Autoblog

Before Karl Abarth was putting his sporting touches on Fiats for competition, he was a successful motorcycle racer, winning five European Championships. When Fiat realized how successful Abarth was with its cars, the Italian automaker purchased the tuning division and made it an integral part of its operations. The relationship has continued to this day and the tuning company is now an official division. The motorcycling connection finally comes full circle, as Fiat is the main sponsor for Yamaha's MotoGP race team and star rider (not to mention current MotoGP champion) Valentino Rossi. To celebrate Abarth's centenary, Fiat and Yamaha have teamed up on a tuned version of the 150 horsepower FZ1, a naked version of the previous-gen R1 literbike. The FZ1 Abarth Assetto Corse gets extra-special goodies like a complete Öhlins suspension, Marchesini wheels, Brembo monobloc front brake calipers, and an Akrapovic exhaust system. We're smitten with the red and white paint job, which looks resplendent against its attendant Abarth scorpion logos.


[Source: Italiaspeed]

As Fiat's in-house tuning arm, Abarth stands for high performance and unique design. The firm hopes to have hit on both of these qualities with its latest adventure in the art of co-branding, the new Powerplay Extreme gaming desktop. The crew definitely got the unique design part down, with a soaring, bridge-like truss holding a giant fan at the very top of the inner workings of the computer, which is powered by Intel's latest and most powerful chip ever, the Core i7 Extreme.

This new pint-sized desktop machine will be launched to kick off Intel's new "Friday Night Game", which is an Electronic Sports League sanctioned event that pits elite gamers from 30 different countries against each other. As far as the actual hardware goes, we see the expected firewire and USB ports along with an external serial port for terabytes of fun. The exposed motherboard sports a slew of heatsinks and LED-colored fans to keep things cool. Plus, it controls a Blue-ray/HD DVD player and, of course, a couple of CD\DVD burners. We're sure it all runs on an Intel chipset, but there aren't any details yet on the RAM or hard disk space. The best part? How 'bout that big red Start Engine power button?


[Source: Carscoop]

Another day, another Fiat 500 variant that we Americans can drool over knowing we can't get it here in the States. This one is special, though, as it was designed to commemorate Karl Abarth's 100th (born on November 15, 1908) birthday. Not just a styling exercise, the 500 Abarth "DA O A 100" tribute comes with an upgraded 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Acceleration to sixty takes just 7.3 seconds, helped along by shortened gear ratios while its top speed is now 131 miles per hour. Suspension bits are revised as well, with lowered springs and new 17-inch alloys fitted with low-profile Pirelli PZero Neros.

We're loving the looks of the '100, which is blessed with Nuvolari Grey paint along with special silver side stripes and chrome-plated badges and side mirrors. Inside, that color scheme is repeated in leather with contrasting stitching – proving once again that the Italians will always have that innate sense of style. If you want one, better get your name on the list now, as Fiat's only planning to build 101 of the unique 500s.


[Source: Carscoop]

Click above to view more of the Fiat Bugster concept

South America is a vital market for Fiat, and with the Sao Paulo International Auto Show coming up, the Italian automaker's Brazilian subsidiary has cooked up an intriguing concept. Called the Bugster, it looks like the love child from a grappa-induced affair between a KTM X-Bow and a Jeep Wrangler.

Few details are known at this point, save to say that its green color isn't accidental. Its undisclosed powertrain is good for zero-emission transportation, and the body panels (if you could call them that) are made out of renewable natural fibers. More details are bound to surface as the Sao Paulo show nears its opening at the end of this month. In the meantime, you can check out the pair of design renderings in the gallery below.

[Source: CarScoop]

Autocar has cooked up the latest rendering of the forthcoming Abarth Roadster, and while it keeps the basic shape of previous images, it adds a more distinct Fiat flavor to the front.

The Roadster will form one prong of Abarth's three-model lineup, joining the Punto and 500 variants, but will be based off a new platform, complete with an engine mated amidships, shared by a new Fiat Group vehicle, likely the Lancia Fulvietta.

Power is expected to come courtesy of the 500 Abarth's turbocharged 1.4-liter, putting 135-150 hp to the rear wheels. Sales are likely to begin sometime in 2013 and the Abarth Roadster is expected to carry a sticker price of £12,000.

[Source: Autocar]

Ben Terrett, a graphic designer in London saw this FIAT Doblo and snapped a photo. We thank him for his expert eye and quick reflexes. While at first glance this might seem to be a commercial van covered with advertising for the driver's company, it is in fact a van covered with angst. The sides and rear spell out a laundry list of complaints the owner has with it: "This FIAT is very unreliable, 2 new clutches, 2 new flywheels, 2 new master cylinders, 2 new servos, Since new, Nothing but aggro." Apparently this guy isn't too happy with his little FIAT and hasn't gotten any satisfaction from his dealer. As Terrett points out, it looks like a pretty effective way to take revenge. Thanks for the tip, James!

[Source: Noisy Decent Graphics]

Bob Nardelli, Chrysler's current CEO, has given his employees the closest thing to an admission as we are likely to see that the company has been in serious negotiations with other automakers regarding future product plans and possibly even mergers. As has been widely reported over the weekend, Chrysler has apparently had discussions with General Motors regarding a tie-up between the two automakers, and the rumormill is churning away with stories that GM isn't the only suitor. Carlos Ghosn already has a history of merging automakers, and his Nissan/Renault partnership has naturally been recalled as a possible mate with Chrysler, as have Fiat and Tata Motors.

Remember that there's nothing concrete here to report, just speculation. At this point, all we know is that Nardelli admits that there are "third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities with Chrysler" and that "as the company evaluates strategic options to maximize core operations and leverage its assets, we engage in a dialogue with these parties." Sounds pretty vague, wouldn't you say? These talks can be routine or they could be much more. We'll just have to keep an interested eye on the news.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth Assetto Corse

With the revival of the Abarth tuning division, Fiat is serious about motorsports. They've been racking up victories in the Intercontinental Rally Championship with the Punto, and have even been sponsoring Valentino Rossi's MotoGP Yamaha. And to drive the point home, while the "esseesse" (read: SS) version of the Cinquecento Abarth was the division's new reveal, it was this racing version, called the Assetto Corse, that took center stage.

The Assetto Corse is, of course, based on the same Fiat 500 that's been selling like adorable little hotcakes in every market it's hit so far. But the cute factor is gone, replaced by big air scoops, giant wings, roll cages and little scorpion badges everywhere. (And we do mean everywhere.) The little racing car that could is packed with a 1.4-liter 16-valve turbocharged four driving 190 hp through a six-speed shifter to the front set of 17" powder-coated white alloys hiding 4-piston Brembo calipers. The interior has a full roll cage and racing bucket, and an aggressive aero package sets the exterior apart from its street-bound progenitors. Check out the hotness for yourself in the gallery below.

Perhaps it isn't the most interesting live reveal that took place in Paris, but we managed to get a few shots of the new Fiat 500 by DIESEL anyway. Yes, there is an optional 75-horsepower 1.3 Multijet diesel engine, complete with a particulate filter to keep things squeaky clean, but that's not why it's called the DIESEL edition. That moniker comes from the Italian clothing company, which lends its name and the styling talents of DIESEL head designer with a head Lars Schwartz. Outside, the 500 is painted in your choice of Green DIESEL, Brown DIESEL or Black DIESEL. Name recognition much? Surely the most striking bit of kit is inside, where the seats are upholstered in denim with contrasting stitching. Fortunately, the look is much more upscale than that of the Levi's Gremlins and Jeans Beetles of the '70s. Proof is in our complete gallery below.

Abarth, the high-performance wing of Fiat, got to finally unveil its hotted up version of the 500 hatch at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The 500 Abarth esseesse (that's "SS" in Italian) takes Fiat's throwback three-door and adds a road-hugging ground effects kit with a new lower front fascia, Abarth-spec 17-inch white wheels, a lowered sport suspension and, most importantly, a turbocharged 1.4L four-cylinder producing 160 hp and a peak torque rating of 170 lb-ft in "sport mode". We thought Abarth would fit the 500 esseesse with a six-speed transmission, but the specs reveal that it will be one cog short with a five-speed manual. Still, Abarth claims it will claw its way to 62 mph in 7.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 131 mph. Performance specs aside, we bet drag racing and runs to the rev limiter aren't half as much fun in the 500 esseesse as simply dashing down a twisty mountain pass.