5.4.2009
The Abarth 500 was introduced at the Geneva motor show in spring 2008 and the sales were officially started in July 2008. The first countries where the sales were started were Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece.
The Abarth 500 is based on the Fiat 500 and the engine is the same as in Fiat 500 1.4 model. However the engine in the Abarth has received a turbocharger and the power has been increased to 135 HP and the torque to 206 Nm.
The external changes compared to the Fiat 500 include different front and rear bumber and an elongated front end. The standard wheels on Abarth 500 are 16" multispoke wheels and you can also choose from two different 17" wheels on the options list.
Inside the car the dashboard has been taken from the Fiat 500 with small changes. The changes include a boost gauge and a shift-up light which have been added to the instrument panel. The seats on the Abarth 500 also differ from the Fiat 500 and the standard sport seats on Abarth are cloth seats and there are two different leather seats (black and red) on the options list.
The standard equipment of the car includes 7 airbags, ABS brakes, ESP traction control, TTC electronic differential and Hill Holder.
5.4.2009
| Engine | |
|---|---|
| Engine capacity | 1368 cm3 |
| No. of cylinders | 4 |
| Max power | 135 hp (99 kW) / 5.500 r/min |
| Max torque | 206 Nm / 3.000 r/min |
| Gearbox | |
| Gearbox | Manual, 5 speed |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 3657 mm |
| Width | 1627 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2300 mm |
| Height | 1488 mm |
| Boot capacity | 185 l |
| weight | 1110 kg (incl. 75 kg driver) |
| Performance | |
| Acceleration 0-100 km/h | 7.9 sek |
| Top speed | 205 km/h |
| Fuel consumption | |
| Fuel consumptions (EU-combined) | 6.5 l/100 km |
5.4.2009
5.4.2009
Prices on several European countries can be found on the following table (03/2009, prices in euros):
| 150.155.0 Abarth 500 | |
|---|---|
| DE | 18.100 |
| IT | 18.500 |
| A | 18.590 |
| ES | 18.810 |
| FR | 19.000 |
| NL | 21.990 |
| LU | 17.829 |
| BE | 18.759 |
5.4.2009
An esseesse kit for the Abarth 500 is also available. The kit consists of the following items:
The power rises to 160 horsepower with the esseesse kit and the torque rises from 205 Nm to 230 Nm. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h rises half a second to 7.4 sec. At the same time the consumption should remain the same as in the regular Abarth 500. The top speed for the esseesse is 211 km/h.
The deliveries of the esseesse kit started at the year end of 2008.
It is not possible to buy a car equipped with the esseesse kit directly from the factory since the kit is always installed by the Abarth dealer. The kit can be installed within 12 months/20,000 kms from the first registration of the car. The esseesse kit parts are delivered in a wooden Abarth crate which the customer can keep as well as the replaced parts.
5.4.2009/29.11.2009
At the introduction of the Abarth 500 a special edition model called Opening Edition was also introduced. Only a limited number of Opening Edition cars was produced - namely 149 of which 100 for the Italian market. Technically the Opening Edition was very much like the later esseesse model which means that the power was increased to 160 hp and many other features of the esseesse kit were introduced first on the Opening Edition. The differences between Opening Edition and esseesse include a numbered plaque on the interior and specific Opening Edition door sills. The standard equipment of the Opening Edition includes many of the items which are normally options on the regular Abarth 500. The Opening Edition had two different colour options; Campovolo Grigio (grey) ja Bianco Iridato (pearl white).
The official list price of the Opening Edition is not known and the cars were apparently offered to a selected group of buyers. Few of the cars have ended up on the used car market in Italy and Germany and the asking prices of those have been around 30 thousand euros which is approx. 50 per cent more than the regular Abarth 500's.
Assetto Corse is the track/racing version of Abarth 500 and its engine has been upgraded to 200 horsepower and the weight has been cut to 930 kilograms. The Assetto Corse is used in its own racing series in Italy and Central Europe.
The Abarth da 0 a 100 model was published to celebrate Karl Abarthin centenary (15.11.2008). This model was manufactured in limited numbers totaling 101 examples. The official list price of the da 0 a 100 is also not known but the highest asking price seen so far has been 80 thousand euros.
Also this model is technically close to the Opening Edition and esseesse models and its engine generates 160 horsepower. However the exterior is different to other models since the da 0 a 100 has a specific Nuvolari Grey colour. The leather interior is also different to other Abarth 500 models.
The next special edition model was called Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari and like the name suggests Abarth wanted for some reason to be associated with the prancing horse brand. There were some technical updates to this model since the engine power was raised to 180 horsepower and it was equipped with an automated manual transmission with flappy pedals - like in Ferraris. The suspension and brakes were also slightly updated and the front brake disc diameter was raised to 284 mm. The colour of this special edition was Ferrari Scuderia Rosso. The equipment list included few items which were made available to regular Abarth 500 models also including Xenon lights and Sabelt sports seats in front.
The Tributo Ferrari was aimed to be used as a courtesy car for Ferrari dealers but some of these special model cars have made their way into the free market.
A rally version of the Abarth 500 was introduced in September 2009. This new version is called Abarth R3T and it will be approved for group R3T which is meant for turbocharged cars up to 1600 cm3 capacity. Technically there are several differences in the R3T compared to street versions of Abarth 500. The R3T has 180 horsepower and it has sequential 6-speed gearbox. Naturally the car also has FIA approved safety equipment including roll-cage, 6-point harnesses and racing seats.
