Abarth 500 is not available in the area I'm living, so I can only buy a 1.4L 500 with 6-speed automatic box. :bang: (no MT box)

I'll be receiving the 1.4L 500 sport in two months. I've only got one question, is it possible to transform the stock 1.4L 500 to Abarth version? I don't mind spending another GBP 10k to finish the project.

Far easier just to have imported an Abarth in the first place...... OR have bought a different car

loveivs said:

Abarth 500 is not available in the area I'm living, so I can only buy a 1.4L 500 with 6-speed automatic box. :bang: (no MT box)

I'll be receiving the 1.4L 500 sport in two months. I've only got one question, is it possible to transform the stock 1.4L 500 to Abarth version? I don't mind spending another GBP 10k to finish the project.

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I remember reading that China has hugh import duties to pay so the A500 mightn't be viable since they often look for the value of the car on import duty - would that be correct ?
Judging by the auto gearbox did you get the US edition model with the MA engine ?
There's a thread on here
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/269985-what-americans-doing-modding-500-a.html
that might be of some use but it would be worth posting a thread on the US forum.
And by the way - Congratulations on the order .

You can make it look like one for £650 here

RUI said:

You can make it look like one for £650 here

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Great price but I reckon our chinese friend has the Abarthy kit that's on the US edition 'Sport' model.

306maxi said:

Far easier just to have imported an Abarth in the first place...... OR have bought a different car

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There are a few abarth 500 here, i would say < 10 Abarth was brought into china by independent car dealer (most likely thru personal import), but those abarth uses 5-speed manual box. I could not play with the MT box. My bad :bang: i think those are early model too, new abarth 500 equips 6MT.

I have Maser, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW in my garange. But it's always good to have a city car. and i sort of fancy the 500. so I picked "her".

loveshandbags said:

I remember reading that China has hugh import duties to pay so the A500 mightn't be viable since they often look for the value of the car on import duty - would that be correct ?
Judging by the auto gearbox did you get the US edition model with the MA engine ?
.

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yes, import duty is high here. But I think the main reason those independent dealership don't bring 500 or A500 in is because FIAT sells pretty bad in China. FIAT is not even a famous car marque here.

according to my research,
A500 (5MT) is selling @ US$61,000 (drive-away price),
where 695 Tributo is around US$123k. (similar price to a bimmer 335i coupe)

how difficult would it be to import from Japan?

306maxi said:

how difficult would it be to import from Japan?

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Japan is RHD I think. However, LHD can also be registered.
Independent motor company mainly import cars from USA and Middle East. coz they are LHD =)

loveivs said:

There are a few abarth 500 here, i would say < 10 Abarth was brought into china by independent car dealer (most likely thru personal import), but those abarth uses 5-speed manual box. I could not play with the MT box. My bad :bang: i think those are early model too, new abarth 500 equips 6MT.

I have Maser, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW in my garange. But it's always good to have a city car. and i sort of fancy the 500. so I picked "her".

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The A500 with the 5 speed gearbox is the 'old' one. Given that you have a great selection of cars and you are essentially looking for a 'city car' - the newer model Fiat 500 1.4 US Edition has a very fuel efficient Multi air engine with stop/start is a very good choice particularly in the Sport model with the Abarthy kit. Despite weighing the same weight as an 'old' standard abarth - the US 500 with a close ratio six speed auto gearbox should be quite quick. There's also a Sport button which improves trottle response and gives the impression of being faster. There are 'normally' no 6 speed gearboxs in the A500 and they have not got 'stop start' for urban fuel efficiency. Also given that Fiat is not a great marque in China you will want a car that will be simple to service and maintain. In my humble opinion I would suggest that you stick with your order and if you are still hankering for an Abarth next year (you sound like a guy with loads of money) you could always change to the newer model which will be out with the Multi-air turbo engine which is expected to produce 170bhp in 'standard form' and will mostly likely have stop/start.

loveivs said:

Japan is RHD I think. However, LHD can also be registered.
Independent motor company mainly import cars from USA and Middle East. coz they are LHD =)

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Of course, my mistake

loveshandbags said:

The A500 with the 5 speed gearbox is the 'old' one. Given that you have a great selection of cars and you are essentially looking for a 'city car' - the newer model Fiat 500 1.4 US Edition has a very fuel efficient Multi air engine with stop/start is a very good choice particularly in the Sport model with the Abarthy kit. Despite weighing the same weight as an 'old' standard abarth - the US 500 with a close ratio six speed auto gearbox should be quite quick. There's also a Sport button which improves trottle response and gives the impression of being faster. There are 'normally' no 6 speed gearboxs in the A500 and they have not got 'stop start' for urban fuel efficiency. Also given that Fiat is not a great marque in China you will want a car that will be simple to service and maintain. In my humble opinion I would suggest that you stick with your order and if you are still hankering for an Abarth next year (you sound like a guy with loads of money) you could always change to the newer model which will be out with the Multi-air turbo engine which is expected to produce 170bhp in 'standard form' and will mostly likely have stop/start.

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Hi loveshandbags,
thx for the reply
FIAT China left me no choice, I'd buy a Ferrari 695 if they can offer me, but they don't =( so I plan to mod the 1.4L 500 after I get it. I know cosmetic stuff like body kit, rims, seats, exhaust etc can be purchased off eBay, what I really want to do is to upgrade the heart of the car- the engine. Novitec released supercharger for 1.4L, it claims the "new" 500 would have 130HP. I've no idea if the 1.4L engine they are talking is same as the 1.4L Multi-air engine I m going to have in my 500.

loveivs said:

Hi loveshandbags,
thx for the reply
FIAT China left me no choice, I'd buy a Ferrari 695 if they can offer me, but they don't =( so I plan to mod the 1.4L 500 after I get it. I know cosmetic stuff like body kit, rims, seats, exhaust etc can be purchased off eBay, what I really want to do is to upgrade the heart of the car- the engine. Novitec released supercharger for 1.4L, it claims the "new" 500 would have 130HP. I've no idea if the 1.4L engine they are talking is same as the 1.4L Multi-air engine I m going to have in my 500.

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One of the key differences between the standard 500 1.4 and the Abarth model is that the Abarth has TTC - Torque Transfer Control. The 500 models from 1.4 onwards have ESC and ASC which give a very limited form of Traction Control but if your supercharge or turbo charge the 1.4 engine it needs the TTC. This is an integral part of the electronics of the Abarth and cannot be retro-fitted. There are plenty of threads here about how to improve the performance of the 1.4 but not of the multi-air (which we have not got yet in the 500). One of the benefits of a (N/A) non-aspirated engine is that the power delivery is not 'spoilt' when the power (boost) comes on. Boosting the standard 1.4 is going to put a strain the drivetrain (geabox & clutch) - the Abarth setup would be a different specification and would have been designed for the extra power.

If you plan on improving the performance of the engine to give it Abarth performance I would suggest that you are better off importing a secondhand 2010 Abarth 500c (convertible) with the robotised manual gearbox (an improved selespeed). I would imagine that nobody else in China would have this model - so it would be quite exclusive.

Hey loveivs. Good to see you here.

Tried contacting a tuner? I.e. Hamann?

I wouldnt bother
Sounds like too much of a headache
These cars are great as is, ok they could be a bit louder but otherwise dont bother

Neil Surrey Labs said:

I wouldnt bother
Sounds like too much of a headache
These cars are great as is, ok they could be a bit louder but otherwise dont bother

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Err, not exactly an unbiased opinion there Neil...

RobinPJ said:

Err, not exactly an unbiased opinion there Neil...

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I would like to think it was more about experience than bias Robin. I put a 2.5 litre engine in my Triumph Spitfire years ago. It turned a slow but great little car into a complete monster/disaster. Destroyed its value and took a lot of work and money to get right. Seriously if you want a faster car go and buy a faster car where all the work has been done properly and completely by the factory. Like brakes, suspension, tyres etc.

Trying to get a lot of bhp on a non abarth FIAT 500 might turn out to be a futile and costly exercise.

By all means a few tweaks are fun but don't go to town on it.

Neil Surrey Labs said:

I would like to think it was more about experience than bias Robin. I put a 2.5 litre engine in my Triumph Spitfire years ago. It turned a slow but great little car into a complete monster/disaster. Destroyed its value and took a lot of work and money to get right. Seriously if you want a faster car go and buy a faster car where all the work has been done properly and completely by the factory. Like brakes, suspension, tyres etc.

Trying to get a lot of bhp on a non abarth FIAT 500 might turn out to be a futile and costly exercise.

By all means a few tweaks are fun but don't go to town on it.

Click to expand...

I suspect that money isn't a problem for the OP though.

Neil Surrey Labs said:

I would like to think it was more about experience than bias Robin. I put a 2.5 litre engine in my Triumph Spitfire years ago. It turned a slow but great little car into a complete monster/disaster. Destroyed its value and took a lot of work and money to get right. Seriously if you want a faster car go and buy a faster car where all the work has been done properly and completely by the factory. Like brakes, suspension, tyres etc.

Trying to get a lot of bhp on a non abarth FIAT 500 might turn out to be a futile and costly exercise.

By all means a few tweaks are fun but don't go to town on it.

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There are a few people on here who would say that the exhaust is not the only part of a 500 that can be improved in a way which does not need to break the bank. Suspension being the one that springs (ouch) to mind.

I was just saying that it sounded rather funny that someone who sells exhausts would say "nah, the 500 is perfect - you just need to change the exhaust".

It rather deserved the Mandy Rice-Davies response.

RobinPJ said:

There are a few people on here who would say that the exhaust is not the only part of a 500 that can be improved in a way which does not need to break the bank. Suspension being the one that strings (ouch) to mind.

I was just saying that it sounded rather funny that someone who sells exhausts would say "nah, the 500 is perfect - you just need to change the exhaust".

It rather deserved the Mandy Rice-Davies response.

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I'll be replacing the suspension before I even think about improving the exhaust