If you were already in the market for a hotted-up Fiat 500, life has got a whole lot more difficult as the company has launched another limited-edition Abarth, snappily titled the ‘DA 0 A 100’.

It is, in essence, an Esseesse with revised gearing to make the 0-100km/h sprint just 7.3 seconds, with overtaking in the handy, 4th-gear, 40 to 100km/h range only 8.5. The latter knocks a second off the Esseesse’s time. Top speed is 211km/h.

The model name celebrates Karl Abarth’s centenary, so you’d think Fiat would be producing 100 examples of the tiny wonder? Wrong – 101 lucky buyers will be able to savour the delights of the 1.4 Turbo T-Jet engine, delivering 160bhp at 5750rpm and peak torque of 230Nm at 3000rpm.

The car gains extra impetus by the addition of a 'powered by BMC' air filter. Clearly, the marketeers in Turin have not been speaking to their British counterparts who would, no doubt, have told their masters the significance of the three dread letters ‘BMC’ to UK buyers.



The car has all the performance addenda no self-respecting Abarth would be without: ventilated disc brakes front and rear; high-performance front brake pads; special lowered springs and 17in alloy wheels fitted with Pirelli P Zero Nero 205/40 R16 ZR 17 tyres and, a – unique to the car – four-pipe exhaust.

Inside, the seats and steering wheel are leather-covered, while the gearlever is solid aluminium. Just one colour scheme is available: Nuvolari Grey with an Abarth stripe on the sides.

All you’ve got to do now is to go into your local Fiat dealer and pronounce the name; go on, you can do it.

Text - Steve Wakefield
Photos - Abarth