Fiat 500 Abarth SS 160 Hp Coming in November

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!

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

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.......

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.

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/EDITORIA...w.html?src=rss

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.

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

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

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

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

No it wouldnt. The 1.6 would weigh too much for it and the 1.4 is just as tuneable.


Oh and you sure you can get an SS version with this being released as a LE model? http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/07...h-opening.html

Aye, the SS (add on kit) will be available to us in the UK as well. The Abarth in the link is the 'Opening Edition' and I think we're getting prob about 2 in the UK

I dont see why they would release the SS kit for it when they are doing that limited edition opening model as the quick one as it makes it pointless. That and putting the SS kit on the 500 will make it faster than there suposed flag ship grande abarth.

They are doing the SS kit for the Grande Punto Abarth too.

I know. But putting the SS kit on the 500 will make it faster than the abarth ss