Fiat 124 Abarth Spider 2022: A Closer Look at the Italian Roadster

The 2018 Fiat 124 spider Abarth was an elegant two-door sports car designed in Italy and assembled in Japan. 

Fiat is among the most prestigious global car manufacturers and has been making fine automobiles since 1899. The company has a rich heritage of not just making some of the best vehicles in the world but also having a racing lineage. The company has had a difficult time in North America since it started its production and has faced some market challenges. 

Talking about the 2018 Fiat 124 spider, the name was first used by Fiat in 1966. The Fiat Spider results from a joint venture between Fiat and Mazda, as the vehicle is based on the highly delightful Mazda Miata. The joint venture evolved with loads of modern-day European Technology and features, coupled with outstanding Japanese engineering that built the solid chassis of the Miata. The most significant differentiation between the Miata and the Spider is that the Spider used a turbocharged engine, which gave the driver a bit of an extra kick-in-the-pants feel while behind the wheel. 

The Stellar Italian Styling

Though the Fiat spider’s design is upgraded, if noticed closely, one can see the resemblance between Spider and the Mazda Miata. The vehicle’s design was showcased at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show and launched as a new variant of the existing Fiat 124 Spider. The iconic low stance and the two-door silhouette of the vehicle are being carried forward but are now garnished by better styling and sharper design elements, and the vehicle shares its chassis and frame with the Miata even so, apart from that, almost all body panels are different and are in better style. 

The Spider is bigger in terms of proportion marginally than the Miata. Starting from the vehicle’s front end has a quirky design for the LED DRL, which houses the projector headlamp. Lower down the bumper, it has fog lamps which also come with a cornering function and some black accents around it. 

The front grill, finished in all black, features a split design with a body-color panel running between them. The front hood of the automobile is a throwback to the 1966 Fiat Spider as it features two U-shaped design elements that have been embossed on the hood. The design of the wheels is also exclusive to the S line, as it features 17-inch wheels finished in all black. 

Towards the side, the car also has a gunmetal gray finish on the A-pillar of the vehicle and on the side mirror caps, creating a perfect contrast for the car. The only sore angle of the vehicle is when one views it from the rear three-quarters from the right side as the tall radio antenna sticks out and makes it look out of place, almost as if it is a remote control car. The rear taillights are a classic Fiat design and what is interesting about them is that they have a body-colored panel in between them, making them look stand out and stylish. 

The taillights are all LED units and have turn indicators embedded in them. The vehicle provides a dual port exhaust that is placed on either end of the bumpers, and the bumper has the reverse light and the rear fog lamp in the lower half of it. 

A Better Engine Tuning

Under the bonnet, the vehicle has an entirely different engine than the Mazda Miata, as it uses a turbocharged unit. It has a 1.4-liter engine, the same engine found on the Fiat 500 but with an additional boost. The vehicle produces 168 HP and 184 lb-ft of torque. The turbocharger produces nearly 22 pounds of boost, and all of its power is sent to the rear wheels in a classic roadster fashion. The vehicle is offered with either a 6-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission and is as light as a feather weighing in at just 2500 pounds. It makes a 0 to 60 MPH run in just 7.5 seconds and a top speed of nearly 135 MPH. 

Loaded With Tech

The vehicle’s interior is pretty minimal but is loaded with all the necessary equipment and Technology. The car came with a 7-inch touchscreen display with navigation and multimedia functionality and a 9-speaker Bose Sound System with its speakers embedded in the headrest. The vehicle also has automatic climate control along with cruise control, and the center console also features a drive mode selector. Moreover, the layout of the switches is pretty similar to the Mazda Miata; the controls were easy to operate and fell right in hand. 

Overall, the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth was a stunning sports car, which despite being similar to the Miata, has a much better styling appeal and performance.