Fiat will be sending to the states the newly designed Fiat 500. The car which is due to be launched some time in July this year is really considered as an iconic Italian small car but in its original form never really managed to crack other markets, but now is the era of the small car and therefore the time is now right for worldwide marketing.

The company are not looking to send the little cars over to the states right away, as they probably need to fill orders for the European market first, so it is believed that the estimated time of arrival for the Fiat 500 will be early 2010 sounds a long way off, but in that time the desire too own the latest little car will grow.

The cars will be built in Poland, where Fiat has had a base for some time. Details of the cars are still in the early stages, but it is believed that one of the models will include a special Arbath version, which will be producing a massive 150 bhp, for such a small car that is something very special indeed.

For Fiat there are exciting times ahead with the launch of the 500, we can expect some exciting media coverage when the car finally hit’s the road.

Source [Top Speed]

The most impressive small car to ever hit the streets is due to return later on in the year, the Fiat 500 ridiculed by some and loved by others has been given the Fiat treatment, and it has to said is looking good.

Way back in the fifties the very first Fiat 500 was produced, this little Italian became an icon for style, chic and most importantly fun, designed by the mighty FIAT at their centre in Turin, the original Fiat 500 was first put on show on the 4^th July 1957, the all new Fiat 500 will also be put on show for the first in Turin on the 4^th July 2007, exactly fifty years to the day, what a way to celebrate an anniversary.

The new Fiat 500 will of course be slightly different to its predecessor, the car will be powered by three different engines, the 1.3-litre Multi jet turbo diesel engine with 75 ps, the 1.2 8v engine with 69 ps and the 1.4 16v engine with 100 ps. All will be coupled with 5 or 6-speed manual gearboxes. But being Fiat they just could not produce a new car without the addition of a sporty Abarth version, and true to form there will be an Abarth version of the Fiat 500, but there is no news of what will power it, however by looking at the current range of Fiat model it is not hard to see which engine would be the favourite, the Bravo 1.4 engine which once been given the Abarth treatment would produce some pretty impressive power results.

Once this car has been shown at the motor shows and there are a few on the road, I think it fair to say that the new Fiat 500 is going to take some beating, it is fun and it is very stylish typically Fiat which will probably secure the company’s domination of the small car market for some time to come.

Source [Fiat 500]

The world famous Abarth company which was formed by Carlo Abarth way back in 1949, developed sports classics from the Fiat range and ran highly successful race teams that competed both in track and rally events around the world, famous for its scorpion logo the team became legendary and were faithful to the logo, small and deadly fast. The Abarth name had disappeared for a while, like many brands the company faded away. But now Italy’s most famous small car company has decided that the is right to bring the marque back out of retirement and let them do their stuff on the new Fiat Grande Punto Abarth, which will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

Not only that it would appear that Abarth will be running its own racing teams once again, competing in both track and rally events, and will be preparing racing and rally cars for customer teams to use in the many different racing series, one make series and rally events worldwide. Plus there is the potential for the merchandising operation to begin with a wide range of products as the other teams do, so this is not just a revamp for the sake of it, this is a major marketing push, backed by Fiat who know a thing or two about motor sport and marketing.

The Fiat Grande Punto Abarth, will be powered by a 1.4 ltr Turbo charged engine, which will give up to 150 bhp, however there is the potential for more power with the addition of a booster kit which will increase the power output to around 180 bhp, for comparison the an early version of the car, was the Fiat 500 which in its time, 1957, would offer just a mere 13 bhp at nearly 4000 rpm, with a top speed of 53 mph, yet after the Abarth treatment the car had a massive 20 bhp at 5000 rpm and reached the dizzy heights of almost 73 mph, so it is very clear to see the difference that the Abarth treatment can have on a car, we can only wait and see what the final specifications will be and how many races the teams will be entering in 2007/2008.

Source [Auto Express]

Fiat is making a comeback with its hatchback Punto Abarth. As we know, Abarth is a separate car maker which was acquired by Fiat long back, and turned it into inhouse tuning department. Its been a long time since Fiat is making use of its Abarth wing.

The Specs really looks awesome. With 0 to 60 seconds pickup in just under 7 seconds, its gonna compete against all its present rivals. With 190bhp being the standard for all the cars in this segment, its gonna enter the market with more than 200 BHP with a twin turbo engine.

Other than that, it has all the competition style features like Smart alloys wheels, the body is wider for better handling, roof mounted air intake among others. The sources say that it might enter the market around the price range of GBP 15,000.

Lets wait and see!