You'll Need At Least £30k To Buy An Abarth 124 Spider
The new Fiat 124 Spider is supposed to be the Mazda MX-5’s softer, cruisey cousin. That’s just fine, and it’s arguably the better car for what a lot of potential MX-5 customers are after anyway. But what if you do actually want to drive your Fiazda MX-124 hard? You’ll be wanting the Abarth 124 Spider, which has now been confirmed to cost £29,565 for the six-speed manual, and £31,605 for the ‘Sequenziale Sportivo’ six-speed automatic.
Quite a figure, given that the range-topping Mazda MX-5 Recaro is over five grand less. However, the Abarth does look like quite a serious proposition: compared to the standard 124 it sits much lower on Bilstein dampers and stiffer springs, while a mechanical limited-slip differential has been added, and the anti-roll bars have been suitably beefed up.
There are four-piston Brembo brakes at the front, and a 1.4-litre turbocharged sitting under the bonnet kicking out 168bhp and 184lb ft of torque. That’s 10bhp and 36lb ft more than the 2.0-litre MX-5, giving it a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds - half a second quicker than the Mazda. You also get a fruity ‘Record Monza’ exhaust as standard, although four tips does seem like overkill…
Want one? Abarth 124 Spiders will be in the UK this summer.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
If I had the money I would buy this.
How much in usd?
$42,758USD at current exchange rate.
I could buy 2 Skyline R34 GTR’s in Canada for that price, as it would be $55-60 Grand.
Can’t wait for to see how this looks stanced :D
What if i told you a stock fiat 124 spider cost 50k£ in denmark… and the mx-5 is 30k£…
when an mx5 is 15k this is rediculous
why can’t we have this in the US? :(
I know it’s missing the point a little, but for £30k, you could be in a Golf R with AWD, almost double the power, 5 doors, a comfortable ride and a boot… Don’t get me wrong, I love what Abarth have done with the 124, but I can’t help but think the price is a bit steep for something that can only be practical if it’s a second car. Or, turbocharge a 2l MX5 with the ~£6k left over and have a lot more fun that way.
Why would someone pay an extra +2100£ to get this with an Auto is beyond me.
Expensive for what it is, but that’s a good looking car.
On another note, who would buy this in automatic!?!?!?!
I am all about the MX5. I own a mk 2. I’m a member of multiple MX5 owners clubs. I go to events. I go on runs. And if I had the money to buy an ND/mk4 I’d wait, and pay the extra for one of these. It’s just much better looking, and to me that’d be worth it.