Abarth Considering Return To Petrol Hot Hatches

Abarth is mulling a return to petrol power with a hot hatch based on the new Fiat 500 Hybrid, the boss of the brand's European arm has told Autocar.

Abarth currently sells electric cars only, having discontinued the petrol-powered 595 and 695 in August 2024 – when the previous-generation Fiat 500 that they were based on was also retired.

But customer feedback to the Abarth 500e and 600e has prompted the brand to reconsider its strategy: “The Abarth [customer] wants a combustion engine not only for the power but because Abarth customers fundamentally buy the car and then modify it with their own hands,” said Gaetano Thorel. “On the electric one you cannot, so for them it’s a limitation – they cannot put their hands on the engine and fuel, and that’s why the Abarth club are not very happy with us.”

Indeed, Abarth’s sales have fallen significantly since it discontinued its petrol models. So far this year it has sold 273 cars in the UK, according to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. That is down from the 954 it had achieved by the same point last year, and a significant drop from the 5631 cars it sold in 2018.

Thorel confirmed that the modified Fiat 500e platform underpinning the new Hybrid can, in theory, accommodate more power.

However, the 500 Hybrid’s engine – a naturally aspirated 1.0-litre three-cylinder producing 64bhp – “cannot do it”, said Thorel. 

That is in no small part due to its low output, which will make the 500 Hybrid one of the slowest-accelerating cars on sale when it arrives in the UK early next year; the city car takes 16.2sec to hit 62mph from rest. 

Thorel hinted the engine also has the wrong character for an Abarth, pointing to it delivering the bulk of its power linearly from just 2000rpm – rather than encouraging drivers to chase revs.

The question of what engine could be transplanted into the 500 Hybrid – or how its 1.0-litre unit could be made more powerful – poses a significant challenge for Abarth.

Given it is based on a platform that was designed solely for the electric Fiat 500e, which employs a diminutive motor, there is little room to fit anything much larger or demanding much greater cooling than the existing 1.0-litre.

There is also a hurdle to negotiate in the return on investment of developing a new 500 Abarth, given it is a niche product.

Nonetheless, “we are trying”, said Thorel.

Regardless of whether a new 500 Abarth comes to fruition, Thorel’s comments are the first suggestion that Abarth could break from its previous strategy of offering only EVs in the future. That could have significant implications for the larger 600, as well as any future models being considered for the Abarth treatment.