Abarth 695 “Tributo Ferrari”

Interior of the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari which is heading for Frankfurt

Fiat has officially confirmed the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari Limited Edition which will debut at Frankfurt.

We reported on Monday that Fiat were bringing a very special 500 – Abarth 695 “Tributo Ferrari” – to the Frankfurt Motor Show. Well, its taken a few days, but Fiat has now confirmed the story and given us an official prss release and a pile of pictures of the ‘Fiat Ferrari’.

Fiat say that the Tributo Ferrari is distinguished by substantial modifications that have been developed by Abarth and Ferrari. Most substantial of these is probably the 1.4 litre turbo, which has been tweaked to give over 180bhp.

But the revisions all round are quite a bit more than a cosmetic job to create a cheap baby Ferrari. The tweaked engine gets mated to a six-speed MTA – Manual Transmission Automated – with paddles shifts which channel the power through the front wheels. There are also a set of meaty Brembos and a sorted suspension setup with new shockers. The Tributo Ferrari also gets a variable back pressure, dual-mode exhaust which improves performance and contributes vocally above 3,000 rpm.

The Tributo Ferrari gets finished in Scuderia Red with carbon fibre used for the door mirrors, racing stripes are added and the car sits on a set of 17″ alloys in ‘Racing Grey’ to match the stripes and rear air intakes.

The interior doesn’t get forgotten, and the Abarth gets a set of lightweight Sabalt seats, made in carbon fibre with black leather trim and ‘Abarth’ logos; a black and red leather steering wheel; a new Jaeger instrument panel that looks pretty Ferrari-ish; aluminium footwells and pedals and a plaque denoting the Tributo Ferrari build number.

Fiat has given us no detail on price or on the numbers being built, but there is no doubt that this is the ultimate Fiat 500.

For now.