Saw this elsewhere & wondered if it's the first step in Abarth being recognised for what it is, a model within the Fiat range, and therefore you can buy & service your Abarth at any Fist dealer.

I mean you can buy and service your M Division BMW at any dealer, or an AMG at a Mercedes dealer, a Renaultsport product at a Renault dealer or Quattro GMBH at any Audi dealer. All of the above brands are listed as separate from the parent company but they don't make you go to specific places to make them feel different, they are halo products sold side by side to normal products, why is Abarth different or has the near 13% drop in Eutopean sales and the resignation of the head of Fiat marketing brought things to a head?

"In what represents a small but significant change of direction for the reborn Abarth brand, in a fortnight's time at the Frankfurt IAA, Fiat will launch a 500 TwinAir version that comes with an optional Scorpion-branded styling pack.

Since its high-visibility relaunch by the now-departed Fiat brand boss Luca De Meo, Abarth has rigorously pursued a standalone positioning, with separate facilities to the Fiat network rump. This strategy never made for a viable business case and Abarth is too niche to contribute to Fiat's bottom line, while at the same its separation loses the showroom 'halo' effect which is the primary function of any limited production high performance model. This new "Pack" is, significantly, the first time since the revival that Abarth components will have been used on any Fiat product while retaining the Fiat badging, in this case the Abarth components are being added to the distinctively positioned "TwinAir" line.

Available both for the saloon and convertible versions, the dedicated new TwinAir trim level combines the revolutionary two-cylinder engine with a distinct look. Already today one 500 out of three sold in Europe is equipped with the TwinAir engine.

On the outside, harking back to the look of the Fiat "competition" series of the 1970s, the 500 TwinAir offers high impact details such as special burnished "anthracite" trim, a "piano black" (optional) roof and matt black wheels as standard. inside, there is a "Total Black" environment with sports seats and burnished dashboard fascia. It comes with "Blue&Me - TomTom 2", the latest development of the Blue&Me infotainment system that not only manages telephone, navigation, media player and all information required for driving by means of a colour touchscreen, but "Live" technology as well, which updates - in real time - maps, traffic conditions, local searches and weather directly on the device.

Now to add a more sporty and dynamic feel to the 500 TwinAir, range Fiat has created the new "Pack by Abarth". The customisation kit, developed in close collaboration with Abarth, is characterised by the "Total Black" 16" special alloy wheels with Abarth hub caps, side skirts, rear spoiler, racing graphics on the bonnet and a sporty pedal unit. The new "Pack by Abarth" will be available from October as an option combined with the Pasodoble Red and Crossover Black exterior colours."

This can only make the proper Abarths more sought after than the Fiats with marketing stickers

My experience - a bit old hat was that in Ireland Ford couldn't service an RS model. The lack of training meant that when I had an issue with the brakes (ALB) they ended up charging me a full day's labour with no result. The poor performance from the turbo from a lazy actuator was diagnosed by a guy in Belfast who knew about the RS. When the time comes for me to have an A500 that needs servicing I'll be going up to Belfast to a garage when they have actual experience in servicing that particular model. In some of the Fiat garages in Dublin they give the car to a non-Fiat garage next door to service - I could site an example of a particular one in Finglas. It might explain why Abarth want to protect its marque.
The idea of Abarth bits on the Twin Air isn't really going to do it. I would be of mixed views of diluting the Abarth badge and personally like the Fiat badge and Fiat accessories on my 500. For a hot hatch it would really need to be pumping out 150bhp and you wouldn't get that from a 2 cylinder engine. In addition my understanding is that the interest from some of the Abarth dealerships in the A500 is what's really keeping it going.

There is nothing special mechanically on any Abarth model that is not fitted to other Fiat cars apart from Garrett turbo on Punto SS & 500 Tributo models, therefore when it comes to servicing it's easy, unlike the RS Ford Focus you mention which if mark one had bespoke engine or mark 2 heavily revised engine from the ST.

As fir diluting the brand, I think it actually achieves in rekindling what Abartb always was, aftermarket tuning parts.

I have an old far mag from about 1984 & it has a full list of Abarth performance exhaust systems which included the E30 BMW & some VW cars iirc.

J333EVO said:

There is nothing special mechanically on any Abarth model that is not fitted to other Fiat cars apart from Garrett turbo on Punto SS & 500 Tributo models, therefore when it comes to servicing it's easy, unlike the RS Ford Focus you mention which if mark one had bespoke engine or mark 2 heavily revised engine from the ST.

As fir diluting the brand, I think it actually achieves in rekindling what Abartb always was, aftermarket tuning parts.

I have an old far mag from about 1984 & it has a full list of Abarth performance exhaust systems which included the E30 BMW & some VW cars iirc.

Click to expand...

Completely agree. This is a step in the right direction. I think loveshandbags is actually referring to an Escort RS he owned and not a Focus.

Forgot to add as I only just noticed it in the garage, but I have the box from a genuine Abarth hub kit so you could fit any aftermarket steering wheel wuth the normal MOMO/Raid/Personel/Abarth bolt pattern to a mark 1 Panda.

& yes I know the preference to upload pics to the folder on here but when using an iPhone I can't see how, so it's photobucket!

J333EVO said:

There is nothing special mechanically on any Abarth model that is not fitted to other Fiat cars apart from Garrett turbo on Punto SS & 500 Tributo models, therefore when it comes to servicing it's easy, unlike the RS Ford Focus you mention which if mark one had bespoke engine or mark 2 heavily revised engine from the ST.

As fir diluting the brand, I think it actually achieves in rekindling what Abartb always was, aftermarket tuning parts.

I have an old far mag from about 1984 & it has a full list of Abarth performance exhaust systems which included the E30 BMW & some VW cars iirc.

Click to expand...

On the RS that I had it was the Escort and there was nothing mechanically different to the XR3i except for the ALB, LSD and the Turbo with an achiles heal of a gearbox. Because of the rarity of them in Ireland I wouldn't get the gearbox re-built, nor the turbo and they couldn't fix the brakes. That was with a main dealer. I would expect the same situation with an A500 in a Fiat dealership when it needs these kinda jobs done and will end up going to Northern Ireland because I suspect that the skills wouldn't be there what that time comes. I could be wrong with the advent now of the Punto Sporting (has the MA & the turbo) and the Bravo is out there somewhere (again a rarity).
One of the upsides of accessorising a TA with Abarty bits is that it creates a desire for the younger drivers to aspire to a proper Abarth (if such a 'thing' exists).
I had a 323i with an M tech suspension (learned that this tuned suspension didn't work on a lighter 318is). I did at one stage aspire to a M3 - but I got sense and steered clear of it. So the M branding did work for BMW.