I drove one two weeks ago. I was smiling the entire time, what a fun little car. The ediff (pretty sure it's not a mechanical LSD) actually worked pretty well. Chassis set up was nice, exhaust tone pretty intoxicating and to think that it's coming from a 1.4 liter beast of a motor... Anyway, very cool car.

7/18/2012 3:52:22 PM

Hotness:

7/18/2012 3:55:06 PM

I like the Abarth 500 a lot. It kinda surprised me that you think highly of it too. Maybe this will convince the wife...

Have you driven a Mini Cooper S Ahmet? If so, could you compare/contrast the two?

[Edited on July 18, 2012 at 7:21 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2012 7:20:45 PM

my wife has a mini and we parked beside a fiat the other day. I have to say in my opinion just buy the mini if you want a small car. the fiat and the smart for that matter are just too small for the US market, maybe if you live in big city and never leave but honestly why drive anything smaller than the cooper? now if you're getting it stickily as a toy that's different, i'm talking commuter/ DD

7/18/2012 7:36:37 PM

But the new Cooper S is only a 2 seater, where as the the Fiat is still 2+2... The Abarth 500 has a few inches more leg room than the MX3, and that's worked out fine for the wife and I

The Cooper S doesn't have forged internals, does it? I imagine there'd be some serious % gains if the Abarth had a DOHC setup.


[Edited on July 18, 2012 at 7:56 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2012 7:50:53 PM

My uncle sold off some junk he had lying around and bought one, I'm checking it out this weekend.

7/18/2012 9:28:35 PM

^^why are you comparing the Abath to the Mini Cooper Coupe? It competes against the 4 seater, and loses in every measureable stat, and most subjective ones too

7/18/2012 10:35:15 PM

^ Lol i don't know. It's been on my mind since a co-worker got one. I like the coupe styling. You are right, it would be comprable to the hard top mini cooper S. I know the Mini Cooper S takes the win performance and comfort wise, but sometimes you want more than just performance and comfort; you want character. amirite?

7/18/2012 10:38:07 PM

character?

7/19/2012 7:22:25 AM

Quote :

"you want character. amirite"

It would appear you've fallen hook, line and sinker for the whole "Italian" ad campaign.

7/19/2012 8:19:08 AM

^yeah, ducati does the same thing. "hey our bikes are measurably worse in every performance metric but if you look at that, you miss the point. it's about character"

7/19/2012 8:32:10 AM

Abath or not, IMO 500 is the only car on the market that i cannot imagine driving as a straight male. The body style reeks more of estrogen than a Beetle. I'd rather be seen in a Smart, even though the driving experience won't be comparable. It definitely hascharacter, but it's dat 190% female character

7/19/2012 11:55:18 AM

spoken like a true fuck-hole.

7/19/2012 11:58:13 AM

everyone is entitled to their, like, opinion man.

7/19/2012 12:54:34 PM

I've long since stopped caring what other people think about the things I like. I think the cooper JCW and s models are pretty decent cars for what they are but I really enjoyed every little thing about the Abarth 500. I was smiling every minute with that car, it just feels special in a way most cars just don't.

As a note on size, I like smaller cars and can't relate to people that like anything bigger than a small midsize car. To me, my 911 is bordering on too big. I am amused when I watch somebody try to park a big SUV, but hey to each his own. The 500 may indeed be too small to somebody, but probably not because it won't get the job done but rather because it's not macho enough next to an F-150 at the bar. There's plenty of room inside, that's for sure.

It's an amusingly hardcore car, sensible and ridiculous at the same time. I think that's the point of it.

7/19/2012 6:22:03 PM

7/19/2012 7:45:39 PM

There is no way a 500 is girlier looking than a Beetle, and definitely not the Abarth version. Just my opinion.

7/19/2012 8:18:01 PM

I'm not referring to styling or anything but I just don't want to be in a wreck with a logging truck in anything smaller than a mini.

7/19/2012 8:33:38 PM

I was responding to Igor, who specifically said the 500 has more estrogen than a Beetle.

7/19/2012 8:35:27 PM

new new beetle? yes
old new beetle? tie

so now a 500 has character and a mini cooper does not? OK.

7/19/2012 9:02:18 PM

small, sporty, nimble, fun...

for a couple G's on top, couldn't you get an FR-S? and look way less... gay?

i think i'd take the RWD mechanical diff'd sports car over the guess-how-much-anal-lube-i-bought-today clown car.

7/19/2012 9:17:57 PM

regardless of the conversation and whether or not anyone else gives two shits and a fuck about what the other guy thinks:

Quote :

"It's an amusingly hardcore car, sensible and ridiculous at the same time. I think that's the point of it. "

go on....

7/20/2012 7:45:30 AM

Quote :

"I'm not referring to styling or anything but I just don't want to be in a wreck with a logging truck in anything smaller than a mini."

Engineering > Size
Just watch the vid of the Smart car hitting a concrete wall at 55 MPH if you don't believe me.
The notion that a big vehicle automatically offers more protection is a farce.

7/20/2012 8:11:30 AM

[derail]


^wellll

add a fully loaded semi behind that smart as it hits a concrete wall, and boy do things change!


[/derail]

7/20/2012 8:36:17 AM

Whereas a Suburban would be just fine if an 18 wheeler ran a 55MPH train on it.

7/20/2012 8:45:31 AM

^^^you still have a ridiculously high g load from the rapid deceleration. More than you would from a larger vehicle.

What exactly makes the Abarth "hardcore"? I genuinely want to know.

[Edited on July 20, 2012 at 8:47 AM. Reason : ^]

7/20/2012 8:46:06 AM

^^yes... but impulse is decreased, no? Shenanigans, i want to hear Ahmet's take on the 'drive', mannn.

7/20/2012 9:32:24 AM

^^ I've been driving one on Forza 3, and it is hardcore tail happy~!

7/20/2012 9:40:06 AM

What makes it hardcore? Willing and neutral chassis with a nicely tuned suspension, well bolstered seats, the fact that it makes 60% more power than a regular 500. I love seeing the little details that are different between a 500 and the Abarth like wheels, front splitter, etc. The muffler -not visible from outside the car- is stamped with a scorpion... Reminds me of how cars used to be informally signed under the battery cover on Porsches... Abarth's history doesn't hurt -of sticking engines so big the rear hoods did not close so they just delivered them to customers like that- and it has plenty of X factor. To my eyes, it's a neat package. I have to say it helps that the car's silly also. So small w/a 1.4L engine that barely beats a 911 in highway fuel economy, clearly it's not meant for just frugality.

I really liked the e36 M3 (raced, tracked, drifted and hooned many of them)even though on paper it was only a little notch above the 328i, yet the 328 was a car I wouldn't consider owning. On paper I should also really like the S2000 as it is one of the few cars that came from the showroom able to cope with track work, it was a light, straightforward chassis with decent power. Yet to me it always felt under dampened in the front with a gutless engine. Numbers were there, but I don't care. The EVO 8/9 are perhaps the most appropriate comparisons to this car, it feels like a highly tuned car out of a mundane, or lets face it, a sub par chassis. This though, feels quite a bit better engineered whereas the EVO felt like it was put together by a group of highly skilled and crazy college students.

7/20/2012 10:34:53 AM

and there we have it!





(I'd love to have Ahmet drive my truck and give a synopsis of his impressions )

7/20/2012 10:41:24 AM

nice review. thanks

7/20/2012 10:42:47 AM

So it beats the crap out of the S2000, is a much better interpretation of the Evo's character and prowess, and comes close to the 911.

[/intentional misinterpretation]

7/20/2012 2:53:05 PM

I’m with Igor on this one. For you USA born and raised people: This car is not a new design. In US it is new! I’m pretty sure Ahmet and Igor are both aware of this having being born in Europe. My parents owned one back in 70s…the original version of this car. It looked like this …



Back then in came in 500, 650 and 800cc forms and it was REAR-ENGINE, RWD, manual only car. It was the subject of many jokes and even as a kid I never liked the car. Fact is, car is very feminine and while a lot of men drove it, it was simply because countries were poor and that’s all people could afford. I personally don’t think there is nothing wrong in saying that you prefer to drive a manly looking car. I certainly prefer masculine lines, and while I can appreciate audi TT and beetle designs it simply not for me. Hell, E60 5-series is a beautiful design, but unfortunately it doesn’t belong on the BMW! On Avalon maybe?

On the other hand I’m sure car is way too much FUN to drive, but I could never own one since design doesn’t appeal to me.

7/20/2012 4:46:49 PM

I thought the Gayrage consensus was that aero parts do not a beautiful car make.

7/20/2012 9:28:53 PM

notice he posted a picture of the BACK. that is because from the front it looks like:

7/20/2012 10:14:02 PM

7/20/2012 10:32:03 PM

1in10^9, that's a 600, the 500's bigger (haha) brother. This is a 500:


[/car pedant]

7/20/2012 11:33:44 PM

1in10^9, that's a 600, the 500's bigger (haha) brother. This is a 500:


[/car pedant]

7/20/2012 11:34:27 PM

And I don't think it ever came with a 650 or 800, the 600 is a popular swap however.

7/21/2012 7:12:39 AM

Depending on the country car came in many configurations and 650 was one of them (technically 633cc). It was sold to different countries under different labels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_750

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_850

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_600 (633cc).

7/21/2012 12:43:42 PM

I guess there is something you don't understand about those being DIFFERENT cars.

7/21/2012 11:26:01 PM

7/22/2012 12:15:44 AM

^^please do tell me about cars that i grew up with.

7/22/2012 1:24:16 PM

There's several articles popping up putting Abarth 500 in "best sports cars under $X" categories. Autoweek I think said it was one of the most fun cars they've ever driven under $25k.

Here's another Autoweek vid;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB3O5YTNDMk

7/31/2012 10:29:42 PM

jay leno loves it, and smokes the shit out of it

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/26/jay-leno-burns-rubber-in-a-fiat-500-abarth/

video in link

7/31/2012 11:03:55 PM

nothing says raw power like a 160hp clutch dump

8/1/2012 7:31:50 AM

That's what I said when I got my Integra GS-R

8/1/2012 8:47:11 AM

i remember when i got my civic


1hp/in^3, baby..... 91 to be exact

8/1/2012 10:21:24 AM

^^^^ Sounds great. Engineering appears solid.

Just can't get over how hideous it is. I really really despise the small hatchback form factor.

8/1/2012 8:55:33 PM

I only care if it comes with the Italian woman.

8/2/2012 12:03:45 AM