Abarth 124 GT
FIRST DRIVE More is less with carbon-roofed Spider
Latest Spider aims to boost driver appeal. We see if it delivers
THE Abarth 124 Spider is a harder, faster version of the Fiat 124 Spider, and this new GT version aims to offer even more driver appeal – but at a price.
The three additional elements of the GT package comprise a carbon-fibre roof, some lighter alloy wheels and a more powerful Bose stereo. The hardtop also acts as a giant bracing bar to the 124’s overall structure, increasing rigidity to help handling and refinement.
It adds 16kg to the weight at the top of the car as well, offset by a 16kg saving on the wheels, although it doesn’t noticeably affect the balance.
We’re told that the hard-top is easy to lift off – requiring the removal of just five screws. While we’re assured it’s no big job, this clearly isn’t something an owner is going to do every day. Otherwise, the 124 is unchanged, with the same suspension as the standard Abarth, and the same 168bhp 1.4-litre engine and six-speed gearbox.
On smooth roads and at normal speeds, the increase in rigidity isn’t immediately obvious. Push harder through corners and the steering feels perhaps a little more accurate, and a glance at the rear view mirror reveals that it doesn’t shudder in quite the same way as the standard car’s when hitting a mid-corner bump. But how much of the dynamic improvement is attributable to the hard-top, and how much to the lighter wheels, is impossible to say.
On the downside, the roof on our model creaked and rattled almost constantly, and it seems to suffer more wind noise than the standard car does with its canvas top raised.
In other respects, the GT drives in the same way as the regular Abarth 124. There’s the same punchy acceleration, the same slick gearchange and a chassis that’s more fun than it is polished. The ride is firm, but there’s plenty of inherent agility.
The cabin is fairly hopeless for taller drivers, but it’s well equipped. The retro colour schemes for the exterior are certainly evocative, and it’s not too expensive to run, either.
Abarth UK doesn’t have prices for the GT just yet, but we expect it to command a 10 per cent premium over the standard car when it arrives in showrooms in May. That feels expensive, but some tempting finance offers should sweeten the deal.
ALFA Romeo is a brand on the move. The famous Italian name is back in Formula One (sort of), and a fresh range of radically new cars spearheaded by the Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV is incoming. Now, the company’s Porsche Macan Turbo rival has landed in the UK, and we’ve been behind the wheel.
The lack of space and practicality in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, especially for an SUV, has been widely reported. Room for passengers is adequate, boot capacity is merely average and you can’t even fit a tow bar on the back of the new model.
However, Alfa’s first performance SUV has many attributes to help you forget about how little it can lug around. Chief among them is the 503bhp 2.9litre twin-turbo V6. It’s the same engine as is found in the Giulia QV, boasting an identical 599Nm of torque.
Despite being an SUV, with the ride height and bulk to prove it, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio can sprint from 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds – one tenth faster than its saloon relation. The four-wheel-drive system, and the added traction it delivers, can take credit for that.
Familiar
If you’ve driven a Giulia Quadrifoglio, the Stelvio’s interior will be a familiar environment. There’s the same partleather, part-carbon fibre, part-alcantara steering wheel, the same black-faced dials with easily legible white digits, the same integrated infotainment screen and the same green and white stitching throughout. It feels solid and well screwed together, although the materials don’t seem quite as luxurious as those in the car’s German rivals.
As well as the engine, the Stelvio uses the same eight-speed ZF auto and electronically controlled limited-slip diff as the top-spec Giulia. Accelerate hard and the Stelvio launches in a very unSuv-like manner. The back squats down and you lurch forward with the verve and energy usually found only in the fastest all-wheel-drive sports cars.
The engine rips through the revs, reaching its 7,500rpm limiter faster than you expect. With eight closely stacked ratios, the revs don’t drop by much with each change, meaning the acceleration is ferocious. It feels absurdly fast.
On UK roads, the Quadrifoglio isn’t as comfortable as the Giulia or the standard Stelvio; it feels tense even in its softest damper setting. Strangely, switching to Dynamic makes little difference to the ride, despite reducing body roll and pitch. Race mode, however, does make the car feel too stiff on average British roads.
The way the Stelvio can be hustled down a back road is as hilarious as the preposterous acceleration. Driving quickly feels completely natural, in a way no high-riding SUV has any right to feel. Even on our test car’s winter tyres it seemed sharp and direct. The Stelvio feels most at home when using the huge power and electronic diff to guide it round a corner, the rear end squatting while you help dictate the angle of the car with the steering and throttle.
There is a hint of oversteer if you unleash the power before the back end is properly settled, but the Stelvio’s fast steering makes applying corrective lock in an instant very easy. It gives you real confidence to get on the throttle early, knowing you have the facilities to control the car if it does start to slide.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio may well have some mind-bending performance figures, but Alfa’s performance SUV isn’t just about covering ground fast. It’s involving, predictable, malleable and, above all, remarkably fun to drive.
“The way the Stelvio can be hustled down a back road is as hilarious as the acceleration”