Abarth 124 Spider

Spiders are very common to us Australians!  But this spider is not the hairy, scary variety; in fact, the Abarth 124 Spider is an exciting new sports car from Fiat’s performance team of designers.  Definitely a car full of cool surprises and excitement, this roadster will set your life alight with hours of entertaining driving fun.  Roll over Mazda MX-5 fans, and see what you think of this.  Fiat has an answer for driving enthusiasts who love the feel of a low down driving experience that sparkles with performance in an efficient, two-seater, open-top style.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised to note this new Fiat loves the twisty roads and packs a potent punch from an engine that is less than half the size of other sports cars.  Oh, but it is an MX-5, well Fiat’s version… The new Fiat 124 Spider is indeed a modified version of the Mazda MX-5.

Using Mazda’s platform, Fiat have had free reign on the exterior design and they have placed there powerful little racing engine (1.4-litre Turbo) under the bonnet – all 127 kW of it.  Working over the suspension componentry, Fiat have enjoyed applying Bilstein dampers, firmer springs and anti-roll bars, Brembo front brakes, and a handy mechanical limited-slip diff system.  This all equates to plenty of hilarity.  The 0-62mph time of 6.8sec is proof of the little Abarth’s ability.  Once you hit around 3000 rpm, the Turbo engine really lets its hair down for some great acceleration through to its redline.

A six speed manual or automatic are the go-forward options.  In this sort of car I love the freedom of the six-speed manual – that’s just my preference.  Top speed is in the 230 km/h range – quite amazing for the 1.4-litre engine size, and a credit to Fiat engine designers.  Handling is 50:50 front and rear, and the taut suspension and LSD tighten things up so that the thrilling drive is not too hairy and scary.

Fiat Abarth 124 Spider Interior

From the inside looking out, the Fiat Arbarth 124 Spider provides two comfortable seats that are upholstered in leather with accented stitching.  The black with red tones are my favourite – looking both classy and racy at the same time.  My wife loves leather, and I reckon that she’ll be head-over-heels with the Abarth’s sexy style.  Italians know how to jazz things up.  The seats are unique and genuinely very good; also if you pay more you can even get proper Recaro bucket seats.  As a two-plus-two, there are few cars in this price range that will take you on an exclusive weekend away – just for two.  There is the MX-5, of course, but I reckon that Fiat has the edge for interior dynamism and the lively experience.

There is all the right amount of technology inside the Abarth 124 Spider.  Steering wheel mounted controls for audio and Bluetooth communications, electric windows, air-conditioning that blows hot even with the top down, a BMW-like iDrive control infotainment system that works really well to toggle between on-board systems and a healthy sound system that doesn’t run out of puff at max volumes.   Airbags, ESC, ABS and an LSD are standard.  If you grab yourself the visibility pack, you’ll upgrade to a rear-view camera, parking sensors, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.  Nowadays, these features should really be a standard feature for no extra cost.  A sport button is pretty cool and sharpens the steering, throttle and the gearbox response to your liking.

Let you hair down and go kick some butt with this feisty little number.  I love its looks and the sound of the Multiair 1.4T engine note.  Want to make your commute to work exciting for not a whole lot of cash?  Why purchase a similarly priced BMW M320i when you could have this much fun in a convertible 2+2?

Abarth 124 Spider Rear

The current Abarth 124 Spider models include the:

• Abarth 124 Spider Manual
• Abarth 124 Spider Auto

For any more information on the Abarth models or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Fiat/Abarth dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!