Fiat’s Abarth 124 Spider will cost you from £29,565

The Abarth 124 Spider – the go-faster sporty 124 Spider – gets a 168bhp 1.4 litre MultiAir Turbo petrol engine, manual or auto gearbox and costs from £29,565.

The Fiat 124 Spider has only just officially gone on sale in the UK, but Fiat are wasting no time delivering the go faster version, with the Abarth 124 Spider going on sale in the UK and costing from £29,565.

Abarth developed their take on the 124 Spider at the same time as Fiat was fettling the new MX-5 in to the regular 124 Spider, and it must have made a change for Fiat’s performance arm to get to work on something with an engine at the front and driving the rear wheels.

That said, the power the Abarth 124 wields isn’t immense – 168bhp from the 1.4 litre MultiAir Turbo – but with the Spider weighing in at just 1060kg it’s enough to get to 62mph in a decent 6.8 seconds and on to 143mph, and it should sound quite good too with a standard Record Monza exhaust.

The 168bhp engine is Hobson’s choice, but you can have either a six-speed manual or the automatic Sequenziale Sportivo gearbox, with the Sequenziale getting flappy paddles.

The Abarth’s colour choices – Turini 1975 White, Costa Brava 1972 Red, metallic Isola d’Elba 1974 Blue, Portogallo 1974 Grey and San Marino 1972 Black – are designed to emphasize Abarth’s heritage, and the matte black bonnet and boot add an air of aggression.

The spec for the Abarth 124 is decent too, with Climate, Cruise, electric mirrors and infotainment, with a 7″ screen with DAB, Bluetooth and decent connectivity.

Gerry Southerington, Abarth’s brand manager, said:

The 124 spider is a new car and a new chapter in the exciting Abarth story.

It’s what many of our existing customers have been waiting for, and I am confident we will now welcome a new group of owners into the Abarth family. Great looks, stunning performance and unique equipment will set the 124 spider apart from other roadsters and I am excited about this car’s UK launch.

The new Abarth 124 Spider arrives in Fiat’s UK Abarth showrooms this summer, with the 124 spider 1.4 TJet 170hp Manual costing from £29,565 and the 124 spider 1.4 TJet 170hp Automatic from £31,605.