RE: Abarth 695 Biposto: Review

[darreni]

Looks great.

Stripped out, lightweight, loads of carbon track car for £53k

or this & £20k change:

http://www.cslregister.com/forum/showthread.php?t=...

[Gary C]

stats007 said:

What's the point?

For the hell of it.

We need engineering nutters like this in car companies. Without them the world would be a poorer place.

[velocgee]

ManOpener said:

Really don't understand why someone would buy this instead of, say, a really, really well specced Ginetta G40.

Que?! I can't see the sort of person this car is aimed at (footballers (with Ferraris); Playboys (with Ferraris)) even knowing what a Ginetta is!! (no disrespect to Ginetta owners)

Think of this car as a folly for someone with way too much money - a toy to go with the others..(the 458 Speciale; the Desmo, etc...) Makes absolutely no sense to consider it any other way.

btw think it looks cool as fack and will no doubt go down well outside some pretentious West End nightclub.

[Rockstar]

Awesome little bonkers car but still nearly 1000kg heavy. Fantastic photo that of one with it's back off the ground under braking

Excuse my ignorance but concerning it's gearbox; by being an H pattern with dogleg selector mechanism as apposed to full sequential does that mean it is pretty much a normal manual gearbox but without synchronizer rings and instead a dog clutch setup?

8,500 pounds seems a bit steep for only saving the time it takes to press a clutch (if you're competent with matching revs on a normal manual gearbox the lost time from spinning up synchromeshs to engage gear is marginal unless your engine has almost no inertia and changes revs instantaneously).

[Mark-C]

stats007 said:

What's the point?

The point is that, on any rational basis, there is no point.

So hurrah for Fiat/Abarth doing it anyway

[Ali_T]

stats007 said:

What's the point?

Fun and to make you smile? Something that's sorely missing in the automotive world these days.

[Captain Muppet]

Bless them for making something mad. The world needs more mad cars.

McWigglebum4th said:

53 grand

I'll have a V6 Exige then.

[anonymous-user]

stats007 said:

What's the point?

I'm pretty sure it's removing wads of cash from very rich bored people with nothing better to spend their cash on.............

[Baryonyx]

RacerMike said:

Well....whilst I agree that it's a hell of a lot of money for a 500, I can think of many, many reasons why you wouldn't spend £30+k on a 'well specced' G40. A cabin that doesn't leak like a sieve, some form of ride and handling and reasonable reliability being just three to start with!

I thought the G40 was supposed to be a fairly usable and competent car for every day use, and not just track thrashing?

[Oddball RS]

Max_Torque said:

stats007 said:

What's the point?

I'm pretty sure it's removing wads of cash from very rich bored people with nothing better to spend their cash on.............

Or because it could be a hoot, more fun and left field than a Golf Gti or Focus ST, if you don't need the space, and will probably be worth a bit in years to come. Small fast cars always have a point, they are the genesis of fun,

[a11y_m]

Lagerlout said:

Mine makes 285bhp and it didn't cost me £55k to build it. Having said that I'd love one of these just to covet it.. lol

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by Lagerlout on Wednesday 10th December 16:53

Just read through your entire thread - you're nuts but I love it (bar the bonnet vents but I know why they're there).

[405dogvan]

Is this is a first for "Racing Windows"??

I thought the general feeling on the 695 was 'too hardcore for roads' at the best of times - I doubt any of this will improve that, which makes it a track special and a bloody expensive one (and one which isn't - if we're honest - the ideal format for a track!?)

I like the 500 - if I had enough money I'd some at one for laughs - spec it "just right" etc. etc. - but there's a limit and this has overstepped it a bit, I think...

[SonicHedgeHog]

Has there ever been a more boring utube video than that one. Love the concept and like the car, but was so bored after a couple of corners I switched off.

[sisu]

Well the only problem with the Fiat 695 Abarth is that this is what it feels like when you drive it.


The amount they are charging for the fancy kahzi options? You need to tell the Fiat dealer - Mi fa cagare

[Amirhussain]

If I had the money I would

[SteveSteveson]

There are many other things I would buy before this, but God love Fiat for doing it.

[MC Bodge]

[Alex Langheck]

Gary C said:

stats007 said:

What's the point?

For the hell of it.

We need engineering nutters like this in car companies. Without them the world would be a poorer place.

.

Exactly!! Similar to the Renaultsport Clio V6.....

We need more doing this. Hats off to Abarth for this - even though I'd go for the 595 Competizione.

[pigeonskirt]

The Wookie said:

PH said:

the sight of racing Abarth 695s with both rear wheels in the air under heavy braking has become a familiar one

I saw this and thought 'surely not' but a quick google returned this...

Hahahahahaha!

[speedjockey]

darreni said:

Looks great.

Stripped out, lightweight, loads of carbon track car for £53k

or this & £20k change:

http://www.cslregister.com/forum/showthread.php?t=...

This.

The price is absolute lunacy but with all the option boxes ticked, it's pretty wicked.. Can't help but wish that box made it into the 4C though. Would be cool to see it as an 'aftermarket' dealer-installed option for other Abarths out there.

Edit: Not to discredit the 695, it looks like it'd be brilliant fun but one could pick up one of these for the same money..:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXrDIevmlY

Edited by speedjockey on Wednesday 10th December 23:42