The Fiat 500 is a smash hit for the Italian brand. This little hatch revived a legendary marque from the past and garnered fame and success for Fiat, especially in its electric guise. Now the crazy boffins at Abarth have had their go at the electric 500, and guess what they brought out of the room? A faster, 155 hp electric hot hatch, the new 2023 Abarth 500e.
The infamous “Dieselgate” scandal involving Volkswagen had almost brought down the brand for using devices that cheat emissions regulations, while single-handedly bringing around the current decline in the popularity of diesel cars. And now another European manufacturer, Fiat-Chrysler Automotive, is being investigated for a similar issue and prosecutors searched the brand’s sites in Germany as a part of the investigation.
It’s not often that on-a-budget car enthusiasts in the GCC actually get what they ask for. But there are good times ahead. The next-gen Ford Focus is coming here (Update: no, it didn’t), and with it an updated ST surely. There is a Honda Civic Type-R test car running around Dubai. And then there is this one — the Fiat 500-based Abarth 595. There is now an official Abarth showroom in Dubai, and we somehow snagged one for a brief drive around town.
The reborn Fiat 500, which debuted in 2007 and has been hugely popular in Europe but has remained externally unchanged since then, is getting a new variant called the 500 Riva. And it’s coming to the UAE and other GCC countries.
Italian carmaker Fiat has launched the facelifted model of its 500S hatchback. When it was released on 2012 in Europe, it was positioned between the cute standard 500 and the hot Abarth version. As 4 years have passed since its inception, its high time for the car to be subjected to a little freshening.
Fiat has officially revealed the 2016 500 facelift. The current generation has been running for the last 8 years.
If you remember, we had gone to Italy last month to drive a couple of cars, including the Fiat 500L and the Alfa Romeo 4C. We also drove the latest version of the Fiat 500 Cult, a new trim level with a new engine and a manual gearbox, before it was even revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last week. We’d never driven a 500 before that, but damn is it good with the Euro-spec hardware.
Remember ‘Luigi’ from the movie Cars? Paint him blue, and voila, you have your Fiat 500 1957 Edition. But since this is clearly not 1957, all we can do is transform the new embodiment of the Fiat 500 into a 1957 classic. And that is exactly what Fiat has done.
There are two new Fiat models on displayed at the combined Fiat-Chrysler Group stand in the Dubai Motor Show. Alongside the Fiat 500, that’s been in the UAE for a couple of years now, are the Fiat 500 Abarth and the Fiat 500L. Both cars are here to gauge public reaction, which will determine whether either of those cars join the regular Fiat 500 in the GCC line-up.
This may seem like just another video of an idiot trying to make a U-turn where he shouldn’t, but just keep watching this Italian man’s quest as he slowly transforms this quiet street into a commotion of epic proportions. You’ll be surprised at the unbelievable groups of people that show up!