This weekend (7th – 8th February 2009) sees the official launch of the new 500 Abarth. Many dealers are organising some kind of shindig, although most are advising those interested in taking a test drive to pre-book a slot beforehand.

500 Abarth launch postcard

The 500 Abarth price list can be found here: 500 Abarth UK prices.

There’s not much in the way of product literature for the new 500 Abarth, other than a simple brochure/leaflet which is currently making its way out into the dealer network.  We’ve got a copy in Acrobat PDF format:-

500 Abarth Brochure leaflet (PDF)

We’ve already seen the rather brief 500 Abarth esseesse kit installation video from Abarth, but the one we’ve been looking forward to is this one, from our Berlin friend Kristian Kopacsi:-

The 5 min 32 sec video shows the installation of the esseesse kit in much greater detail, including a particularly nice sequence showing the replacement of the front brake discs.  Thanks, Kristian.

The price of the 500 Abarth esseesse kit has been announced as £2,500 including VAT and fitting.  The cost of the kit itself is £2,150, but allowing for 4 hours labour takes the on-the-road cost to the £2,500 figure.

That makes a base 500 Abarth esseesse something in the region of £16,100, compared to, say, a Mini Cooper S at £16,575.

Remember, the 500 esseesse kit is much simpler than the Grande Punto Abarth’s esseesse kit – there’s no replacement turbo or associated ancillaries, for instance.

Technical details of the 500 Abarth esseesse are here.

Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse

UK pricing for the new 500 Abarth has, apparently, been confirmed, although I’m still waiting to see a press release to this effect.  The base price of the car will be £13,600 on-the-road, and ordering for customer-spec cars officially opened this morning (21st January).

New 500 Abarth

Yes, that’s more than the bigger and more powerful Grande Punto Abarth.  To my mind, that indicates that the price of the GPA will soon be increased to match, probably citing fluctuations in the Euro exchange rate.

The launch date is currently pencilled in for Saturday 7th February, although again this hasn’t been officially announced.  My recommendation would still be to delay delivery until after March 1st for the new ’09′ plate, though.

Most dealers will have taken delivery of their demonstrators by now (two each – one normal production, one to potentially be converted to Esseesse spec).

While we’d been expecting the first 200 cars into the UK to all be the same spec (white, red leather, red stripe and mirror kit, upgraded 17″ alloy wheels, climate control), it seems that most customers have been keen on ordering their own spec. To counter that, a number of speculatively-built cars of varying colours and specs will be available in the first batch, from which customers can choose should they match their own preferences.

It was also previously understood that the prices of the various options would match those of the standard 500 – that obviously makes sense, since they’re the same components, assembled on the same production line.

However, the latest information does seem to have a few oddities:-

Those prices list climate control, the fixed glass roof, and the checked roof as higher than the standard 500 – not by much, admittedly.

Now, get ordering!

While we’re waiting for official confirmation of the UK spec for the 500 Abarth, here’s the list of factory options available elsewhere in Europe:

The insurance groups for the 500 Abarth and 500 Abarth Esseesse have been announced by the ABI. They are:-

The ‘T2′ Security rating translates as:

An immobiliser that has been judged to comply to the Thatcham criteria.

That means the 500 Abarth isn’t fitted with an alarm, just an immobiliser. That’s the same as the Grande Punto Abarth.

Somewhat more concerning, though, is the ‘U’ group type, which translates as:

Cases where the level of security for the model concerned is regarded as Unacceptable. This does not mean that the car will be uninsurable but consumers should be aware that individual insurers may insist on the security being upgraded before providing cover.

That could mean many insurers will insist on having the optional alarm fitted when the car arrives at the dealers.  I hope Abarth UK have a few in stock…

On Sunday 14 December, the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse will make its UK debut at the 2008 Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in London.

Participating in the event will be some of the greatest champions of motor sport who will be competing against each other at the wheel of a range of different cars, on a track built specially in the London stadium.

Among these are Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, David Coulthard, Jenson Button, the rally world champion Sebastien Loeb, the world touring car champion Yvan Muller and the world superbike champion Troy Bayliss.

2008 Race of Champions

Abarth at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show

Abarth is using the 2008 Bologna Motor Show mainly to show off its new 500 Abarth Trophy (Trofeo Abarth 500), with a 600-square-metre temporary outside structure that showcases the preparation of the 500 Abarth Assetto Corse.

Abarth at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show

The Grande Punto Abarth and 500 Abarth Esseesse models will both be present, and on 11 December, the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 will also make an appearance.

In addition, there’s the usual host of Abarth accessories and merchandise, large-screen configurators for the road-going models, and even a pair of Abarth Powerplay Extreme desktop PCs and the Yamaha FZ1 Abarth Assetto Corse Concept Bike.

Abarth at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show

With the 500 Abarth Trophy Italy and the 500 Abarth Trophy Europe, both single-brand competitions, you can now experience the thrill of the track.

The 500 Abarth Trophy

In Italy, the Trophy will be run alongside the prestigious Ferrari Challenge, while the European Trophy will be run alongside the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship).

The 500 Abarth Assetto Corse models taking part will be produced directly by the manufacturer and sold ‘race ready’ to drivers through the official dealer network. The 500 Abarth Assetto Corse is priced at €32,800 + VAT

Both the sporting and technical regulations have been drawn up with the intention of allowing as many competitors as possible to take part – in highly competitive cars – at the lowest possible expense. That is why the practice sessions, number of possible tyre changes, and the number of technical changes that can be made to the cars have been limited.

500 Abarth Trophy Italy 2009 Calendar

Monza, 29 March – 7 laps
Vallelunga, 17 May – 8 laps
Brno (CZ), 31 May – 7 laps
Paul Ricard (FR), 7 July – 7 laps
Imola, 30 August – 9 laps
Mugello, 27 September – 8 laps

500 Abarth Trophy Europe 2009 Calendar

Valencia, 31 May – 11 laps
Brno, 21 June – 7 laps
Porto, 8 July – 9 laps
Brands Hatch, 19 July – 12 laps
Oschersleben, 30 August – 12 laps
Monza, 4 October – 7 laps

Each event will be run under the weekend racing format and will include:

• 30 minutes of free practice,
• 30 minutes of official practice,
• 2 races, each of about 50km.

The entry fee for the 500 Abarth Trophy Italy, and for the 500 Abarth Trophy Europe is €12,000 + VAT and includes:

• entry for individual races,
• free practice,
• 5 passes for access to the paddock area and catering for every driver,
• a race clothing kit,
• a free-time clothing kit.

Alternatively, it is possible to enter events individually and take part only on the relative circuit.

All the circuits involved in the 500 Abarth Trophy will have a special paddock area reserved for race competitors. Access will be by means of an individual badge that will allow drivers and their teams, among other things, to use the catering and open bar services.

Paid tickets are also available to allow entry to team guests.

500 Abarth Assetto Corse