Chrysler Group to Unveil New Production Model and a Race-Inspired Study at New York Auto Show

We’re used to the Chrysler Group unveiling new or heavily refreshed models lately, and it looks like the company will keep the product momentum going at next week’s New York International Auto Show. According to a brief statement from the Detroit automaker, the company is planning the premiere of an unnamed production model and what is being described as a “race-inspired project vehicle” at the Big Apple. Chrysler is being quite secretive about the debuts as the company did not give out any other details. Read more »

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Abarth 500 Turned into a 230HP Mid-Engined RWD Track Toy

Italian aftermarket specialist Aznom has teamed up with Lucarelli-Monza to transform the Abarth 500 into a mid-engined track beast. Named Motore Centrale R230, the car will be unveiled at the upcoming Top Marques Monaco show (April 14-17), alongside the Spada Codatronca, another project on which Aznom has worked.

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IED's Abarth SCORP-ION Coupe Concept

If the rumors are true, Fiat's Abarth division may soon get its own version of the Alfa Romeo 4C mid-engined coupe, but for now, fans will have to make do with the SCORP-ION sports coupe study that was unwrapped at this week's Geneva Motor Show.
The SCORP-ION is a conceptual proposal for an environment-friendly sports car designed by the students of the Master of Arts in Transportation Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) and constructed in cooperation with Abarth. The strictly two-seater study measures 4.01 meters long and is powered by four electric motors, one on each wheel. Check out the video from the Geneva Show presentation after the break.


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VIDEO: IED's Abarth SCORP-ION Sports Coupe Concept at the Geneva Motor Show

If the rumors are true, Fiat's Abarth division may soon get its own version of the Alfa Romeo 4C mid-engined coupe, but for now, fans will have to make do with the SCORP-ION sports coupe study that was unwrapped at this week's Geneva Motor Show.

The SCORP-ION is a conceptual proposal for an environment-friendly sports car designed by the students of the Master of Arts in Transportation Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) and constructed in cooperation with Abarth. The strictly two-seater study measures 4.01 meters long and is powered by four electric motors, one on each wheel. Check out the video from the Geneva Show presentation after the break.

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Abarth Scorp-Ion Sports Coupe Concept by IED Turin Students to Debut at Geneva Motor Show

Even though Fiat executives have been coy on a stand-alone sports car for the Abarth brand, the Italian firm went ahead and collaborated with the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) for the creation of design study that will receive its grand premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in about a week's time.

The sports coupe is named Abarth Scorp-Ion and it was designed by seven IED students who worked under the supervision of designers Luca Borgogno from Pininfarina, and Luigi Giampaolo from Maserati.

The goal was to design a bespoke compact-sized sports car with lines that evoke the scorpion (the official symbol of Abarth) without any references to the Fiat brand, with which Abarth is often identified.

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Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition

This here is the actual, factual Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition special in the flesh, photographed at the Autopolis Fiat dealership in Luxembourg. We say this because yesterday, we reported on the limited run special and Fiat's photoshoped picture that made the internet rounds. While our friends from Auto55 and Autofans verified the story with the official press release, we were left wondering what the Italian mini with the classic racing-livery would look like in real life. 

Today, our pondering came to an end as the Marketing and Communications director of Autopolis Luxembourg dropped the first real life shots of the car in our mailbox. We believe Fiat should have released these photos instead of the 'chop from the beginning, but we'll give them props for keeping a close eye on the web-o-sphere and swiftly reacting to our post. 
 

As for the car itself, it was created by the Italian brand's official importer for Luxembourg, Autopolis, in association with Gulf Petroleum, to celebrate the latter's 10th anniversary in the country.
Only ten examples of the Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition will be built, each priced at €25,000 (not including VAT) a piece, which is about US$34,000. Aside from the iconic Gulf Racing livery, the special edition 500s also get the 'esseesse' performance kit that pushes the 1.4-liter turbo engine's output to 160-ponies, a Monza sport exhaust and Corse-Sabelt racing buckets with the seatbacks finished in Gulf-blue. 

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Hamann presentes Insane Fiat 500 Largo with 265HP at 2009

The Fiat 500 Abarth has certainly caught the attention of the tuning world in Europe. Making its world premiere at the '09 IAA in Frankfurt, the Hamann Largo is one of the most impressive tuning proposals for the Fiat 500 Abarth yet, putting to shame the official 180HP+ Ferrari-badged Abarth 695 special with its heavily modified 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that makes a jaw-dropping 265 horsepower at 5,630 rpm and 348Nm pr 257 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. Pretty impressive if you consider that the base model makes a mere 135HP and 206Nm.
Hamann has yet to disclose performance figures, but we reckon that 265 ponies in a car the size and weight of the Fiat 500 should a spectacle worth seeing - don't know about driving though...
A sport exhaust system that includes an end muffler with four pipes, a pre-muffler with a metal catalyser and a sport manifold along with a high-performance brake system with internally ventilated brake discs and 4-piston callipers up front and optional 257mm discs at the rear, as well as a sport suspension that lowers the car's centre of gravity by up to 60 mm complete the list of performance mods.

True to Hamann's nature, the Largo features an aggressively styled bodykit with new fender extensions that broaden the car body by 30mm at the front and 35mm at the back, beefy side skirts, front and rear aprons and a diffuser at the back.
The Largo rides on 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in high-performance sport tires measuring 215/35 ZR18 or optionally, 225/35 ZR18.
As for the interior, changes include but are not limited to, an aluminium pedal set, a door mat set and embroidered logos. Pricing and more details are to be announced at a later date.
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Romeo Ferraris' Fiat 500 Abarth Monza

Apparently, Italian tuning firm Romeo Ferraris believes that the Fiat 500 is a dish best served with lots of power. Named after the legendary Italian circuit, the 500 Abarth Monza is a limited edition Fiat on steroids sporting extensive engine and styling modifications.
At the heart of the 500 Abarth Monza is a heavily tuned version of the stock car's 1.4-liter force fed engine featuring a new and larger turbocharger complete with an intercooler, optimized ECU and a custom sport exhaust system, just to mention a few of the upgrades. The end result is an eye-popping 260-horsepower. All that power is transferred to the front wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox and a limited slip differential.
The 500 Monza rides on 17-inch Romeo Ferraris alloys, wrapped around in 205/40 Yokohama Parada tires, while a Brembo brake set and a sport suspension with adjustable shocks complete the performance package.
The tuners at Romeo Ferraris also developed a styling kit with a front carbon fiber splitter, hood air intake, rear diffuser, and black mirror housings and door handles, plus Autodromo Nazionale Monza livery.
As for the interior, the designers applied the same white color theme accented by red and blue stripes as the exterior, with most parts of the cabin dressed in a combination of leather and Alcantara.
Only ten units of the bespoke Fiat 500 will be built.

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Paris Show: Abarth 500C Esseesse

If you feel the regular Abarth 500C could benefit from a few more ponies under the hood, Fiat's performance division has the answer in the form of the Esseesse edition. The tuning package bumps output of the standard 1.4-liter turbocharged engine from 140HP and 206Nm to 160HP and 230Nm, respectively.
As a result, the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) drops 0.6 seconds to 7.5 seconds, while top speed increases from 205km/h to 209km/h (130mph).
The scorpion-branded version of Fiat's 500 rag-top convertible that was shown in Paris featured a two-tone paint job with a white chromatic line separating the two colors, and came fitted with a Record Monza exhaust silencer and unique 17-inch alloys with 5 diamond shaped spokes.

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Fiat's Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari

The Fiat 500-based, Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari, is possibly the closest we'll ever get to a baby model from the company with the Prancing Horse logo. And now, almost a year after its world premiere at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show in Germany, Fiat has confirmed UK availability.

Only 152 examples of the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari will be available in right hand drive form in Britain, each carrying a steep price tag of £29,600, which comes to around €35,500 or US$46,900 at today's exchange rates. That's roughly what you'd pay for a BMW 135i Coupe M Sport (£30,675) in the UK.
Those select few buyers get what Fiat describes as a Ferrari inspired design with a unique Scuderia Red finish complemented by racing stripes, carbon fiber mirror caps, 17-inch Corsa Grey wheels, additional air inlets / outelts and quad tail pipes.

The hot hatch's interior has also been upgraded with carbon fiber bucket sport seats from Sabelt that weight 10 kg or 22 lbs a piece less than the standard seats, a flat-bottomed black leather steering wheel with red leather inserts, carbon trim and a new instruments specially made by Jaeger
Under the skin, the Prancing Horse-branded mini sports a pumped up version of standard Abarth 500's 1.4-liter turbocharged four-banger with 180-horsepower at 5,500rpm and 250Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, hooked up to a five-speed automated manual gearbox.
Fiat says its can accelerate from 0-62mph (100lkm/h) in seven seconds and has a top speed of 140mph (225km/h), while returning 43.3mpg UK (36.1 mpg US) on the combined cycle.
Completing the mechanical upgrades are the four-pot Brembo discs and recalibrated dampers.
Those interested can place their order through Abarth's 17-strong UK dealer network. 
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