Abarth 695 Maserati Edition costs £32,000

The Abarth 695 Maserati Edition – a.k.a. Edizione Maserati – will cost £32,000 when it arrives in the UK at the end of 2012.

Having churned out a tribute to Ferrari with the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari, Fiat (we should say Abarth, to be technically correct) revealed the Abarth 695 Tributo Maserati at the Geneva Motor Show in March to bring in a few bob more from those happy to pay through the nose for a titivated Fiat 500.

It seems Fiat/Abarth has had a change of heart on the name of the Maserati inspired folding-top Fiat 500, as it now seems to be the Abarth 695 Maserati Edition, whereas when we reported it in February it was the Tributo Maserati. Still, it matters not – it’s still a very expensive Fiat 500C.

Apart from paying for the Maserati name attached to a 500C you’re also paying for the automated manual Abarth Competizione ‘box with flappy paddles, better brakes and uprated shocks, a Pontevecchio Bordeaux paint job, Frau leather, Jaeger instruments and ‘695’ badges dotted around the place. Oh, and some Tramontano leather luggage.

Whether all that is worth £32,000 – almost double the cost of the regular 500C Abarth – is entirely subjective, but if it is to you you’d better stick down your deposit sooner rather than later. Fiat are only building 499 Abarth 695 Maserati Editions and we don’t actually know how many are coming to the UK.

But with everyone in Italy too frightened to take their real Maserati out in case the tax man asks how it was paid for, there might not be very many Abarth Maseratis up for grabs elsewhere once the Italians have finished.