Bring the Abarth SS and I’ll be very persuaded to have a look.

Umm….yay? I guess lol. Albeit this sounds prerry cool. I will have a look as well. Dunno about purchasing though. We shall see

If it is build in Poland (no it is not a joke, that is where FIAT 500 is screwed together) it has a good chance of success. Bring via Mexican route and lets not forget original definition of FIAT.

Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson had a very funny yet educational test drive of the 500 Abarth SS. Highly recommend to watch (you can find it on YouTube). Truly a pocket rocket!

Big HOWEVER. What would be the price point? In England, according to Clarkson, it is 4,000 pounds cheaper than the MINI Cooper. That’s a hefty $8k! I wonder if the estimated $18-19k would be a winner in the States, though… And how much would all the additional accessories cost? I bet, with all the bells and whistles, the price will easily hit $30k+… And in that price range, my friends, there’s plenty more for your buck.

Interesting to see, nevertheless…

Oh, it’s not even 500 SS they are planning to bring…… A4, agreed! We’ll go take a look WHEN they finally bring the SS.

diesel 18-19K is cheap as hell for this car!

I saw a Fiat 500 near Chicago O’hare Airport on Saturday. Michigan Plates. It looked like it fit in, even around the Mini Vans and Excursions driven by soccer moms.

Certainly Eye-Catching. I’d get one of those before a PT Cruiser.

You can glue SS badges on this thing and without very accurate stop watch you will not know the difference. One difference is that SS will have 6 speed vs. 5 speed. I did not drive either Abarth or Abarth SS, but 500 with puny 1.2L engine was actually very drivable in the city and was “capable” on highway. To pass up on a hill I needed to downshift into 4th at about 80mph, but in all other situations even 1.2L with less then 70 ponies was oK to drive (it was in Spain and nobody partakes in traffic light to traffic light races). It is very light car.

masonicangel: I would agree that it’s reasonable; HOWEVER, given the size and relative unfamiliarity of the American youth with the FIAT brand, it might be too high. WIth every other $10k added to your budget, you realize that you have so many choices. Add another $10k and another $10k – and all of a sudden you choice is unlimited!

What gets me is that it’s almost here… already. Good lord, what are we… not even 6 months into this whole Chrysler/Fiat deal and things are happening. Where are our buddies Chryslercurse and Elmdodge now?

Starting with the Abarth version is marketing genius. It creates a terrific halo effect over the entire line, and makes the more mundane versions that much more interesting. They can’t get this car here fast enough!

These would make fun little company cars for me.

At their price point, I would think that the vehicle would be competing against things like a future hot Fiesta or taking over for the old Civic SI hatch vs a Mini which is closer to $30k. Or maybe even someone who was considering a Smart car.

19k for the Abarth is a great price.

I like this tiny Euro-rockets. I just wish someone would make one that isn’t catastrophically hideois.

Holy cow… a whole 133hp!

Since when is 0-60 in 7 seconds considered “performance”? Maybe to those ricers with Civics…

If it has less than 200hp… don’t put the word “performance” anywhere near it.

This is definitely going to bring customers into Chrysler showrooms. Hopefully for Chrysler, this is finally the starting point for the company to get back on it feet. I would have to drive this thing first before I can really comment on it. 0-60 in 7 seconds is not that impressive. Maybe 15 yrs ago it was. But hey, not bad for such a small engine. I bet the MPG on it is pretty good though. Interesting that wasn’t mentioned by LLN. After all, aren’t we in an economic crisis and going green???? What’s the point of having such a small car and not even mentioning the MPG LLN?

133 HP? If that’s a sports car than my 143 HP SX4 with AWD must be a Bugatti Veyron then. Oh well. Atleast it’ll sell due to the styling and the fuel efficiency. I hope this car isn’t too small and useless as the Smart Fortwo.

Well RaineMan, you can get an old rickety V12 Lamborghini that’ll do it in around 7 seconds, or you can get a peppy, compact, new 500 Abarth that’ll do the same. 7 seconds is quite performance oriented when the whole package is pointed in the performance direction. Like it was mentioned above, watch the Top Gear drive of it. He says it may not blow your socks off in a straight line, but it is certainly a very fun and “performance” oriented car. Can’t really think of another new 0-60 7-second car for under 20 grand.

85ZingoGTR – if your SX4 weighs 2100lbs, then yes, it’s a Bugatti Veyron. If you actually live in reality and your car weighs 800lbs more than this, it’d get put in it’s place REAL quick by the normal Abarth 500, let alone the essesse version.

FYI – according the the site I checked for a Sport versionwith a 1.4 (100hp – not an Abarth) the curb wieght is 2211 lbs (1005 kg). That was the heaviest curb weight ther of a gas model. Thes would get around 37mpg in the euro cycle.

The Sport diesel with a 1.3liter weighed in at about 2325 lbs and got 45mpg in the euro cycle with a 75hp motor.

Figure the weight is the most interesting on this though. 17 pounds per pony is about like an F150.

Good point NRG. I read somewhere this thing gets about 40 mpg. That should be a very strong selling point.

Does anyone know if they are planning to build the 500 in mexico???

…waiting for the Alfa Romeo.

0-60 is not that fast for a car but it is quick. for 18k how may cars go 0-60 in less? and getting similar fuel economy. it is no sports car but is sporty

the regular mini is sporty and for the same price this car is faster. they also have 1.4 with up to 200hp but they are more limited editions but who know may be the 200hp version will come to the states at a top trim in the future.

and if it built hear i wonder how much cheaper it could be?

still would rather it in the dodge hornet sheet metal.

I wonder how will the performance be if they drop the Caliber SRT4 or Neon SRT4 motor in it.

Kumicho – Well I don’t want to make a judgement yet. Like you said, it should have a fair power to weight ratio. My SX4 is a heavy car and with 143 HP it has pretty good pickup. This Abarth with 133 HP probably weighs 1/3 of mine should be quite a feat. I hope MINI is prepared for it though. I wanna see how big this thing is in person. I hope it’s not too small.

I’m sorry I meant 2/3 of the weight of mine.

If you say so A4.

The Chevy HHR I just picked up as a daily driver will do 0-60 in 8 and has 57 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded. I only paid 14 for it. So… decently quick and useful. From the looks of it you could barely fit a load of groceries into that Fiat, little lone a gas grille, 6′ table, or futon.

A nice hatchback to compete with the econoboxes, sure… but a performance car it is not.

Damn, there are a lot of cool small cars coming that I really want to check out. If I were to buy next year, and without any test driving at the moment, I think the 500 is at the top of my list, followed closely by the MiTo. I also like the Fiesta, and a few of the other current small cars. I really want these to stay down in price, though, because even I don’t have a budget for $19k. Still, I’m excited about all this news.

Oh, and A4, my Quest does it in the high 7’s, but it was just under $25,000. Quests can’t turn like these things can. though.

this car also produces a good amount of torque at low rpm’s close to that of midsized cars weighing 3250lb+. There is room to get a lot more power out.

F50 i don’t think the srt4 would be a good idea it not very fuel efficient and i drought it would fit. the 1.4 could probably go up to 230-240hp effectively, mpg may start taking a big hit with hp up there.

i forgot any one know how much less the normal 100hp Fiat 500 goes for compared to the abarth version. (1.2 probably wont make it here and should not)

cool, but it will B hard 2 beat da world’s best car, da MINI