Thursday 1st March 2018

Abarth 124 GT unveiled

Range-topping model gets carbon fibre hardtop and OZ wheels for Geneva

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We're rather fond of the Abarth 124 here at PH. The longertermer we ran certainly did a lot to improve on a decidedly underwhelming first impression, and left us with a soft spot for the raucous roadster.

Not necessarily a roadster anymore, however; Abarth today announcing the release of the 124 GT. This new model will come with a removable carbon fibre hardtop - a first for the segment - adding just 16kg to the standard car's 1,060kg kerb weight. Lined with heat and sound insulating material, and with rear demisters fitted, the roof is intended to bring a touch more refinement to the rowdiness.

It does raise a couple of questions though. The first being would you really want a hardtop 124? During our time with the car, the elegantly simple manual folding roof was one of the highlights of the package, offering instant access to a world of top down, wind-in-your-hair motoring. Where extra refinement was required was not up top but underneath, and taking that split-second convertibility away takes a good deal of the car's appeal with it.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the GT's roof must be stored separately when not in use. This differentiates it from the folding metal hardtop of the Mazda MX-5 RF, which isn't so cumbersome, and even the limited run launch edition models of that car topped out at £28,995, at least £3,000 less than the 124 GT will cost.

A slab of carbon fibre won't be all you get for your money though, slightly more grown-up styling signifies the car's range-topping status, while a set of lightweight OZ wheels reclaim 3kg of the sixteen added by the roof. Performance will remain the same, however, the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine still producing 170hp and 184lb ft of torque, for a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds and a 144mph top speed.

There's no word yet on exactly when the car will arrive in UK showrooms, but more details are expected at Abarth's Geneva press conference next week. We'll be sure to keep you up to date.

[HardMiles]

Needed to have the magic 200bhp licked to gain more followers. Looks nice, but a BMW GT car from the 70’s with an auto box can manage 7 seconds to 60mph, it’s just not special enough...

[HardMiles]

I do get what you guys are on about, I drive classics, so all out speed isn’t my thing. But there’s a point at which, driving a limited edition sports car that’ll be dicked by a standard 120d is a bit lame...