It’s amazing what you can do with an aging Fiat Panda platform, isn’t it? The Fiat Cinquecento, still fresh in the minds of Americans but which recently celebrated its fifth birthday in Europe, continues to be the muse for highly desirable derivative after highly desirable derivative. Moreover, it provides some stiff competition for BMW’s Mini brand, especially in the form of a legion of the Italians’ Abarth derivatives. And yet another will bow at the Frankfurt auto show: the Abarth 595 50th Anniversary, powered by a 180-hp, 1.4-liter turbo four.
The Abarth 595 50th Anniversary, logically, commemorates the launch of the original 595, which took place in September of 1963 at the Turin auto show. To celebrate, 299 units of the special edition will be produced. The theme of this car’s design is decidedly retro, featuring historical logos, a modern reinterpretation of matte three-layer white exterior finish, and original-style “Fiat Abarth 595” graphics that hark back to the 1963 model.
Fiat will bring a second Abarth 500 to Frankfurt, too, the Abarth 695 Maserati edition, now available in Record Gray. The 695 Maserati edition makes use of the same mill as the 50th Anniversary car—20-hp stronger than American-spec Abarths—but it will be built in 49 units to commemorate the tuner’s inception in 1949. Based on the open-top 500C, the 695 Maserati edition is styled with luxury in mind, including Sand Beige leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and aluminum and carbon-fiber trim.
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Fiat tells us that there are no plans to offer either model in the U.S. No pricing information is available at this point, but if previous special editions such as the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari are any indication, they will be shockingly expensive.
Source: CarAndDriver
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