[azzura]

Something that still puzzles me is why Fiat UK and Fiat US have specified and are marketing the 124 Spider differently, at least as far as Fiat vs Abarth versions. Here in the UK the Fiat 124 Spider engine is rated at 140 bhp whereas the Abarth 124 Spider is 170 bhp, and as far as I can tell the difference is due to a different map for the ECU, since the turbo is identical? In the US the Fiat 124 Spider is 20hp more at 160 bhp, but the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth is only 164 bhp?

In the UK the base Classica in white is £19,545, the Lusso £22,295 and the Lusso Plus £23,295. All are available only with manual gearbox. All other paint colours are extra, including blue. Black or tan leather not available in Classica. The base Abarth in black is £29,565 (manual) or £31,605 (AT) with a fully-specced AT in blue or grey with Bose added coming to £33,000. So quite a hike in price for that extra 30 bhp and lower/stiffer suspension, strut brace and extra red or grey bits, and the exhaust. But the matt black bonnet and boot lid are a no cost option in the UK.

In the US the base Classica is $24,995, Lusso $27,495 and the Abarth $28,195. AT is an extra $1,350 over the manual. All paint colours are the same cost apart from Pearl White (N/A on Classica) but blue is not available. Technology Pack (7" screen, reverse camera, keyless entry) is $1,295 for Classica only. For the Lusso, the Premium collection adds $3,795 or safety/comfort $1,495. So a US Lusso with Premium comes out as $32,190 and is roughly equivalent to a UK Lusso Plus.

In the US the Abarth "heritage" black bonnet and boot is an extra $1,795 (no cost in UK) and Alcantara seats an extra $1,195 (not available in UK) with the Luxury collection $3,995 and red brembos $1,495 (standard in UK). So a similar fully-specced Abarth with AT is $35,035.

The difference between a fully-specced US Abarth and US Fiat Lusso, both in manual is $33,685 vs $32,190 - around $1,500 so hardly anything in other words, and almost a no-brainer, but of course there's virtually no difference in power?

In the UK however, the difference is much larger. A black Abarth in manual with leather and Bose is £30,360 vs £23,295 - around £7,000 for the same Abarth difference, but of course the power difference is greater.

Abarth is promoted as a separate company in the UK, and try to come across as a "premium" brand, much more special than Fiat, but in the US it seems to be just a "badge" option for Fiat.

It will be interesting to see how well the Fiat and Abarth versions sell in the two regions...

 

[Greg]

Ok, first of all, you can't casually mention that you have a Fiat Coupe 20V turbo and not post pictures of it! Some of us want to see that car, remember, we never had it in the US, and it's one of the coolest Fiats ever.

I am curious about these marketing differences as well. We don't know where that 6hp went from the Euro 124 Abarth to the US. At my company we suspect that both the standard 124 and Abarth models in the US have the same tune except for throttle response and that the extra 4hp comes from the Abarth's exhaust. We think the Euro car has a different tune, but we won't know until we get our hands on the ECUs.

Greg

 

[stevenvillatoro]

A bit of the HP may be added to the Euro version owing to a standard Record Monza exhaust; while the remaining ponies might be attributed to different smog standards? Just hypothesizing, of course.

 

[azzura]

In the past the US smog regulations have worked to decrease the power, remember that for the original 124 Spider with all the smog gubbins, at worst it had only around 80 bhp compared to well over 100 in Europe. Perhaps it's more to do with 140bhp being perceived as just too weedy in the land of the gas-guzzling muscle car? So maybe what you have in the US Fiat is the Abarth tune without the exhaust, and for the Abarth you have the Abarth tune with exhaust, both less a few bhp for the smog regulations?

As for the Coupe, yes you guys in the US really did miss out there, there's a pic in my Garage, and a thriving forum here: www.fccuk.org/forum I've stuck a larger turbo on mine with cooling and other mods to take the standard 220bhp to more like 320bhp, but there are people who have taken it to over 600bhp

The pic in my Garage was taken at the Stelvio Pass between Austria and Italy, on the way back from a memorable trip to Turin in 2014, have a look at my slideshow (warning - over 300 pics) if you are interested, and earlier this year I went over to Assen in Holland for Viva Italia/Supercar Sunday which was fab (another slideshow here)

 

[Greg]

For those who don't know, the Fiat Coupe was the fastest front drive car avaliable at the time it was introduced. It had 220hp, which was huge at the time. Here is Azzura's car.

I really wanted one of these, but they were impossible to import back when they were new.

Greg

P.S. that slide show is awesome. I have only gone through about the first 10 pictures, but I'll look through all of it soon.

 

[kpoling]

Beautiful car!

 

[Brett67]

Love the FIAT Coupe, one of my favorite modern FIATs.

When considering marketing, also remember that FIAT has entered an agreement with Mazda. This agreement has clauses that prevent FIAT from building a "better" car than the Miata. European markets have Miatas that start at 130 ish horsepower. This is one of the reasons that FIAT starts the base model out at this. The fact that Abarth is marketed as an upmarket brand in Europe is also a reason. The US almost didn't get a truely branded Abarth model. It was originally going to be called the Elaborazione Abarth with limited Abarth badging. It was still badged as a FIAT.

See the images below. The US still did not get the Abarth interior with the badged seats and steering wheel. FIAT changed their tune when the enthusiasts voiced vocal disapproval with this approach.

 

[Hapster]

I hope that's not what we're stuck with!

I really wanted a purely Abarth model, somewhat due to the stigma fiat has, and for a prettier logo/theme.