2012 Fiat 500 Abarth: INTRODUCTION

November 15, 2011 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  Faithful to the “small but wicked” saying coined for Karl Abarth’s cars in the 1960s, the new 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth arrives to America with the racing traditions that have made it a success on European roadways and racetracks — world-class performance and precision, purposeful and aggressive styling, high power-to-weight ratio and limited-production volume.

“Bringing the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth to the U.S. enables us to reach out to driving enthusiasts who want Italian performance at an attainable price,” said Olivier Francois, Head of FIAT Brand and Chief Marketing Officer — Chrysler Group LLC. “With its lightweight, track-tuned handling and purpose-built design, the Fiat 500 Abarth brings to life the legendary racing heritage of the brand and becomes the Italian high-performance car for everyday driving.”

Building on the excitement of the new 2012 Fiat 500 (Cinquecento), the new Fiat 500 Abarth is designed for track-day enthusiasts and driving purists who want the ultimate high-performance small car with the pedigree of an exclusive Italian exotic.

With its all-new 1.4-liter MultiAir^® Turbo engine, Abarth-tuned suspension and brake systems, race-inspired design, and technology features not traditionally included on a small car, the new 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth unleashes the brand’s legendary performance heritage to American streets.

“Abarth treatment” and tradition continues to deliver extraordinary results
In the late 1950s Karl Abarth believed that race cars with brilliant performance could be derived from small, lightweight, everyday driving cars — including the original Cinquecento (500). And his tradition of track-ready small cars continues today by utilizing the 2012 Fiat 500 Sport as a base point for the new high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth.

Staying faithful to the performance principles that made the Abarth name a success, the new Fiat 500 Abarth continues the brand’s motorsport traditions, including:

• Everyday Performance Car
  • Track-ready capability, high horsepower-per-liter engine, combined with the quality, efficiency and refinement expected in a world-class small car
• Competitive
  • Benchmark levels of performance, track-proven reliability and durability
• Aggressive
  • Purposeful and functional performance design, Abarth-tuned powertrain control module (PCM) and performance-tuned exhaust with menacing sound
• Attainable
  • State-of-the-art powertrain and chassis technology once limited to premium-priced performance cars
• Racing Heritage
  • More than 60 years of performance and competition tuning, including active international series races today