Alexandre
This is it! After years of no news since the Abarth 124, the scorpion brand finally presents a brand new model... and what a model: an electric one... with a price that stings! So, can an electric one always be a Abarth ? It's up to you.
Back in the past: when the electric Fiat 500 was presented in 2020, we suspected that Abarth, which has based all its latest models on those of Fiat, would one day present a prepared electric 500. This information was then made official by Olivier François, who heads the Fiat and Abarth brands, as he announced that a new Abarth 100 % would be presented in 2024.
Maybe thanks to the good financial health of the Stellantis group, the electric Abarth 500 was presented today, more than a year ahead of schedule. A real challenge for a brand whose founder used to say " Sunday at the track, Monday at the office ".
Based on the current 500 electric, Abarth has therefore "prepared" the little Fiat to turn it into a small sports car:
- better weight distribution (57 % front, 43 % rear) ;
- The power of the electric motor increases from 118 hp to 155 hp;
- 60 mm wider and 24 mm longer wheelbase;
- torque from 220 Nm to 235 Nm;
- 3 driving modes: Turismo, Scorpion Street and Scorpion Track;
- weight that remains at about 1400 kg as the Fiat 500 electric ;
- autonomy which passes from approximately 320 km to 250 km;
- JBL audio system;
- sound generator reproducing the incomparable Abarth "roar".
According to the brand, thanks to all this, the electric Abarth 500 would be more responsive and would have better performance than an Abarth 695 whether during acceleration (0 to 100 km/h in 7 sec), during acceleration between 20 and 40 km/h or between 40 and 60 km/h and finally, it is 1 second faster than the 695 on the Balocco circuit.
For the design, which is also a specificity of Abarths, here is what changes compared to the electric 500
- a new front sport bumper
- sport side skirts
- a rear diffuser
- 18'' alloy wheels
- front and rear disc brakes
- sport spoiler
On board are new Alcantara sports seats, a new Alcantara dashboard, a three-spoke sports steering wheel and stitching on the door panels and central armrest.
The electric Abarth 500 is now available for reservation in two colors, acid green or poison blue, as a coupe starting at €43,000, or as a convertible starting at €46,000. First deliveries in spring 2023.
Let's be honest, the brand has done its best to prepare this electric 500 as a sports car and it's quite successful.
The bad surprise is the price that stingsThis is almost 15,000 € more than the previous thermal version and 10,000 € more than the electric Fiat 500...
Is the weight the same as the 500e or have there been optimizations with carbon or aluminum parts? Or will these things come later with more torque for example to make the model live? For the price we know that the electric is a luxury. Finally for the noise I read a lot of mockery, on the one hand it is deactivatable but it must also be heard in real with the bass and not on micro speakers of smartphone ...
I just found the information, the weight does not change and remains at 1.4 tons, the autonomy is down from 320 km to 250 km. I added the information to the article.
Otherwise the excellent news, one year ahead! Holy Lancia who are in heaven, please resurrect the Delta Evoluzione in electric as soon as possible! With a big torque thanks and 210 horses thanks!
Nice and efficient, but heavy and with little range, so it's a high price to pay for a small sports car on the one hand (not sure if Abarth fans will follow), or for an electric car on the other (other models do as well or better for the same price). In short, what positioning, what market, what customers?
The 500e was the third best-selling EV in Europe last month, and it's selling well even though it's certainly the most expensive new Fiat in the brand's history... On the Abarth side, the 124 peaked at 42,000 euros. One chance, the competing models are far from being as iconic but the behavior will have to be really worthy of the coat of arms.
The price tag gives the impression that an electric car is a luxury, but in fact, it costs the same as a diesel, or a little less than a gasoline.
An SUV is a luxury, since it does not bring anything more than its non elevated variant, while costing more, and yet 1 sale out of 2 is an SUV. The lease is also a luxury, it is the most expensive solution to finance a new vehicle, and yet it is 3 out of 4 sales. Luxury does not scare customers, on the contrary.
It's very appealing from the outside as well as from the inside...but I doubt the interest of the formula. The performances might not be that different from the 500e (same torque and weight) which is also extremely fast for a city car (in normal or range mode). And above all, 250 km of range is very short, knowing that in real life, it will be much less: in practice, it is strictly impossible with a 500e to drive 320 km in one go (at best, you can reach 280-290 km in Sherpa mode with the speed limited to 80 km/h and the air conditioning and other accessories turned off... in practice, you'll do more like 220 km in "range" knowing that you always have to keep a margin before the battery is completely drained). So I would expect 170/180 km "useful" (a bit like the electric mini), which is not enough to get out of an urban use. And in this case, the difference with the 500e in its most luxurious version "La Prima" is not justified, except for the search for a "sporty" look, knowing that the 500e will have in any case a better range, which is appreciable in practice.
I'm in the middle of changing leases and with the PHEV and BEV the cars have gained 10K on average compared to a combustion car of any brand. Thanks to the batteries. So in the end it's not surprising to find an Abarth at more than 40K even if I think it's too expensive for the target... to see the 500E is selling very well after all...
The extra 10k will pay for itself in 50,000 km on a purchased BEV. Beyond that it's a big savings. If you get a BEV, you'll tell us what it's like to have a warm, de-iced car while your neighbors scrape the ice 😉
That said, I don't see why you're talking about the price if you're leasing?
Because at similar list price, the leasing costs in phev and bev are much higher, I have differences of 100 € per month for several manufacturers. Discounts are also lower (or even non-existent) on phev / bev compared to the gasoline diesel era.
100 € per month is hardly more than a full tank. Of course, for people who drive less than 1000 km per month, it won't save any money.
(I'm not talking about the PHEVs, which are only used to get around the ecological malus)
Ah but of course be reassured malus, TVs, fuel, depreciation I have my table.