We take a deep look at the performance-oriented Abarth 500’s 1.4L turbo four-cylinder to see if you should spend your money on one.
The Fiat 500 Abarth (pronounced Abart) hit the streets in the United States in 2012 and tore up the pavement until the 2019 model year, when Fiat discontinued the 500 and its variants for North America. But what pushed this little egg-shaped coupe?
We know that we’re not dealing with sports car power when looking at the Abarth 500’s 1.4L turbo four-cylinder, but we took a deeper look at the performance-oriented tiny terror’s engine to better understand if you should or shouldn’t spend your money on one.
It’s no secret that Fiat and Abarth have a rich history in performance and racing, but in this piece, we answer the questions that car buyers have when purchasing a 500 Abarth. Regardless of the scorpion stinger, is it practical, reliable, and worth the extra money it costs to own one?
Fiat 500 Abarth: A Brief History
Fiat has been around since the late 1800s, and Abarth was a company owned by an Italian immigrant named Carlo Abarth. With rich different histories, these companies intersected around 1971, when Fiat purchased Abarth, which it made the focus of its performance division. Abarth’s legacy until that point had been performance modifications to standard-equipped cars, including tuning and exhaust systems.
Once Fiat and Abarth were under the same roof, the lineage of performance 500s was born. With a nearly three-decade hiatus from 1981 to 2007, Fiat reintroduced the Abarth name at the Geneva Motor Show in early 2007.
Exactly a year later, the Abarth 500 returned to market with a reimagining that would have made Carlo proud. In 2011, the Fiat 500 made it to the red, white, and blue shores.
Fiat 500 Abarth ‘Scorpion’ Engine
The Abarth 500 was powered by a transverse-mounted inline four-cylinder with 1.4 liters of displacement and a turbocharger with an intercooler mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The angry little four-banger produces 133 horses and a matching 133 lb.-ft. of torque with a light 2,512 pounds to move around.
The FIRE engine, which stands for Fully Integrated Robotised Engine, sounds like something from the future, but it is actually Fiat Powertrain Tech’s first offering of engines produced by robotics in a factory. The robotics systems employed to complete this task was called “Robogate.”
Since 1985, the FIRE engine has been produced for the 500 in many variants from a 0.8L to the current day 1.4 MultiAir engine used in today’s 500s. With a cast-iron block and aluminum heads, the original fuel system was even carbureted. Then it switched to single-point fuel injection, multi-point fuel injection, and then eventually, sequential multi-port fuel injection (which was used in the last model).
Also interesting, the 1.4 MultiAir engine also employs variable valve timing technology much like Honda’s VTEC. This system uses a cam follower that converts the cam’s energy into more linear energy and thus optimizing the timing of the intake valves.
Fiat Abarth 500 Variants
There are a few different variants for the Abarth 500 with different styles and performances. The 595 version is tuned up to 140 horsepower while the Competizione and Essesse have 180 horses in the same light coupe.
Also worth noting is the Abarth 500C, a Cabriolet with a soft top that opens from behind the windshield to below where a rear window would live.
As recent as 2020, the Scorpioneoro edition and the Yamaha Monster edition can be found tearing around non-U.S. streets with limited paint jobs and the horses turned up to 165 horsepower.
The best version of the Abarth 500 has a top speed of 127 mph and will sprint to 60 in 8.1 seconds, which is on par for a car of this size and weight. Also worth mentioning, the exhaust of the Abarth 500 and its variants is aggressive and loud. With fun pops on downshifts and all the noises that get your blood pumping. This little car has “Track” written all over it.
Fiat Abarth 500 Engine Comparisons
In comparison, a standard Fiat 500 engine is a non-turbo 1.4L four-cylinder with 101 horsepower and 98 lb.-ft. of torque. Your gas mileage penalty for the performance Abarth versus the standard 500 is almost negligible, where the standard 500 gets a combined 33 mpg and the Abarth achieves 31 combined.
Based on multiple reviews, the non-turbo 1.4L is slow and lacks confidence when accelerating. Some publications even said there was no chance you were passing anyone on a rural two-lane road.
The 133 horsepower Abarth 500 engine responds differently and almost feels as if it was just meant to be turbocharged in the first place.
Car and Driver even directly compared its 2012 Fiat 500 Long-term Road Test to its stronger brother, reporting, “The recent arrival of the Abarth, in which many issues have been resolved, has thrown into relief the base 500’s shortcomings.”
Clutch take-up and gear-shifting were some of the biggest gripes, and those problems seem to dissolve a bit in the Abarth.
Fiat Abarth 500 Engine Problems & Recalls
It’s hard to peg this ball of joy as reliable. While Fiat has dealt with minimal recalls for the 500, there are droves of customer complaints that seem to echo similar stories centered around engine troubles, including unexpected engine failure and power loss. Some believe these kinds of issues led to the demise of the 500 in North America.
The 2012 Fiat Abarth 500’s engine issues are a hot topic of discussion in the forums of Fiat 500 Owners. And Reddit was recently discussing one owner’s engine problems with his five-year-old 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth that has 59,000 miles on it (spoiler alert: In the end, he sold it off and got a used BWM 3 Series).
As far as value, you can find some used Abarth 500s for around $10,000 or less if you’re willing to deal with miles. But that does mean you’d be owning the car outside of its bumper-to-bumper warranty, which is a gamble.
If you’re religious about maintenance and fixing or having things fixed when they break, you’ll likely have a mostly positive ownership of your Fiat Abarth 500.
Because of the issues mentioned here, along with the discontinuation of the 500 in North America, the depreciation of the 500s is aggressive. Where most cars lose 11% of their value the moment you leave the lot and 20-30% in the first year, your Fiat won’t be an investment buy, and you’ll likely have trouble retaining or breaking even on what you spend buying it.
Should You Buy a Fiat Abarth 500?
The Abarth name is impressive with a rich heritage that extends deeply into Italian racing and beyond, but unfortunately, the brand is not known for reliability, but reliability is subjective and based on the driver.
The NHTSA reported a bunch of complaints, with the most serious one being a persistent issue where the shifter shaft could potentially break during operation.
They’re undoubtedly fun and perfect for zipping around town or even building a weekend warrior track car, but their size and question-marked reliability are a concern for us. They are considered affordable and you can buy them for a low price, but that also tells a story of supply outweighing the demand.
Additionally, the 500 was not particularly safe. The IIHS scored it with a poor rating on overlap front crash and reported the front door ripping off the hinges from the force of the crash. While other standard test crashes were good, the overlap front is one of the most common crashes on the road today.
Furthermore, owners report that it’s not comfortable for long trips, it can be cacophonous with road noise, and its slow acceleration can be hazardous on interstates for non-Abarth versions. Combining the issues above, we don’t recommend a 500 for most people. Certainly, the Abarth 500 has a place in some garages, but it would need to be very specific garages.
If you do choose to get an Abarth 500, we recommend the last model year because it will have fewer miles and likely fewer issues. Potential owners should also keep in mind that the support for the 500 will steadily drop as more time passes, now that Fiat has pulled them from the U.S.
Even still, it can be a win for some. Any time you can purchase a fun car that isn’t prohibitively expensive, it’s a win for the car enthusiast. There may be a ton of things to consider before buying, but owning a piece of Italian history might be worth it to some. Besides, who doesn’t love a light small car that goes fast?
Photos: Stellantis
