PH was destined not to drive an Alfa at the Festival of Speed, it seems. While Dan missed out on his Alfa GTAm drive on Friday, I also found that my scheduled drive in the Alfa 33/3 Spider Le Mans was off thanks to engine troubles. Plan B: the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally. At least I'll get a feel for where the new
Abarth 124 Spider
Turns out this is the very Verini/Rossetti car that won the 1975 European rally championship. Now housed at the Fiat/Alfa/Abarth museum, it has been beautifully restored mechanically, but rather splendidly the bodywork hasn't. The fading paint is the thickness of a molecule in parts and dents all over the car attest to its history. The mechanic raps his fingers on the front wing to get the bonnet to close properly. Fantastic. And, when I climb aboard, my crash helmet hits the roof; luckily the glassfibre is so thin it bulges out to accommodate.
On the way to the start line a snapper tries to jump into the passenger seat, gunning for a ride up the hill. Nick Mason comes over and has a look. The little Abarth is getting a lot of love.
As rain sheets down in the holding area, the love I'm feeling for the car starts to turn to fear. Abarth's mechanic certainly looks worried. "Slowly, OK?" he says, pointing to tyres which, although they're wet-weather ones, look like they might have last seen action in the 1975 San Remo Rally. There's mud on the track too, so I really pussyfoot around each corner.
The 1,755cc engine has 210hp and feels fantastic on its twin 44 Webers. The dog-ring five-speed 'box feels super-sharp but it's so low-geared that I'm in fifth and at the 5,000rpm limit I've been told to stick to before I know it. And suddenly, I'm over the finish line. It hasn't felt slow, but I'm pretty sure it was. I was only obeying orders, guv.
So to the new car it's inspired...
Very few people have driven the Abarth 124 Spider so far. Out of a selection of left-hookers brought to the Moving Motor Show I bag the only right-hand drive one. And it's a manual too. Result! It's also in the best colour - white - which really offsets the black bonnet. Dare I say it, it even looks a tad JDM, and considering Mazda's MX-5 is just across the way, there's some irony in that. The Abarth just looks so much cooler.
Of course, the Goodwood rain god pulls a stunt just as I get to the start line. I'm determined to keep the roof down, though. Wheels spinning over the damp Indianapolis bricks, the traction control cuts in after some delay and gets us catapulting up the first straight. Up the short-shifting 'box and I'm at the upper end of third by the first corner.
I've pressed the Sport button, so I'm getting the steering at its most aggressive but it's delightfully well-weighted. The handling balance feels spot-on too.
Exiting the embarrassment-averting low-speed chicane before Molecomb, the first slab of turbo lag hits from the 170hp 1.4 MultiAir engine - the only bad point of my run, in fact. As soon as the compressor is spinning, though, there's no lack of torque. And there's a charismatic exhaust note that's perfect for the hill.
On the final blast up to the top, the 124 really gets into its stride but, like the run in the original rally car, it's over too soon. Here's hoping for a proper go sooner rather than later.