Abarth 124 Spider 2016

[TonyH]

19 ore fa, bandini dice:

magari questa?

 

anche se conosco già le rimostranze: consumi, bollo, assicurazione etc...

Ciò non toglie che il prezzo di acquisto sia lo stesso.

 

 

La rimostranza è una:

 

PESO

 

che significa aggravio sulle prestazioni, maggiore consumo (freni e gomme) e handling peggiore.

 

Con la 124 Abarth vai dal lunedì al venerdì in ufficio.

Il sabato mattina fai il trasferimento sulle sue ruote verso Varano/Franciacorta/Mugello/Imola

Ci giri.

Ci torni a casa.

 

Il tutto dannatamente bene, senza avere un mezzo da fachiri (ha AC, radio, un minimo di baule e insonorizzazione) o insoddisfacente (le Mx-5 in pista con due-tre belinate han fatto sempre sputare sangue a roba ben più pretenziosa)

[Bauhaus]

Dio Santo, la 370z

☏ iPhone ☏

[scius]

Ciao a tutti, guardando alcune foto della Targa Florio ho notato che hanno messo uno sticker sottile nero lucido, una piccola banda tra la parte verniciata nero opaco e il resto della carrozzeria. Quando l'ho vistaa Ginevra ho notato subito che la parte nera era abbastanza in rilievo e il saltino che si era creato iniziava gia a sbeccarsi, forse per questo motivo han deciso di sigillare con questo "nastro".

☏ GT-N7100 ☏

[jeby]

magari questa?

 

anche se conosco già le rimostranze: consumi, bollo, assicurazione etc...

Ciò non toglie che il prezzo di acquisto sia lo stesso.

LoL!!! No, questa non è un'alternativa a mx5 o 124 abbbat

[poliziottesco]

4 ore fa, scius dice:

Ciao a tutti, guardando alcune foto della Targa Florio ho notato che hanno messo uno sticker sottile nero lucido, una piccola banda tra la parte verniciata nero opaco e il resto della carrozzeria. Quando l'ho vistaa Ginevra ho notato subito che la parte nera era abbastanza in rilievo e il saltino che si era creato iniziava gia a sbeccarsi, forse per questo motivo han deciso di sigillare con questo "nastro".

☏ GT-N7100 ☏

Che io sappia il Nero opaco non e' vernice, e' pellicola.  Stessa cosa per le 500 e 595 bicolore. 

Modificato 7 Maggio 2016 da poliziottesco

[scius]

Che io sappia il Nero opaco non e' vernice, e' pellicola.  Stessa cosa per le 500 e 595 bicolore. 

Ho chiesto allo stand abarth alla milano autoclassica. mi hanno detto che tanti pongono questa domanda. E mi ha risposto che per garantire un risultato duraturo hanno verniciato direttamente.

☏ GT-N7100 ☏

Ora che ricordo ho chiesto anche conferma ad un utente di un forum abarth che è interno al progetto e anche lui mi ha detto che in origine avevano previsto di wrappare ma poi hanno optato per la verniciatura.

[poliziottesco]

Adesso, scius dice:

Ho chiesto allo stand abarth alla milano autoclassica. mi hanno detto che tanti pongono questa domanda. E mi ha risposto che per garantire un risultato duraturo hanno verniciato direttamente.

☏ GT-N7100 ☏

Ok grazie, evidentemente mi hanno dato una info errata ?

[MotorPassion]

[yigy]

Cita

Review: the Abarth 124 Spider

At last, a proper Abarth sports car?

Indeed. Well, it recognises the history of Abarth in that it’s not a ground-up effort. Rather, an engagingly souped-up version of a Fiat. But a Fiat sports car.

C’mon, not really a Fiat underneath either, is it now?

OK, let’s not delay in addressing the sumo wrestler in the room. The new Fiat 124 Spider is indeed a modified version of the Mazda MX-5. And I’ll be mentioning the MX-5 a fair bit because it’s essential for context.

Fiat/Abarth actually did a lot more than just stick Italian badges on a Japanese car. They made it look like the classic 1966 124 Spider, and installed their own engine. More details on the 140bhp Fiat version here.

Got that. And what’s different about the Abarth?

The engine goes up to 170bhp. Which is 124bhp per litre, ho ho. It gets a four-outlet exhaust too, and a sport button that opens a valve and makes it sound eminently fruity. That button also sharpens the throttle, weights-up the steering and loosens the ESP.

The chassis has a get-up similar to the Sport versions of the MX-5, though differently tuned. The list amounts to tauter Bilstein dampers, firmer springs and anti-roll bars, plus Brembo four-pot front brakes, and a proper mechanical limited-slip diff. The tyres are a modest 205/45 17. It doesn’t need gumballs because it’s so light, at 1060kg dry. Also, it’s meant to slip, and feels ridiculously good when it does.

You won’t have failed to notice the black bonnet and boot. Those reference the successful Abarth 124 Rally of the early 1970s.

No great surprises when you open the door: it’s all about Alcantara, red stitching, a red rev counter and alloy pedals.

How does an Italian turbo engine work in an MX-5 then?

Surprisingly well. Or maybe not surprisingly. The Italian engineers insist they were working with Mazda right from the very early days of the current-gen MX-5 development, so they could be sure it would meet their needs.

Just easing along at first, you might be unsure. The turbo is indolent at low revs, though the base engine, running 9.8 to one compression, is pretty sharp. Anyhow, as the needle swings beyond 3,000 the turbo has downed an espresso and got its wits about it. From there to 6,500 it’s good to go.

Torque is barely higher than the regular Fiat 124 Spider, at 184lb ft versus 177, but the Abarth’s extra power makes it keener to pull to the red-line. The 0-62mph time is 6.8sec. That exhaust is pretty ripe-sounding from the off, if you’ve pressed the sport switch. Its idle is bass-heavy, rocking and rolling, then tensing up with revs.

The gearshift is a reward in itself. You’d swear it’s a handshake as precise and quick as almost anything in the kingdom of the automobile. Actually it’s an atom less snicky than the Mazda’s, because it’s reinforced to cope with the turbo torque. But still a joy.

Thing is though, you don’t need to be shifting gears if you’ve something better to do. The wave of torque is an effective substitute. Which makes it a more relaxing car for everyday biffing about. The turbo thrust also comes to bear when you’re cornering.

Corners? The MX-5 is famously great. Don’t say it’s been mucked up here.

The Abarth loves bends. So will you. The steering is sharp and urgent but neatly avoids nervousness. As you peel into a curve the roll builds up, but progressively. This thing really doesn’t know how to understeer. But neither does it do that MX-5 thing of rolling early onto the outside rear tyre. It feels more composed.

And then the turbo gets to work, its efforts parcelled out by the LSD, and you can set your angle of travel with hilarious ease. Yes, the turbo does alter the character. But in a good way. Especially if it’s a road you don’t know so can’t guarantee to be in exactly the right gear for the most expeditious corner exit. And, if you choose, the most spectacular. Oversteer is a cinch to balance then gather up.

So it’s earned its spitting parping noises and four tailpipes and black bonnet then?

I’m not so sure. It’s not that hardcore. And if you leave off the sport button, you can use the turbo to get along with unobtrusive despatch. The ride is hardly harmed compared with the base-model Fiat 124 Spider. Most hot hatches are stiffer.

Right then. Is it the best of the Hiroshima-built roadster family?

Could well be. Not the most pure: it’s a bit bigger than an MX-5 as well as being turbocharged and more plush inside. And more expensive, at £29,850. But the best all-rounder? I’d say so. Especially if, like me, you like the looks and fondly remember the original.

I surprised myself with how glad I was to have the blower. In the torque-light Mazda, you absolutely have to be in the right gear for every interesting corner. If you’re looking for a chance to overtake, you sit there at 5000rpm until the passing window finally opens. In the Abarth you can be more relaxed before overtakes, and still get past quicker. Plus of course you can skid yourself through a clear bend or roundabout with more insouciance.

But it’s not all about the hectic times. The mid-range torque also makes it a more relaxing everyday car. In that role, you enjoy the slightly more softly-finished cabin than the Mazda, and the better standard kit.

OK a sum not unadjacent to £30k isn’t to be sneezed at. But despite the mongrel background, it’s a blissfully coherent and intense drive. As well as a bundle of all those old sentiments around Italian style and racing. I lust

Link

http://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/124-spider/first-drive-0

 

 

Cita

2016 Abarth 124 Spider prototype drive

The Abarth version of the 124 may only be a mildly tuned upgrade of Fiat's standard car, but it's a revelation

 

What is it?

Impossible, I think, not to approach Abarth’s prototype version of theFiat 124 Spider without some trepidation. Fiat’s in-house tuner hasn’t always made a brilliant job of fettling Fiat products; the notion of what it might do to a light-weight, lightly powered and just plain lovely Japanese roadster is an ominous thought.

Abarth prefers not to mention the M-word, and – to cut their engineers some slack – that’s probably fair enough. After all, it’s not for them to reason why when Fiat hands them a car; their job is not to construct platforms, but to improve what’s already there. Accordingly, their Spider was developed alongside the Fiat version – but always as a separate entity from it.

To that end, the wick of the same turbocharged 1.4-litre Multiair engine has been turned up, rendering 168bhp where previously there was only 138bhp. The torque rises modestly, too, to 184lb ft, and peaks very slightly later (although both are significantly different to the naturally aspirated engine found in the MX-5).

More importantly, the Abarth version gets the mechanical limited-slip differential missing from the cooking Fiat model, and while it shares the Spider’s basic suspension, it sports Bilstein dampers, not to mention its own specific tune of anti-roll bar and spring rates. Under the arches are 17in alloys, shod in Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tyres (uprated from S001s on the regular 124), and it's stopped by Brembo four-piston brakes at the front. 

What's it like?

First up, we'll deal with the automatic gearbox. The automated six-speed manual transmission isn’t really meant for the likes of us: it’s a necessary evil for Fiat’s Stateside operation – and that’s good to know, because the transmission, in the best tradition of Essesse ’boxes, is mediocre. Left to its own devices, it rummages around its ratios like a distracted shopper searching for a multi-storey car park ticket, upshifting through pockets desperately in its default mode, then fixating on one continuously in Sport. 

It paddleshifts more agreeably in manual mode, but still with an occasional bad-mannered shunt and never without needlessly strangling the four-pot’s best intentions. The net result is like an MX-5 with the blood drained from its vital organs and as thrilling as a half-empty jar of low-fat mayonnaise.

The saving grace is the obvious quality of Abarth's chassis tuning. Just as with the Fiat 124 Spider, there’s a soupçon of extra heft to the steering and greater assurance when initially turning in. The Mazda’s tendency to lean is cleverly tamed, because here there’s no detrimental effect to the way the Bilstein dampers manage secondary infringements on the still very supple ride quality. All up, the chassis feels more serious, then, but not desensitised.

Accordingly, the manual gearbox version of the car really takes these virtues and runs with them. The six short-throw cogs (plundered from you know where) are the key not only to unlocking the Multiair’s mid-range vitality but also to liberating the Abarth’s almost absurd levels of handling playfulness.

Each, of course, is intertwined. With the driver in unmitigated control of clutch, selected gear and throttle, it is far easier to keep the four-pot locked in its 3000-5000rpm groove. There’s still a slushy spot of low-down turbo lag to negotiate, but the car’s sharper intent and the improbably huge noise issuing from the quad exhausts do a good job of encouraging you to endlessly negotiate it.

The Abarth isn’t dramatically quicker than the standard model, although with the limited-slip diff now providing the traction and the suspension's stiffened anti-roll bars managing the mass, it’s the same thwack of predictable twist that makes the Abarth 124 feel not only noticeably faster in the real world than the quickest Mazda, but also terrifically easy to adjust on the throttle.

In this regard, the Abarth threatens to break new ground. The progressiveness of the driven axle's breakaway, and the utterly benign, easily fixable attitude it adopts, is laugh-out-loud exhilarating. Forget the MX-5: there’s something Caterham 160-esque in the way that the car's chuckable balance, predictable limit handling and robust lateral body control have you joyfully whittling away the tread of the rear tyres at the exit of every sharp bend.

Should I buy one?

A comparison to a 490kg, live rear axle Seven sounds ridiculous – but for 40 minutes on an admittedly greasy hill in Veneto, the 124 earned it. Too short a go to tell if it will survive transference to UK roads, and too early yet to justifiably call it a seminal moment for Abarth., but the omens are exciting – and only part mitigated by Fiat’s decision to charge an outlandish £30k for the manual version.

Be that as it may, the tuner’s contagious enthusiasm percolates from this roadster. At the very least, the car shows what Abarth’s comparatively tiny team are capable of when presented with an already very good rear-drive car, followed by permission to fettle it to suit a very small niche (to which they themselves belong). If this is Abarth from now on, then more please. 

Link

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/fiat/124-spider/first-drives/2016-abarth-124-spider-prototype-drive

 

 

Cita

Abarth 124 Spider (2016) review

 

So the Fiat 124’s been Abarth’d already?

Absolutely. After years spent performing minor miracles on hatchbacks and city cars, you get the feeling Fiat’s performance subsidiary couldn’t wait to get its hands on a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive two-seater.

This new Abarth 124 Spider is the product of two and a half years’ work, and developed in parallel to the standard 124. The Abarth crew have tweaked the standard set-up with a lower ride height, Bilstein shocks and unique settings for the springs, anti-roll bars, steering and stability control.

The black-bonneted wonder also gets a mechanical limited-slip differential as standard, a tweaked version of the Fiat Punto Abarth’s 1.4 turbo four-pot nestling longitudinally under the bonnet, Brembo brakes and a freer-breathing exhaust.

Looks pretty funky

It’s amazing how good a matt black bonnet and boot can look, and they're a nice nod to Abarths past. The Abarth 124’s further differentiated by a bulge in the bonnet, black wheels, bespoke Bridgestone tyres, a more aggressive front bumper and side skirts.

Inside you get a little competition car chic in the form of a welcome smattering of alcantara, a red rev counter, a red stripe to the top of the wheel and an Abarth certification plate screwed to the bulkhead between the seats. There’s also a Sport button, which sharpens the steering, throttle and the gearbox response (if you’ve inexplicably gone for the auto) and lowers the stability control threshold.

Fundamentally, little’s changed from the 124 or MX-5, so there’s an optional but excellent iDrive-style infotainment system, a fine driving position that’s not quite as adjustable as you’d like, the same clever, quick and ultra-light folding soft-top and the general feel of a cockpit right on the cusp of cosy becoming claustrophobic – 6ft-plus pilots will struggle.

Sounds funky too?

Oh yes. Ok, so it’s not the most sophisticated of noises – this being a modern turbocharged four – but the Record Monza exhaust is vocal and adds plenty to the driving experience, broadcasting every movement of the throttle pedal with a rasping, metallic blare that’s entirely in keeping with the Abarth’s retro styling touches – and it sounds for all the world like a ’60s twin-cam four-cylinder on maximum attack. Too loud? On a mainstream car it’d be unacceptably wearing but here it feels entirely appropriate.

All mouth and no trousers?

Just as you’re pondering whether 168bhp is enough, consider that the manual 124 Abarth only weighs 1060kg. And that turbo torque, which chimes in at 2500rpm and is really kicking on by 3500rpm, lends the 124 a deceptive turn of speed. A Fiesta ST will leave you for dust, certainly, but at speed in the Abarth, with the engine roaring through its exhaust, you couldn’t care less.

The delivery is impressively linear, so much so that blundering into the 6500rpm rev limit is easy. But while you could argue that isn’t how a little sports car engine should behave, in truth this is the best engine yet to grace the MX-5 platform. It makes a playground of every first, second and third-gear corner, and brings calm assurance to overtakes. The Abarth knocks less than a second from the Fiat’s 0-62mph time but at the wheel the feeling is of a significantly stronger motor.

And to steer?

A thing of joy, thanks to those excellent Mazda fundamentals (low weight, 50:50 weight distribution, rear-wheel drive) and Abarth’s superb chassis set-up. This little team can legitimately stick the Lancia 037 and Delta S4 rally cars on its CV, and in more recent years has worked wonders with more mundane metal, as anyone who’s driven any of its silly but very impressive track-ready 500s will know.

The set-up feels somewhere between the two MX-5 options: the standard tune and that of the Bilstein-equipped 2.0-litre cars. The Fiat rides almost as well as the softer Mazda but controls body movement like the Sport-equipped MX-5. And there’s such delicious balance and transparency to everything it does that within a mile you’re flicking to Sport for its sharper responses, knocking off the stability control and having a blast in a car that delivers all that theGT86 and MX-5 promised and didn’t wholly deliver.

Its key advantages are torque and that limited-slip diff. Together they mean meaty traction and drive when you want to keep things neat and graceful, slow-motion slides when you don’t. Factor in the light, accurate and communicative steering – you can feel grip levels across the front axle ebb and flow as you pass from dry road to damp – the strong, linear brakes and the lovely six-speed manual ’box and you start to wonder whether, at 2600 units for the first year, Abarth will find itself with a long waiting list.

Verdict

Comparing the £30k Abarth 124 Spider to the MX-5 is inevitable but unfair. A 1.5 SE Mazda is more than £10k cheaper and a 2.0-litre Sport Nav still only £23,295. The BMW 220i M Sport is comparable on price, packs a little more power and is a fair bit more practical, but it’s also a third heavier at 1595kg for the convertible.

A 2.0 TFSI Audi TT will surely out-grip the Abarth but can’t touch it for driving satisfaction or emotional clout. Both Germans are more rounded products, more versatile. But if you know what you really want, you’ll really want an Abarth 124 Spider.

Link

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/abarth/abarth-124-spider-2016-review/

Modificato 8 Giugno 2016 da yigy

[AleMcGir]

 

 

Modificato 9 Giugno 2016 da AleMcGir