A choice that was already in the air, given the latest models presented, but which now takes on all the trappings of officiality: in the future of the Abarth brand there is only electric.
The brand born from the ideas and deeds of Carlo Abarth recently added to its ranks la 500e e la 600eboth derived from the respective Fiat-branded electric versions, but with something more for performance. In particular for the larger of the two, derived from the project started with the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce (here you can find the video of the excellent test on the track), the changes are decidedly more pronounced.
So two new features, on a par two other models that are no longer included in the price list, namely the 595 and the 695which we now know they will not be replaced by future thermal versionsnot even when the current Fiat 500 becomes hybrid and is produced in Turin. We find out from the words of Gaetano Thorelresponsible for the Abarth brand in Europe.
According to the manager they are the increasingly stringent rules on emissions to force Stellantis to make this choice: “If you produce a sports model that records 180 g/km of emissions, in Italy the buyer pays a car tax ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 euros every year. Is it a sensible choice, knowing that an electric sports car has similar performance and fun, but without this expense? I believe that under these conditions it is better to buy an electric“.
Electric is therefore the only way to keep Abarth alive, and Thorel also explained why it is the future Fiat 500 hybrid will not be suitable to support the production of a high-performance variant: “The hybrid engine that will find space in the future 500 does not allow us to bring out all the power necessary to say that the car is a real Abarth, so we will not use it“.
During this interview, with the magazine AutocarThorel also provided insights into the brand’s possible directions for future models. There is a categorical no to models developed independentlybut we will proceed only with the elaboration of those proposed by Fiatas it has always been done: “The company’s founder, Carlo Abarth, never created a car from scratch. Abarth DNA wants the company to be committed to taking a standard car and modifying it, increasing its performance and modifying the sound of the engine. We will remain faithful to this approach“. Engine roar obviously now absent, but which in a certain sense has still been digitally modified.
Finally the manager it does not close the door to processing previously untouched segments: “For me the Abarth concept can be applied to anything. I don’t see why we should limit ourselves to just A-segment or B-segment hatchbacks. Work on developing an SUV? I say ‘why not?’ “. In this sense, Abarth would follow the same path taken for example by the Renault Group, which for several months has been using the Alpine brand to customize the cars in the range, and which with Alpine itself proposes and will propose different segments, always and only electric cars.
Source: greenmove.hwupgrade.it
