Abarth 595 Competizione - European Grand Tour
Discussion
Bought myself a Competizione last October as a fun car, after a few months with an MX5 mk3.75 - never got on with it. Too Sloooow.
Here it is on pick up day near home. I bought from Reasearch in Nuneaton, and they asked whether they could use this picture on their website - now had over 100,000 views! Should have asked for commission...
The 595 is absolutely brilliant - It has so much character, is noisy, firm riding and has a very Italian driving position. Up to last week, I'd done about 1,800 miles. A group of friends from work invited me on a road trip, heading for Italy. I wasn't really able to do the whole week, but joined for the first four days.
Day 1 (25/5/18) - Banbury to the Black Forest - 673 miles
The rest of them left on the Wednesday evening and stayed a couple of hours into France. I much prefer a road trip to start in the wee small hours (throwback to childhood holidays to Scotland when we always left in the dark I suppose), so I left home near Banbury at about 3:30am. Not long after passing the new Prodrive factory as I joined the M40, it began to rain a bit. Then it started to rain a lot. By the time I was near the cutting before High Wycombe, the rain was absolutely horrendous, and the Abarth was aquaplaning horribly in places (light car, wide tyres). Got held up by a nasty smash just before the M25 for 30 minutes or so, and the rain continued until Kent.
The last bit of the M20 was largely dry, and I ended up in the middle of a group of modded hatches (Mini, Clios etc.) down to the Tunnel. Quick coffee and boarded the 06:50 train. Eurotunnel is bloody excellent isn’t it – so mush quicker, easier and more comfortable than a ferry. Bacon rolls were eaten.
France was dry, and I caught up with the rest of the group for a coffee in an unremarkable village called Douchy-les-Mines. So, we now had 6 cars – The Abarth, two F-TYPEs, a Golf GTi, an M3 and a stunning Lotus Esprit, and he headed for Spa.
OMG – Eau Rouge looks steep on TV, but it is basically a sheer tarmac wall in real life! We managed to get into the stand area at the bottom of Eau Rouge, and were lucky enough to see a Porsche track day in progress. Loads of GT3 RS, 918s of all flavours, a lovely 930 Turbo, and a 918 Spyder – what a noise that thing makes.
From there, we headed for the Nurburgring. Dropped in to the JLR Test Centre and met up with our last attendee, who joined us from the Netherlands in his diesel F-PACE. Nice to see the XE SV Project 8 in the showroom that achieved 7:21.23 ‘Ring lap last November. We then went to the Ring itself and couldn’t resist Ring Taxi rides in a nice LWB Jaguar XJ. Seems a strange choice? Not really, this is the only LWB XJR575 in Europe, and was driven by Dale Lomas (of BridgeToGantry fame). Four up, the car is awesome – Dale was showboating to the crowds, tyre smoke everywhere. In the three sessions we had between us, he was only overtaken once, and that was a full-on DTM BMW. In my lap, we absolutely blasted past everything in sight – the AMG GT with a full roll cage must have been pretty annoyed… Dale knows this place well, with tens of thousands of laps under his belt. It shows! The track is so much narrower than I expected, and the commitment he showed was incredibly humbling (and I suspect he was driving at 7/10ths). If you get the chance, do it. Price is €199 for the car, so very cheap if you are with some mates. Alternatively, we also have an F-TYPE SVR Coupe with carbon brakes and a full cage and helmets which Dale (or Celia) would love to take you around in. The heat coming off the brakes after a lap is incredible! Whilst we were in the paddock, the modded hatches I’d convoyed down to the Eurotunnel appeared, as did a lovely green GT3 RS that had been parked at the terminal.
After we’d all calmed down and taken some photos, it was a long (but largely un-restricted) Autobahn drive from there along to our night stop in the Black Forest. Despite all having walkie talkies, we got split up, and I was first to arrive, just after 11pm. Brilliant place called ‘Im Spinnerhoff’ where they make their own Schnapps. If you go, persuade them to take you into the vault where they keep the 80-proof stuff… It burns impressively.
Here it is on pick up day near home. I bought from Reasearch in Nuneaton, and they asked whether they could use this picture on their website - now had over 100,000 views! Should have asked for commission...
The 595 is absolutely brilliant - It has so much character, is noisy, firm riding and has a very Italian driving position. Up to last week, I'd done about 1,800 miles. A group of friends from work invited me on a road trip, heading for Italy. I wasn't really able to do the whole week, but joined for the first four days.
Day 1 (25/5/18) - Banbury to the Black Forest - 673 miles
The rest of them left on the Wednesday evening and stayed a couple of hours into France. I much prefer a road trip to start in the wee small hours (throwback to childhood holidays to Scotland when we always left in the dark I suppose), so I left home near Banbury at about 3:30am. Not long after passing the new Prodrive factory as I joined the M40, it began to rain a bit. Then it started to rain a lot. By the time I was near the cutting before High Wycombe, the rain was absolutely horrendous, and the Abarth was aquaplaning horribly in places (light car, wide tyres). Got held up by a nasty smash just before the M25 for 30 minutes or so, and the rain continued until Kent.
The last bit of the M20 was largely dry, and I ended up in the middle of a group of modded hatches (Mini, Clios etc.) down to the Tunnel. Quick coffee and boarded the 06:50 train. Eurotunnel is bloody excellent isn’t it – so mush quicker, easier and more comfortable than a ferry. Bacon rolls were eaten.
France was dry, and I caught up with the rest of the group for a coffee in an unremarkable village called Douchy-les-Mines. So, we now had 6 cars – The Abarth, two F-TYPEs, a Golf GTi, an M3 and a stunning Lotus Esprit, and he headed for Spa.
OMG – Eau Rouge looks steep on TV, but it is basically a sheer tarmac wall in real life! We managed to get into the stand area at the bottom of Eau Rouge, and were lucky enough to see a Porsche track day in progress. Loads of GT3 RS, 918s of all flavours, a lovely 930 Turbo, and a 918 Spyder – what a noise that thing makes.
From there, we headed for the Nurburgring. Dropped in to the JLR Test Centre and met up with our last attendee, who joined us from the Netherlands in his diesel F-PACE. Nice to see the XE SV Project 8 in the showroom that achieved 7:21.23 ‘Ring lap last November. We then went to the Ring itself and couldn’t resist Ring Taxi rides in a nice LWB Jaguar XJ. Seems a strange choice? Not really, this is the only LWB XJR575 in Europe, and was driven by Dale Lomas (of BridgeToGantry fame). Four up, the car is awesome – Dale was showboating to the crowds, tyre smoke everywhere. In the three sessions we had between us, he was only overtaken once, and that was a full-on DTM BMW. In my lap, we absolutely blasted past everything in sight – the AMG GT with a full roll cage must have been pretty annoyed… Dale knows this place well, with tens of thousands of laps under his belt. It shows! The track is so much narrower than I expected, and the commitment he showed was incredibly humbling (and I suspect he was driving at 7/10ths). If you get the chance, do it. Price is €199 for the car, so very cheap if you are with some mates. Alternatively, we also have an F-TYPE SVR Coupe with carbon brakes and a full cage and helmets which Dale (or Celia) would love to take you around in. The heat coming off the brakes after a lap is incredible! Whilst we were in the paddock, the modded hatches I’d convoyed down to the Eurotunnel appeared, as did a lovely green GT3 RS that had been parked at the terminal.
After we’d all calmed down and taken some photos, it was a long (but largely un-restricted) Autobahn drive from there along to our night stop in the Black Forest. Despite all having walkie talkies, we got split up, and I was first to arrive, just after 11pm. Brilliant place called ‘Im Spinnerhoff’ where they make their own Schnapps. If you go, persuade them to take you into the vault where they keep the 80-proof stuff… It burns impressively.
Edited by 595Heaven on Saturday 2nd June 11:47
Day 2 (26/5/18) - The Black Forest to the Swiss Alps – 237 miles
Despite the very long day just gone, I woke up at about 05:30 and was greeted with a beautiful day.
The cars were looking good in the early morning dew as well.
After a good breakfast, we were off, firstly using some beautiful flowing German country roads, and back to the Autobahn heading for Switzerland. A quick stop at the Swiss border to buy vignettes, and then the seven cars got split into four different groups! We were soon out of radio contact, and some phone calls and Snapchat location pin drops showed we were all heading in the right direction, but via quite different routes!
I was with the Golf GTi, and bizarrely, as we joined a motorway, the M3 was about 4 cars behind us. We then heard the F-TYPE drivers on the radios and caught a glimpse of them heading in the opposite direction with the F-PACE. D-oh!
Switzerland is such a pretty country. The roads are magnificent, but those speed limits… Still, the sun was shining, and it was a great drive, past the lakes watching the Alps growing closer, and then going up, round and through them was great.
Despite our varied routes, we all managed to arrive at the hotel within a few minutes of each other. We stayed just outside Davos, at a place called Kesslers Kulm. Great beer, epic sausages.
Despite the very long day just gone, I woke up at about 05:30 and was greeted with a beautiful day.
The cars were looking good in the early morning dew as well.
After a good breakfast, we were off, firstly using some beautiful flowing German country roads, and back to the Autobahn heading for Switzerland. A quick stop at the Swiss border to buy vignettes, and then the seven cars got split into four different groups! We were soon out of radio contact, and some phone calls and Snapchat location pin drops showed we were all heading in the right direction, but via quite different routes!
I was with the Golf GTi, and bizarrely, as we joined a motorway, the M3 was about 4 cars behind us. We then heard the F-TYPE drivers on the radios and caught a glimpse of them heading in the opposite direction with the F-PACE. D-oh!
Switzerland is such a pretty country. The roads are magnificent, but those speed limits… Still, the sun was shining, and it was a great drive, past the lakes watching the Alps growing closer, and then going up, round and through them was great.
Despite our varied routes, we all managed to arrive at the hotel within a few minutes of each other. We stayed just outside Davos, at a place called Kesslers Kulm. Great beer, epic sausages.
Day 3 (27/5/18) - Swiss Alps to Chalons en Champagne – 511 miles
Another early rise for me, and I wandered down the mountain to the Davoser See, following a spillway full of snow melt. What a beautiful part of the world. I don’t think I’ve ever breathed air that smelt fresher. By the time I was back, the rest of the group were up and breakfast was served.
|https://thumbsnap.com/wrDgEWYy[/url]
Usefully, the hotel has a petrol station opposite, so after a quick refuel and a few photos, we headed off for our first mountain pass – the Flüela Pass. Stunning scenery and a great road, but lots of roadworks, bikers and a mad local in a 1 Series who was determined to get past us all, even if that meant overtaking on blind bends. By the end of it, the smell of hot brakes was pretty over powering. Most excellent!
We had a quick stop in St Moritz and then I left the group to head on to Italy, as I began my return to the UK. Of course, there are lots of mountain passes, although several were still closed, or only partially open. I’d really wanted to drive the Furka Pass, but it was only partially open, accessible from the far end which would have been a long detour. Instead, I drove the Julier Pass and then the San Bernardino Pass.
The Julier Pass was great, with lots of snow and skiers at the top. There was no traffic at first, and I managed to stick with a group of touring bikers most of the way up, but as soon as we came across the first cars, they were able to get past easily, whereas I had to wait for some longer straights. There are a couple of big lakes on the pass, still frozen solid. Spectacular scenery as well.
The San Bernardino pass was even better – The ascent is absolutely nuts, with dozens of really tight first gear hairpins and the road is very narrow – heaven! It then opens up at the top of the pass and the scenery is breathtaking. I stopped by another frozen lake to take some photos, and to leave my mark on the wall of snow next to the road. Wanted to take some photos with my phone as well as my DLSR, so put that down next to me, took my phone photos and…. Drove off. Luckily, I stopped by the water tower about 5 minutes away to take some more photos and had a horrible moment of realisation. s
t, st, st. My camera!
Raced back to where I’d left it, and a lovely German family who had stopped next to my car as I had left had picked my camera up and handed it back to me. A very heartfelt ‘Vielen dank’ and a handshake later, and I was back underway. Phew.
Stopped again by the water tower...
That was the mountain passes done, and the rest of the day was a bit of a slog driving through Switzerland, crossing into France in Basel (a very odd looking place) and then onwards along the Autoroute and then some brilliant empty roads (N4 and D994 amongst them) to Chalons-en-Champagne. It’s a big country is France.
My overnight stop was a Campanile motel, which was fine if a bit basic – room was clean, bed was very comfortable and the window blinds provided total blackout.
Another early rise for me, and I wandered down the mountain to the Davoser See, following a spillway full of snow melt. What a beautiful part of the world. I don’t think I’ve ever breathed air that smelt fresher. By the time I was back, the rest of the group were up and breakfast was served.
|https://thumbsnap.com/wrDgEWYy[/url]Usefully, the hotel has a petrol station opposite, so after a quick refuel and a few photos, we headed off for our first mountain pass – the Flüela Pass. Stunning scenery and a great road, but lots of roadworks, bikers and a mad local in a 1 Series who was determined to get past us all, even if that meant overtaking on blind bends. By the end of it, the smell of hot brakes was pretty over powering. Most excellent!
We had a quick stop in St Moritz and then I left the group to head on to Italy, as I began my return to the UK. Of course, there are lots of mountain passes, although several were still closed, or only partially open. I’d really wanted to drive the Furka Pass, but it was only partially open, accessible from the far end which would have been a long detour. Instead, I drove the Julier Pass and then the San Bernardino Pass.
The Julier Pass was great, with lots of snow and skiers at the top. There was no traffic at first, and I managed to stick with a group of touring bikers most of the way up, but as soon as we came across the first cars, they were able to get past easily, whereas I had to wait for some longer straights. There are a couple of big lakes on the pass, still frozen solid. Spectacular scenery as well.
The San Bernardino pass was even better – The ascent is absolutely nuts, with dozens of really tight first gear hairpins and the road is very narrow – heaven! It then opens up at the top of the pass and the scenery is breathtaking. I stopped by another frozen lake to take some photos, and to leave my mark on the wall of snow next to the road. Wanted to take some photos with my phone as well as my DLSR, so put that down next to me, took my phone photos and…. Drove off. Luckily, I stopped by the water tower about 5 minutes away to take some more photos and had a horrible moment of realisation. s
t, st, st. My camera!Raced back to where I’d left it, and a lovely German family who had stopped next to my car as I had left had picked my camera up and handed it back to me. A very heartfelt ‘Vielen dank’ and a handshake later, and I was back underway. Phew.
Stopped again by the water tower...
That was the mountain passes done, and the rest of the day was a bit of a slog driving through Switzerland, crossing into France in Basel (a very odd looking place) and then onwards along the Autoroute and then some brilliant empty roads (N4 and D994 amongst them) to Chalons-en-Champagne. It’s a big country is France.
My overnight stop was a Campanile motel, which was fine if a bit basic – room was clean, bed was very comfortable and the window blinds provided total blackout.
Day 4 (28/5/18) - Chalons en Champagne to home – 381 miles
My route for the morning took me through Reims, past the Pommery and Veuve Clicquot houses, and then on to a place I’ve always wanted to visit – the old pits at Reims-Gueux circuit. It’s an amazing place, and despite being pretty much in the middle of nowhere and easily accessible, there is no graffiti at all. I was soon joined by a Frenchman in a Saleen Mustang, and then another older Mustang which made the most fantastic noise at idle.
From there, I set the nav for Coquelles, but with ‘Avoid Motorways’ on, and had a brilliant drive though the stunning Champagne region. Hardly saw another car.
Along the D944, came across a place called Cormicy, where there is a WW1 graveyard, containing the bodies of 14,441 French servicemen, and two English. God, World War I was shocking. It must have been very dusty, as I definitely had something in both my eyes. Drove very slowly with no music for a good few miles afterwards. Ugh. We Will Remember Them.
Eventually, I turned back onto the Autoroute Des Anglais and arrived in Coquelles at about 1:30. I’d planned to stock up on wine and other stuff in the big Auchan Hypermarche, but forgot that few places open on Sundays, and then only until midday. Luckily, Majestic have a Wine Warehouse on the same estate, so I got a few cases at least.
Eurotunnel was very quiet, and I got a much earlier train than I booked. Home by about 5pm, ready for a beer.
My route for the morning took me through Reims, past the Pommery and Veuve Clicquot houses, and then on to a place I’ve always wanted to visit – the old pits at Reims-Gueux circuit. It’s an amazing place, and despite being pretty much in the middle of nowhere and easily accessible, there is no graffiti at all. I was soon joined by a Frenchman in a Saleen Mustang, and then another older Mustang which made the most fantastic noise at idle.
From there, I set the nav for Coquelles, but with ‘Avoid Motorways’ on, and had a brilliant drive though the stunning Champagne region. Hardly saw another car.
Along the D944, came across a place called Cormicy, where there is a WW1 graveyard, containing the bodies of 14,441 French servicemen, and two English. God, World War I was shocking. It must have been very dusty, as I definitely had something in both my eyes. Drove very slowly with no music for a good few miles afterwards. Ugh. We Will Remember Them.
Eventually, I turned back onto the Autoroute Des Anglais and arrived in Coquelles at about 1:30. I’d planned to stock up on wine and other stuff in the big Auchan Hypermarche, but forgot that few places open on Sundays, and then only until midday. Luckily, Majestic have a Wine Warehouse on the same estate, so I got a few cases at least.
Eurotunnel was very quiet, and I got a much earlier train than I booked. Home by about 5pm, ready for a beer.
So… In summary, here’s a couple of shots of the trip computer (I took the second one the next morning, hence the change in time and temperature). I pretty much doubled the mileage I’d done in the car since October.
The rough route I followed:
|https://thumbsnap.com/zpQDRKN0[/url]
The Abarth was absolutely brilliant the whole time. It was far more comfortable than I expected, and I never ached at all, even after some looong days behind the wheel. I’m very impressed by the trip fuel economy. We were not hanging around – 125mph on the Autobahn, and driving very spiritedly on the mountains.
The uConnect nav (Tom Tom mapping) is great. Whilst it is illegal in France to have speed camera warnings, it gives you safety zone warnings which just happen to coincide exactly…
It really could do with a bigger fuel tank though – 35 litres might be fine in a Fiat 500 Twinair, but was a bit marginal on a couple of occasions (biggest fill was 34.2 litres!).
I honestly don't think I'd have enjoyed the trip more in any other car. Some of my friends were a bit bemused when I bought it, but I think they were all won over in the end. A Fiesta ST is no doubt a 'better' car, but I wouldn't give it a second thought. The Abarth oozes character, and is a genuinely brilliant car to drive. It constantly surprises people, who just see it as a Fiat 500.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But it needs a wash first…
Well done if you got to the end of my little story - I hope you enjoyed it...[url]
The rough route I followed:
|https://thumbsnap.com/zpQDRKN0[/url]The Abarth was absolutely brilliant the whole time. It was far more comfortable than I expected, and I never ached at all, even after some looong days behind the wheel. I’m very impressed by the trip fuel economy. We were not hanging around – 125mph on the Autobahn, and driving very spiritedly on the mountains.
The uConnect nav (Tom Tom mapping) is great. Whilst it is illegal in France to have speed camera warnings, it gives you safety zone warnings which just happen to coincide exactly…
It really could do with a bigger fuel tank though – 35 litres might be fine in a Fiat 500 Twinair, but was a bit marginal on a couple of occasions (biggest fill was 34.2 litres!).
I honestly don't think I'd have enjoyed the trip more in any other car. Some of my friends were a bit bemused when I bought it, but I think they were all won over in the end. A Fiesta ST is no doubt a 'better' car, but I wouldn't give it a second thought. The Abarth oozes character, and is a genuinely brilliant car to drive. It constantly surprises people, who just see it as a Fiat 500.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But it needs a wash first…
Well done if you got to the end of my little story - I hope you enjoyed it...[url]
Edited by 595Heaven on Saturday 2nd June 17:08
What a little but not so little epic trip! And a little epic car too.
Really love the 595’s they do have such character and i’d choose them out of all hot hatches even if they aren’t the fastest 0-60.
How did it fare to the other cars you were with? Massively outpaced or given the road types kept up nicely?
Really love the 595’s they do have such character and i’d choose them out of all hot hatches even if they aren’t the fastest 0-60.
How did it fare to the other cars you were with? Massively outpaced or given the road types kept up nicely?
lewisf182 said:
How did it fare to the other cars you were with? Massively outpaced or given the road types kept up nicely?
It was not the slowest by any means. The F-TYPEs (one P300 4-cyl, the other a P340 V6 Manual) were easily quicker on the autobahn, but the Abarth was happy at 125 mph (top speed is 140, but not sure that would be fun). On the speed limited roads, and in the twisties, I was well in the mix!Edited by 595Heaven on Saturday 2nd June 21:32
pidsy said:
Long trip in a short time!
Nice to see it’s doable in a little car like the 595. Something I’m yet to do but plan too in the next couple of years!
What were your fuel, travel costs?
You have to do it!Nice to see it’s doable in a little car like the 595. Something I’m yet to do but plan too in the next couple of years!
What were your fuel, travel costs?
I've not totalled costs up, but Eurotunnel was £165. I'd intended to use some Tesco Clubcard points, but these can't be used to book a trip in less than 14 days before departure, so had to use my card.
Fuel? I guess £350-ish. Due to the range of the Abarth, I did use some Autoroute petrol stations, which are crazily priced. Hotels were between €50 and €90 per night, but again, I could have saved by booking earlier.
Other than that, factor in 40CHF for a Swiss motorway vignette, and some French Autoroute tolls - I have a toll tag, which is much more convenient than stopping and paying cash, but have not seen the bill yet. Probably another €30 or so. Oh, and €60 for the 'Ring Taxi (staff discount - should be €66) and a couple of meals and drinks.
We had one for 18 months or so and really loved it. `He` was known as Piccolo bdo, or PB for short.
Just like the missus he was small, cheeky and surprisingly noisy. I loved that you could provoke all sorts of parps and crackles from the Monza exhaust, I used to drive it just as much as she did!
We regret selling it for a bigger more practical car, in short.
It isn`t the `best` to drive objectively, my mate`s Mini of similar vintage would have run rings around it on... the `ring, which I did take it around for a lap. It simply didn`t communicate its limits very clearly, so it felt like you always had to leave a lot on the table. But in `the real world` it was great, and even felt well screwed together, it didn`t have a single quality issue.
We did test the top speed, it ran out of puff at 238 kph indicated on the autobahn, which is probably close to a real 140 mph.
Some pics
And my personal favourite, due entirely to the missus` expression of horror - any petrolhead worth his salt will recognise the location.
do, or PB for short.Just like the missus he was small, cheeky and surprisingly noisy. I loved that you could provoke all sorts of parps and crackles from the Monza exhaust, I used to drive it just as much as she did!
We regret selling it for a bigger more practical car, in short.
It isn`t the `best` to drive objectively, my mate`s Mini of similar vintage would have run rings around it on... the `ring, which I did take it around for a lap. It simply didn`t communicate its limits very clearly, so it felt like you always had to leave a lot on the table. But in `the real world` it was great, and even felt well screwed together, it didn`t have a single quality issue.
We did test the top speed, it ran out of puff at 238 kph indicated on the autobahn, which is probably close to a real 140 mph.
Some pics
And my personal favourite, due entirely to the missus` expression of horror - any petrolhead worth his salt will recognise the location.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff