Abarth 124 Spider on sale in Australia in October

Brett Davis

Fiat’s Australian arm has confirmed the local details for the upcoming MX-5-based Abarth 124 Spider, which will arrive in showrooms in October.

Abarth 124 Spider

The new Abarth 124 Spider is based on the Fiat 124, which itself is based on the Mazda MX-5, developed as part of a co-development partnership. For the Abarth, it goes for a distinct sporty tone synonymous with the Abarth sub-brand.

Australian models will come with a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine producing 125kW of power at 5500rpm, and 250Nm of torque at 2500rpm. Buyers will be able to select between a six-speed manual or auto transmission, both with rear-wheel drive.

Although this amount of power isn’t much higher than the 2.0L MX-5’s 118kW, it’s the torque that should provide a noticeable lift in performance (MX-5: 200Nm). Acceleration from 0-100km/h takes 6.8 seconds.

With a kerb weight of just 1060kg, the power-to-weight ratio is 8.48kW:1kg. This is slightly better than the MX-5’s (2.0L) ratio of 8.75kW:1kg. Fiat promises a 50:50 weight distribution as well for “great agility and performance”.

Also helping with performance is a set of ‘Abarth by Bilstein’ dampers with stiffened anti-roll bars, using a double wishbone front end and five-link setup at the back. There’s also Brembo brakes with monoblock four-piston front calipers.

Fiat will be offering customers an optional dual-mode Monza sports exhaust providing two separate engine notes, although, even without the option the 124 comes with a sports exhaust as standard.

Prices are yet to be announced but as mentioned it will go on sale officially next month, on October 7 to be precise.

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