Posted on Thursday 2 August 2007
Fiat has already announced its plans to launch performance Abarth prepped versions of its new 500 minicar and the Punto hatch, which were spied testing at the Nurburgring, but they may not be the only Abarth models we’ll be seeing in the near future. Latest reports suggest that the Abarth brand is developing its own standalone sports cars as part of Fiat Chief Luca De Meo’s wish to see Abarth operate with greater independence from Fiat.
Talking with Fiat’s global marketing director, Steve Norman, UK’s Evo has learned that Abarth could become a separate entity altogether. In its early days, Abarth designed and developed its own cars with many of them used for racing. When Fiat took over, Abarth produced very few of its own distinct models and even these were basically Fiat cars with a few styling mods.
In the interview, Norman wasn’t willing to reveal what Abarth was planning but mentioned that any new car would likely be a small two-seater roadster based on a modified 500 platform.