Wednesday 13th October 2010

Mid-Engined Abarth To Be Based On KTM

Austro-Italian deal could create a very fast Fiat (well, Abarth)

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A mid-engined limited-run Abarth Sports car due out in 2013 will use KTM running gear, it seems.

The news that Abarth is to use X-Bow underbits for its new sports car - which comes out of Italy via the chaps at US car mag Road & Track - means that Lotus has lost out in bid to provide the basis for the Abarth car.

Originally Abarth had been in discussions with Hethel, but the Elise's age (its basic platform will be 18 years old by 2013) and high cost has pushed Abarth in other directions.

Should the deal with KTM come to fruition, Fiat will chuck out the 2.0-litre Audi lump, and drop in a 180-190bhp version of its latest 1.8-litre MultiAir engine. Abarth will also clothe the car in bespoke bodywork and create its own cabin for the car.

Price-wise, R&T reckons it could cost up to £50k, which is a lot for a fast Fiat, with 1500-2000 units to be made over a three-year cycle.

[ctallchris]

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Yes.

[Forbes82]

Lotus cost pushed them elsewhere? I might be wrong but i thought the KTM was a rather expensive bit of kit compared to rivals?

[lordlee]

Can't wait to see the finished product. It better be good if it is indeed 50k but it's just nice to see manufacturers pushing the boundaries from their normal target Market.

[P4ROT]

Forbes82 said:

Lotus cost pushed them elsewhere? I might be wrong but i thought the KTM was a rather expensive bit of kit compared to rivals?

Ye- I've always thought it was overpriced- the reviews have never really been 5 star either....would have been so much better based on elise!

[johnycarrera]

Wouldve liked to see some concept drawings or pictures!

[davepoth]

This'll be the Lotus concept I reckon.



http://www.cinquino.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16728

[TommyBuoy]

Should be interesting to see what they come up with when they don;t have to graft onto existing fiat models.

[AV12]

I'm expecting a flat torque curve.

[ivantate]

I should imagine Lotus couldnt make alot of sense of what Fiat actually wanted and didnt want to be distracted from its new world domination plans by over inflatated marketing sales figures.

KTM are desperate for more volume and probably have engineering resource to spare.

[davepoth]

AV12 said:

I'm expecting a flat torque curve.

I'm not so sure, I think the Multiair is clean enough to run without turbos. If Fiat have the balls to do that it would be awesome.

[RobCrezz]

davepoth said:

AV12 said:

I'm expecting a flat torque curve.

I'm not so sure, I think the Multiair is clean enough to run without turbos. If Fiat have the balls to do that it would be awesome.

Many NA engines can have flat torque curves.

[britsportscars]

£50k for a mid engined Fiat with less than 200 brake sounds optimistic. I'm sure they'll make a little stunner though!

[GTRene]

davepoth said:

This'll be the Lotus concept I reckon.



http://www.cinquino.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16728

wow, me like

[anonymous-user]

I think it's safe to say that Abarth won't be paying the full price for the Xbow underpinnings.........


I have the impression (although i've not seen any concrete sales figures) that the XBow isn't exactly flying out of the showrooms, so if someone comes along and offers to pay for something that you have already developed at great expense, then you say YES !!

And as mentioned, doing a £50k car for Abarth isn't exactly going to sit well with all the new, er, £50k Lotuses...........

[GaryDVO]

Danny Bahar (Lotus CEO) ex Ferrari.

Fiat would not be happy to help Danny out, he has taken a few Ferrari chaps with him too, so that might have something to do with looking for another supplier.

I could be wrong.

[tomv1to]

Oh happy days. I was slightly worried the rumours of an Abarth roadster were just rumours.

[Milks]

davepoth said:

This'll be the Lotus concept I reckon.



http://www.cinquino.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16728

that really doesn't do it for me, fiat aren't exactly well known in the field of mid-engined sports cars either

I'll wait the extra couple of years and get my 300bhp elise for £10k less thanks

[tomv1to]

Its not fiat though, its an Abarth. They have their own headquarters and production workshop. Saying you think the new Abarth roadster isn't going to be that good because Fiat don't have a history of making mid engined sports cars, is like saying that Ferarri's are a bit dubious because Fiat don't know how to make italian sports cars.

I know so far all Abarth have done is tune existing Fiat models but I'm really excited that they are getting the opportunity to make their own individual model.

[otolith]

790kg for the X-bow - promising start.

[GTRene]

Fiat did make lots of mid engined sportcars....the FIAT X1/9 Bertone.