Abarth Spider has X-factor
Abarth’s new roadster succeeds in offering a very different driving experience to the Mazda MX-5 on which it’s based. By
Mazda has stuck to its guns with the MX-5 for a quarter of a century: not too much power, not too much grip. Delicate, not dramatic.
The MX-5 is one of the world’s sweetest sports cars and of course everybody knows it can handle more of everything. Mazda is keenly aware of that, but it’s always left the tweaking to the aftermarket.
Think of the new Abarth 124 Spider as the world’s most sophisticated MX-5 upgrade, then. As you’ll no doubt know, the latest MX-5 was a joint venture between Mazda and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). What the division of labour was, nobody will say. I’m guessing FCA wrote a big cheque and Mazda did what it does best: engineer an awesome sports car.
FCA has its own version of the MX-5, called the Fiat 124 Spider. We don’t see that in New Zealand, but we do have something better: the Abarth version, from Fiat’s official tuning arm.
Word of warning: don’t believe any vague insinuations from Fiat’s marketing department that artisans at Abarth’s head office in Italy lovingly craft the 124 Spider into a performance roadster by hand. Just like the MX-5 and standard Spider, the Abarth is built in Japan by Mazda.
It does have plenty of FCA hardware, though. No body panels are shared (only the windscreen header is carried over). The Abarth has an FCA 1.4-litre turbo engine with MultiAir technology making 125kW/250Nm, or 7kW/50Nm more than the Mazda’s SkyActiv 2.0-litre.
The six-speed manual and automatic transmissions have different ratios to the Mazda. The Abarth is 50kg heavier than the MX-5, but still faster to 100kmh: 6.8 seconds versus 7.3.
The Spider rides on stiffer suspension than the Mazda, with Bilstein shock absorbers, Brembo brakes and an old-school mechanical limited-slip differential. A chrome quad-tip Abarth sports exhaust is standard, with the option of the so-called Monza dual-mode exhaust for more volume.
Here ends the lecture about Japan and Italy. Because we’re here to evaluate the finished product, not the R&D politics.
It looks the part, right? It stands as a cool homage to the original 124 Spider, which celebrates its halfcentury this year.
More to the point, it feels special as soon as you hit the start button. The exhaust is not intrusive, but it is suitably throaty. There’s a global shortage of the optional Monza pipes at the moment so we haven’t heard them, but FCA people assure us that they take the soundtrack into the OTT sphere.
On the road, the Abarth is still impressively complaint and you’d hardly call the turn-in aggressive. But there’s a muscularity lurking underneath that’s easy to unleash.
The MultiAir engine definitely feels like a turbo, but in a good way: there’s a surge of torque in the mid-range that’s very satisfying.
The Abarth’s limited-slip differential encourages the driver to adjust the cornering attitude with the throttle in a highly engaging way. I’m not talking skiddy stuff (although the car can do that too, as time on a skidpan proved), but just the manner in which you can use the go-pedal to adjust the attitude of the car so easily when you’re accelerating hard out of tight turns.
In that respect, the relatively soft front end makes a bit more sense: you can play one off against the other.
The Spider is not grumpy and uncompromising like, say, the idiosyncratic Abarth 500 Essesse. The soundtrack is kept in check, the chassis still telegraphs changes in attitude and you can still drive the 124 slowly and have a ball. But there’s definitely an edge to the car and when you start to play, the Abarth Spider is outrageously good fun.
Talented on a track day, even, because the sheer sense of balance and that LSD mean it doesn’t lose its cool when driven to the limit. You won’t set any lap records, but you’ll have a hugely rewarding experience. And yes, you can switch the stability control completely off.
Inside, the look is very much MX-5 (oops, wasn’t going to mention that, was I?), although much of the cabin architecture is actually unique to the Spider. Kiwi cars are enhanced over and above standard factory specification, with LED lights, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and rear parking radar (there’s also a camera). Leather upholstery for the Abarth sports seats is standard – and yes, the seats really are unique to the Spider.
Arguably the coolest Abarth Spider option is one we can’t have yet: the racing-style ‘anti-glare’ matte black finish for the bonnet and bootlid. That’s because the finish is actually painted by hand at Abarth in Italy. And since the cars are made in Japan... well, you can see the logistical/cost problem for cars heading Down Under. FCA Australia is working on an aftermarket-type solution with the factory that involves vinyl wrap. Or you could just, ahem, buy the car and get the bonnet painted.
All things considered, the $52,990 Abarth still looks like great value compared with the $46,990 Mazda MX-5 2.0.
Can’t get away from it, can you? The Abarth 124 Spider is far from 100 per cent Italian. But it’s a worthy Abarth all the same and offers something different to the still-wonderful Mazda MX-5. You’ve got to love it.