Fiat 124 Spider Revised Engine Specs * BREAKING NEWS*

[Fiat500USA]

Fiat500USA.com Has Just Posted the Following:

The 124 Spider Abarth has a Sport button that activates a unique engine tune. We look at that, plus revised engine specs for the Classica, Lusso and Abarth.

Fiat will be updating the specification on the 124 Spider shortly, so consider yourself the first to know. You read it here first!

Read about it here...

[aevansgatech]

Having driven one with the Abarth calibration (sport on) I can say it is enough power to have a thrilling stock car. Of course upgrades will make it even more enjoyable

What I don't hear from the "it's only got 164hp" people is the fact that there is exactly 0hp difference between a base Miata and the Club/Grand Touring Miatas. How come Mazda gets a pass on not giving any hp bump in the lineup, but Fiat gets criticized for "only adding 4hp" to the Abarth? The article highlights the key difference that the torque curve hits peak torque 1000rpm earlier in the Abarth. That's huge!

Can't wait to see these ripping up the US streets

[Fiat500USA]

Having driven one with the Abarth calibration (sport on) I can say it is enough power to have a thrilling stock car. Of course upgrades will make it even more enjoyable

What I don't hear from the "it's only got 164hp" people is the fact that there is exactly 0hp difference between a base Miata and the Club/Grand Touring Miatas. How come Mazda gets a pass on not giving any hp bump in the lineup, but Fiat gets criticized for "only adding 4hp" to the Abarth? The article highlights the key difference that the torque curve hits peak torque 1000rpm earlier in the Abarth. That's huge!

Can't wait to see these ripping up the US streets

Probably jealousy, insecurity, ignorance or just plain haters. Most Americans don't have any clue about Italian car companies and all their contributions to the automotive world, so don't be surprised that their ignorance takes a negative turn. Just a lot of noise and soon you won't pay any attention to them.

People with open minds or knowledge know there is more to it than just numbers.

[Amacento]

While I do think naysayers, especially those with some knowledge of ABARTH heritage, have some ground here, I believe the A124 has enough of factory upgrade package to distinguish it as a true ABARTH. ABARTH & Co... the old school tuner shop naysayers point to as the Gold Standard... offered a variety of upgrade packages. Not every upgrade package transformed one's FIAT into a street/track beast. I'd grade this offering a mid-level ABARTH & Co. scorpion after seeing the photos and reading the specs. The soft top alone "lowers the rating" when compared to the Gold Standard.

But no one who actually digs this car and believes it to be a true ABARTH, me included, is going to convince naysayers to change their tune. They believe they're 100% despite being 100% wrong... a fact that is backed by history.

This not just being a "club package" is reason to celebrate. We get the better factory car... baptized in rich heritage.

[Axel]

^ And since we don't know the details of the agreement between Mazda and Fiat, there might have been objections from Mazda if the Fiat version (specifically the Abarth version) was given a MUCH larger output engine than the MX-5, so as to not cannibalize too much of the MX-5 sales ?? I'm sure Mazda makes more money on MX-5 sales per car than they will per car from producing the Fiat versions.

I've owned Miatas. Never had a Fiat, let alone an Abarth. I appreciate the extras they have put into the Abarth 124 version and the differentiating body\paint appearances enough to want to buy one. The brand cache is nice... their history is something to be proud of.

The sport button would have been nicer to me if you could had just left it on... but it's not exactly hard to remember to make it a part of starting the car up.

I haven't tuned my cars in the past and would have preferred an available higher output engine with warranty from the factory. But the talk appears to portend relatively easy performance increases to the engine, so I'm excited to see what the aftermarket will come up with.

[Axel]

While I do think naysayers, especially those with some knowledge of ABARTH heritage, have some ground here, I believe the A124 has enough of factory upgrade package to distinguish it as a true ABARTH.

This UK Autocar review alludes to this...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/abarth/124-spider

"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."

"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 has developed alongside the Fiat version - but always as a separate entity from it."

"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. "