

the driving felt really solid to me also but i did feel the understeer on bad roads pushing the car hard.

for me it was the fact that you don't see many even when they were new and the attention you receive is amazing.

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

^^ Thanks

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

I think the SS500 will probably happen, but I doubt it in teh UK, maybe only in london branchs, like lancia (tiny one with fancy kit in it????) is only sold in london, and they still LHD etc


TBH despite the number of cars on our roads, the UK is not an easy place to sell a car, especially performance cars/high end models, I mean how many measly 1.6 mundano's are theere on the roads, and 1.4L astras (new ones I mean), they freaking suck, but its what sells

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Helz said:

I think Mr Beard would still stand by his statement And I'm not the only one, Vickster has a Merc now and there must be others

Click to expand...

Is this the exception that proves the rule? Unfortunately, it has often been said that people who know nothing about cars buy BMWs, even though they are possibly the best cars in the world, at least in the 3-5 series range of cars. Unfortunately, whereas most of the people on this site run FIATs because they like the cars, (most) people buy BMWs because of what they think other people will think of them. However, Helz is obviously a person of impeccable taste and discernment and would enhance the reputation of any make of car. (Phew, think I got away with that.)

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

faster4_tec said:

I think the SS500 will probably happen, but I doubt it in teh UK, maybe only in london branchs, like lancia (tiny one with fancy kit in it????) is only sold in london, and they still LHD etc


TBH despite the number of cars on our roads, the UK is not an easy place to sell a car, especially performance cars/high end models, I mean how many measly 1.6 mundano's are theere on the roads, and 1.4L astras (new ones I mean), they freaking suck, but its what sells

Click to expand...

Well the SS is a kit. So basically you buy an Abarth 500 and you can add an SS kit. There's no reason why all the Abarth dealerships won't be trained up on this. If the Abarth 500 is sold here which it will be and the SS kit is sold here which you can only assume it will be then you'll be able to have a RHD 500 SS.

People buy 1.4l Astra's because they want to get to work and to the shops cheaply. Can't blame people for that!

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

no retail confirmed yet! my dealership in essex is one of the 12 selected to do abarth and no fees known or dates confirmed! estimate november/december for release uk, grande 500 out in month or two our showroom will be ready for abarth 7 july i think! cant wait

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

also the 500 abarth has been put back to 2009 from what i heard today? and all abarths will take 3-4 months to get from order.......

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Pretty much every Fiat dealer I've spoken to in the UK has pre-orders for the 500 Abarth, typically to the order of between 20 and 50 cars - some with more in the region of 100. Even if only half are converted to real orders when the time comes that represents a substantial number of cars to be delivered in the UK. Initial delivery times will be large as each car is only made to order rather than being a full production model (with a possibly tiny percentage of surplus which may came from cancelled orders after a build is initiated).

Once the initial rush is over the delivery times will come down but whether the 3-4 months represents a normal delivery lead time or an initial delivery time is unknown.

As for the upgrade kits they have to be fitted by an approved Abarth depot and these will not be common sight around the UK. An officially fitted kit represents more than just a suspension and power upgrade - the car is re-registered at the DVLA as an SS which means it does not count as a modified car when it comes to insurance and does not void the warranty on the car. It is quite conceivable that the kit could be fitted by an untrained technician but you would lose the side-benefits and expect a much bigger insurance premium as a result.

Allowing untrained technicians to perform upgrades could well do a fair bit of harm to the market value of the 500 Abarth since you would be left with people trying to pass-off unofficial conversions off as the real thing and the insurance companies might have something to say about that.

There are still some hurdles that Fiat/Abarth have to resolve in the UK with regards the re-registering of cars, effectively they become kitcars but without the horrible Q-registration plate (as over 90% of the donor car is retained). The same applies to the GPA of course.

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Do you think the new Mito, which comes in at £10,975 for 95bhp and £14,975 for the 155bhp, will affect Abarth sales? It goes on sale here early next year apparently and should offer real competition. I guess the Abarth will be cheaper??

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORI...o_takes_on_Mini_at_UK_Motor_Show.html?src=rss

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

The Mito is a slightly different kettle of fish - the degree of luxury in the cabin is very good although the rear seats are rather compromised apparently, as is the handling which is something that the 500 Abarth will definitely be up on. Despite the quality of the 500s cabin it is still fairly minimalist.

The other point to remember is that the mito is based on the Grande Punto, not the 500 and as such it is a noticible bigger car even if the interior space is about the same (if not smaller).

Will the Mito reduce profits for Fiat, maybe but for the Fiat group the answer is definitely not - it only increases the strength of the group's position in the market.

Short of the 8C the Mito (especially the GTA) is probably the highest performing car in the Alfa range and given the rather unruly behaviour of the 8C it likely to be the quickest car in their range on pretty much any given road. The 500 Abarth has already proven itself in this respect, not because it is as hugely fast but because it is so easy to drive at the limit that the performance envelope can be exploited. The 8C on the other hand takes more than a bit of skill. Whether or not the Mito can be exploited to the same degree is a bit unknown but given the chassis it should be capable even if Alfa have made a mess of the steering feel.

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

ben said:

View attachment 39063​

It's been in the rumourmill for sometime now, however, at a media preview for the new Abarth 500 held in Turin, FIAT have finally confirmed speculation that a new more powerful 500 will be released - possibly as early as November this year.

This will come as great news for anyone who thought 135BHP wasn't going to be enough - with the new upgraded turbo-charged 1.4l engine putting out a massive 160BHP.

Called the "esse-essee" kit (read SS) - along with the engine, it also includes a number of mechanical and visual improvements to the car and can either be fitted as an option at time of purchase, or, retro fitted up to one year after purchase, or 20,000km on the road.

Click to expand...

That's really wonderful car!
I like the tubo -charged engine! When will it come to China?

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

ruigong_china said:

That's really wonderful car!
I like the tubo -charged engine! When will it come to China?

Click to expand...

I'm sure 'Great Wall' will have version ready long before the snooty 'governanti' in Turin decide to export to you...

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

Well, I've put my name down for an Abarth Esseesse (SS). Prob looking at a Jan 2009 delivery....CAN'T WAIT!!!

Re: Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

I was told they were hoping for the cars in november but it may be january