We continue DT's Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving celebration with this Fiat: The 2012 release of the Fiat 500 for the US market was actually a success from a sales perspective, even if the JLo returning to the Bronx ad was as fake as the so-called "Moon Landing." Not to mention the Charlie Sheen Abarth advertisements that started airing just as Charlie Sheen was in full-on Warlock mode. Frankly I think that Cher would have been a better choice over JLo for an Italian car because Cher's performance in Moonstruck was far superior to JLo's in the Wedding Planner, but the North American version of the new 500 is built in Mexico. Anyway, find this 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth here on eBay
bidding for $12,900 reserve-not-met with 1 day to go, located in San Ramon, CA.
I gotta be honest with you when I say that I appreciate any car that can be identified from the exhaust note when it fires up. The 500 Abarth fires up with a rorty brapp out of the 1.4 liter Multi-Air inline-4, which is mounted transversely and mated to the front wheels. If you think it is noisy at idle, just wait till you mash on the loud pedal and folks from blocks around hear the 160 horsepower and 170 ft-lbs of torque exit the exhaust through little in the way of a muffler.
Don't expect Mercedes-Benz levels of comfort inside the 500, but the Abarth version features garish sport seats, a manual 5-speed shifter, and a thick leather wrapped steering wheel that is far nicer than the original $27k MSRP might suggest. (Fully loaded comes near $32k if you were not paying attention).
See a better late model front driver with a short wheelbase? tips@dailyturismo.com
How much performance difference can there really be with the sunroof deleted on this car? Seriously, I highly doubt it would be noticeable. Yes, there's a little less weight, but I'm calling BS on the ability to notice the difference.
ReplyDeleteLess than 3,000 miles?
ReplyDeleteHoly Schneikes...
And I'm OK with no sunroof. Does make for a tighter chassis as they age.
If you want sun, get a ragtop. Or if you're really adventurous, a bike.
Three thousand miles. Color combination I can live with. Might be a blast for a while.
ReplyDeleteLet me ponder on the available resources...
Yeah, but you gotta figure the reserve is set pretty close to MSRP in this case.
DeleteI bet these are a hoot to drive.
ReplyDeleteDo you guys remember the commercial where Charlie Sheen is under house arrest and drives on of these around inside?
I drove one when they first came out was impressed then drove a new mini cooper build quality was not as good on the cooper and know they are repair shop prone and have talked to owners who say the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is a different Marque, this car seems to be more of a spiritual descendent of the Chevy Sprint Turbo than any other car. Which is good.
ReplyDeleteI daily drive an Abarth and can confirm that it is like driving an angry farting barstool. So much fun.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, thank you for making my day!
DeleteIs it kinda like this (without the wheelie bar)??
Delete[img]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii263/karlk91/MyBSR1.jpg[/img]
Whoops, picture size foul. Must do penance (or better, learn how to re-size pictures)...
DeleteMost of us use imgur to upload and resize. It's easy and it even spits out the proper embedded image code for you.
DeleteLOL yes, exactly. Though that has probably less interior noise than the Fiat.
DeleteMoonstruck reference...sweet. I'm not ashamed to claim that as my choice should I only have one movie to watch for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteCage:"I love you..."
Cher: (slap then, harder, slap)"Snap out of it!"
When I saw an Abarth in the wild for the first time I followed it for a mile or two just to hear the exhaust rap. It's like that...very Italianate.
Nick Cage's best role ever. Cher too. " In time you'll drop dead and I'll come to your funeral in a red dress!"
DeleteSomehow, if I was forced to watch one movie on constant repeat, it would have to be Groundhog's Day....
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