Hhhmmmm this might upset a few people .
If this is true it seems Ford are responsible for the Abarth getting rave reviews for its handling....ooo-err!

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=354

O.K, I'm being a bit thick here, but that's a link to a review of the new Ford Ka, can't see anything about Ford being involved with the GP Abarth

Thread should read "Fiat help out ford as they cant build a decent small diesel engine":devil:

Fords (in general) do handle well I will openly admit.........that hurt!

The rumour is that once FIAT found out what Ford had done they adopted exactly the same tweaks to the back axle of the Punto Abarth, and that’s why that car is getting rave reviews

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Punto and 500 share a rear suspension setup?

Surely not.

I'm sure the fact that the handling is a little different on the 500 is less of a concern than there being no way to open the rear hatch except from inside the car or using the key. I could see that being p*ssing annoying, especially on a car that will probably be used most for shopping trips.

The entire article is a little suspect.
Punto and 500 have different rear suspension so the same tweaks wouldn't work. Also the 2 cylinder engine mentioned are Fiat engines.

I've no doubt John himself is being as honest as he can with the information Ford have supplied him.

Like I said, being a bit thick

The one thing Ford do better than anybody is get front wheel drive cars to handle well (the Focus is still the best handling car in it's class worldwide) so if the rumour is true it can only be a good thing.

Yeah I'll agree with that. Best car I ever had for going round corners was my XR2. Miss it bad sometimes. Might surprise you all that it rusted to death.

Hellcat said:

Punto and 500 share a rear suspension setup?

Surely not.

I'm sure the fact that the handling is a little different on the 500 is less of a concern than there being no way to open the rear hatch except from inside the car or using the key. I could see that being p*ssing annoying, especially on a car that will probably be used most for shopping trips.

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Us GP owners have been putting up with this since day one.

The Beast said:

I've no doubt John himself is being as honest as he can with the information Ford have supplied him.

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Very good point, that didnt occur to me, and in all fairness he is saying its just a rumour.

The Beast said:

Yeah I'll agree with that. Best car I ever had for going round corners was my XR2. Miss it bad sometimes. Might surprise you all that it rusted to death.

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I'm pretty sure we've still got the MkII XR2 I learned to drive in tucked away in the garage at my mums. What a great car that was!

Scrogg said:

I'm pretty sure we've still got the MkII XR2 I learned to drive in tucked away in the garage at my mums. What a great car that was!

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You just need to sweep it up, glue it together, and you're as good as new.

Who wants an ugly boot handle anyway

Couldn't find the info in the link but if anyone cares there was a little thing in Autocar a few weeks back about it, might have been for the GP Abarth review or a piece on a new KA but it's there somewhere.

OCZedd said:

Who wants an ugly boot handle anyway

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Or even a boot that can be opened from outside without having to push a button on the key?

i've only ever seen one person that suits the ka, and he was a dwarf!!

^ omg harsh

I think they may have got their wires crossed.

While both the GP and 500 share the same basic design (torsion-axle), it's not a shared part.

IIRC in the Top Gear mag's review of the 500 Abarth they said Fiat had noticed Ford's revised set-up for the Ka during development and had copied the rear axle ideas to the 500.

D4nny8oy said:

I think they may have got their wires crossed.
While both the GP and 500 share the same basic design (torsion-axle), it's not a shared part.

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Who is saying it is???

The claim is that Fiat "modifed" the GP Abarth setup in the same way that Ford modified the original 500 setup for the Ka. Nothing is mentioned about parts being shared between the GP Abarth and the Ka/500. Unless the HJ review is confusing the 500 Abarth with the GP Abarth.


On another note, this explains why the 1.2 engine has been dropped from the GP....they want them all for the Ka.

sledge said:

On another note, this explains why the 1.2 engine has been dropped from the GP....they want them all for the Ka.

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Apart from the better performance, same road tax bracket and similar fuel economy the fact that the 1.2 is by far the most popular engine in the 500 was a major contributory factor.

sledge said:

Who is saying it is???

The claim is that Fiat "modifed" the GP Abarth setup in the same way that Ford modified the original 500 setup for the Ka. Nothing is mentioned about parts being shared between the GP Abarth and the Ka/500. Unless the HJ review is confusing the 500 Abarth with the GP Abarth.

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My apologies, I only glanced through the review and saw the word's "exactly the same".

HonestJohn said:

So the first thing they did was stiffen up the twist beam rear axle by 70% with a torsion rod.....The rumour is that once FIAT found out what Ford had done they adopted exactly the same tweaks to the back axle of the Punto Abarth, and that’s why that car is getting rave reviews.

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So to sum-up, what I was trying to say is that the GP Abarth's rear axle doesn't have a torsion rod. The 500 Abarth's does.