Happy Anniversario Abarth!

ITALIAN car maker Abarth is to introduce a special version of its small sporty model based on the Fiat 500 city car to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

Abarth was founded in 1949, and that is how many of the special-edition models will be made, with a UK price of £29,695.

Recognised as the sporting arm of the giant Fiat car company, Abarth is introducing the 70th Anniversario version of its 695 model, which in turn is based on the 500.

Among its distinctive features is an adjustable rear wing, which performs the curious task of creating 40kg of downforce over the rear wheels when the speed hits 125mph.

Bearing in mind the UK motorway maximum is 70mph, it is probable that this feature will be purely for show and is unlikely ever to be used.

However, it emphasises the car’s sporting nature, along with eyecatching SuperSport alloy wheels that are wider than those of the standard car and are 17 inches in diameter.

They are housed within blistered wheel arches and there are also deeper side skirts plus a standard colour scheme of Monza green.

The colour is said to be a tribute to the six international speed records set by the original Abarth 500 at the Italian Monza track in the 1950s.

The newcomer also boasts a chequerboard roof pattern plus the company’s trademark scorpion badge on its bonnet.

Completing the sporting emphasis inside are a sports steering wheel, aluminium gear knob, special floor mats and rally-style bucket front seats crafted especially for the new pocket rocket by Sabelt.

The car uses Abarth’s most powerful 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine that generates 180bhp with 250Nm of pulling power, mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

Performance for the front-wheeldrive hot hatch is impressive, with a 0-60mph acceleration time of just over six-and-a-half seconds and a top speed of 140mph.

To handle the performance prowess there are uprated ventilated disc brakes, four-piston Brembo calipers for maximum stopping power, a limited slip differential and Koni adaptive dampers to keep the rear firmly planted to the tarmac.

The car performs and handles like a sportster, and it also gets an active Record Monza exhaust system to ensure that it sounds the part too.

In addition to the standard Monza green, there are four other colours on offer, comprising grey, white, black and blue.

Destined to become a collector’s item, the cars are individually numbered inside, where there is also a Uconnect seven-inch HD system with the DAB digital radio and navigation system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto.

Completing the equipment list are automatic climate control, daytime running lights and LED fog lights.