Fiat Blue&Me Tom Tom Software Update

There is an important software update for 2012 Fiat 500 owners with the optional Fiat Blue&Me Tom Tom navigation device. This mandatory software update is required in order for the Fiat Blue&Me Tom Tom to maintain a GPS satellite connection. Fiat USA has setup a page with easy to follow instructions on how to do this. While you are at the Tom Tom site, make sure you update your maps. This will ensure you get the most out of your Fiat Blue&MeTom Tom.

Below is a video on how to install the critical software update:



Important links:

Fiat Map Fix

TomTom.com/getstarted

Below is a video on how to tell what Tom Tom device you have:

2012 Fiat FreakOut Coming Soon

Attention Fiat enthusiasts! The premier Fiat event of the year has just been announced and is something you cannot miss. The largest Fiat club in America - Fiat Lancia Unlimited  -  will hold its annual convention in Virginia on August 2nd to August 5th, 2012. 

The convention, called Fiat FreakOut, is in its 29th year and is the largest gathering of Fiat Group cars in North America. This year's event will be held at Wintergreen Resort in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and features a host of activities spread over the four days.

Fiat Freakout kicks off Thursday, August 2nd with a track day at Virginia International Raceway that will be hosted by the Phil Wicks Driving Academy (veteran racer Phil Wicks was a works driver for Fiat Abarth – Radbourne Racing!). Other events include a great concours car show, coordinated scenic drives through the gorgeous Virginia country side including the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway, visits to historic sites and lots of socializing in a relaxed atmosphere.

FFO12 Schedule General Outline:

• Wednesday, August 1st, 2012:
• Early Bird Arrivals, check in 4PM
• Wintergreen Resort (WGR) Family Activities (on own)
• Sleep Inn – Danville, VA night before VIR Track Day
• Thursday, August 2nd, 2012:
• Virginia Intl Raceway School & Track Day
• WGR Evening Patio Reception (dinner on own)
• Friday, August 3rd, 2012:
• IAP Open House & Free Lunch
• Wine Tour Afternoon Drive
• Welcome Party – WGR outdoor terrace
• Friday Night Movie & Kids movie
• Saturday, August 4th, 2012:
• FFO12 Concours Show @ WGR
• Concours Lunch @ WGR
• Afternoon Drive
• Awards Banquet
• Late night lot party
• Sunday, August 5th, 2012
• Breakfast/Brunch
• Monticello Drive
• Closeout informal dinner @ WGR

Make sure you register early!  Here are important links:

2012 Fiat FreakOut homepage

2012 Fiat FreakOut online registration

New Alfa Romeo Spider in Works

It ain't easy being an Alfa Romeo enthusiast in America.  Here is a car company with the greatest heritage, the greatest emblem and has produced some of the greatest performance cars ever and all you can do is just watch from the sidelines while the cars are sold everywhere else but the USA.  Frustrating for sure, BUT there are plans for the storied marque to return this country.  Alfa Romeo fans are right now saying "yeah, sure..." and "I'll believe it when I see it".  Can't blame them, they've heard it all before.  Well now comes news that should tweak that carefully guarded pessimism.  Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (Fiat) and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint development of a new Alfa Romeo roadster based on Mazda’s next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture.

Fiat and Mazda will develop two distinctly different vehicles, each with their own style and powered by engines specific to each brand.  The sharing of the next generation platform will cut development costs, but also speed the reentry of an Alfa Romeo Spider into the US by 2015.  The new Alfa Romeo Spider is expected to be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima, Japan factory.

The Mazda MX5 has developed into a highly capable vehicle over its 21 year heritage and has become the best selling roadster of all time.  There is talk of the next generation MX5 weighing as little as 2,000 lbs, so combining this lightweight chassis with say, the 235 HP turbocharged and direct-injected 1750 TBi inline-four that powers the top of the line Alfa Romeo Giulietta, gives you an idea of the performance potential this new Alfa Romeo Spider could have.

This agreement also hints that Fiat and Mazda may partner together in the upcoming future:

“This agreement clearly demonstrates our commitment to Alfa Romeo and the determination to grow it into a truly global brand. By partnering with Mazda, we will be co-operating with the recognized leader in compact rear-drive vehicle architectures in order to deliver an exciting and stylish roadster in the Alfa Romeo tradition. We are appreciative of this collaboration with Mazda and look forward to maintaining a fruitful and continuous relationship,” said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

A new lightweight, high performance Alfa Romeo Spider would be something to celebrate, and may just break Alfa enthusiasts out of their perpetual pessimism. Let's hope everything stays on track...


Quote from Fiat Group Press

More Fiat 500T Rumors

I posted the first pictures of the Fiat 500T here in March. Now, more Fiat 500T news and rumors have begun surfacing from various sources. The 2013 Fiat 500T is a 500 Sport with a detuned 500 Abarth 1.4L engine. The engine makes 135 HP, or the same as the European Abarth 500.

This car would be slated between the $17,500 Fiat 500 Sport and the $22,700 Fiat 500 Abarth. The figure of $19,000 is often mentioned, again, this is not official, but is a logical assumption.

Transmission will be the heavy duty C510 from the 500 Abarth, but without the equal length driveshafts that the Abarth has . Done, no doubt, to save some money and probably not deemed totally necessary due to the the 500T's lower horsepower figure.

There is also a rumor that the C510 gearbox will  sport a sixth gear, however, that would be quite a coup and would mean there is a redesign of a chassis reinforcement that had previously precluded the fitment. This would also guarantee a sixth gear coming for the 500 Abarth for the 2013 model year. We'll have to watch this closely, and personally, I am thinking the long awaited 6 speed Dual Dry Clutch Transmission (DDCT) making its debut is a more likely scenario. A very interesting rumor indeed.

Other mechanical news is the car will have a single exhaust pipe and not the dual pipes the 500 Abarth has.

Fiat 500T preliminary engine output specifications:

Maximum Power (EEC)
100 kW @ 5000 rpm
135 HP @ 5000 rpm


Maximum Torque (EEC)
180 N·m @ 1750 rpm
133 ft. lbs. @ 1750 rpm

Remember, this is all very preliminary. Stay tuned...

Read the post on the first images of the Fiat 500T here

The New Abarth 695 Tributo Maserati

Abarth is unveiling the new Abarth 695 Maserati Edition at the thirtieth anniversary of the Mille Miglia road rally, May 16 -20. If this car sounds familiar, it is because originally this new tribute model was to make its public debut at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show, March 8 - 18, but it was pulled at the last moment, without comment.

This car was originally called the 695 Abarth Tributo Maserati

New name: Abarth 695 Maserati Edition

In the interim, there appears to have been a name change; now the car is called the Abarth 695 Maserati Edition. Previously, it was called the 695 Abarth Tributo Maserati. No reason was given, and it could be just to make it simpler for English speaking countries or be part of a new naming strategy. We'll see if we can find out more information, but in the meantime, here is more about this exciting new Abarth.

The new Abarth 695 Maserati Edition pays homage to its sister company Maserati, and has been thoroughly massaged in keeping with Maserati's high performance and luxury car standards. 

The car starts as a Fiat Abarth 500C cabrio and gets the full 'Tributo' performance treatment. Mechanical upgrades include; uprated engine tuning to 180 horsepower, brakes with larger, 305 mm drilled front discs clamped by 4 piston Brembo calipers, Koni dampers, and exclusive 17x7 "Neptune" wheels. An electrically-operated manual Abarth Competizione gearbox with steering wheel control and Abarth "Record Monza" variable back-pressure "dual mode" exhaust complete with hexagonal exhaust tips round out the performance package.

Besides outstanding performance, a car labeled "Maserati Edition" must also promise exclusive luxury and details. This new Abarth doesn't disappoint and captures the elegance of Maserati with distinctive exterior and interior trim.

The exterior features the unique Maserati paint color Pontevecchio Bordeaux complemented by a grey cloth top, Xenon headlights and special "Maserati Edition" badging.

Inside, the collaboration of Maserati  and Abarth is in full effect. The seats are upholstered in supple sand beige Poltrona Frau ® leather with "695" embossed into the headrests and the rear side panels and door panel inserts are treated to a stylish flocking effect. Trim includes a matte finished carbon fiber dashboard, black leather steering wheel, aluminium pedals and sill plates, and a carbon fiber kick plate with customised "Abarth 695 Maserati Edition " graphics.

The Abarth 695 Maserati Edition is an exclusive vehicle with only 499 being produced. It and the other limited edition 500 Abarths can be viewed on the new Abarth website called abarthspecialties.com, that debuted during the Geneva Motor Show in March.  The new site covers all special edition Fiat 500 Abarth models from the "Opening Edition" in 2008 to the current models and beyond.


Abarth 695 Tributo MASERATI Technical specifications
1.4 16v Turbo MTA 180 HP Engine
• 4 cylinders in line, 4 valves per cylinder, 1368 cm3.
• Power: 180 HP (132 kW) at 5500 rpm.
• Maximum torque 184 lbs-ft (250 Nm) in sport mode at 3000 rpm.
• Supercharged with Garrett 1446 turbo

Transmission
• 5 gears, C510 gearbox family with gear paddles on steering wheel
Suspension
• Abarth Koni front shock absorbers with FSD valve
• Abarth Koni rear shock absorbers with FSD valve
• Lowered ride.

Steering
• Electric power steering with “sport mode”

Brakes
• Floating, perforated and self-ventilating front brakes ø 305 mm × 28
mm
• Perforated rear brakes ø 264 mm × 22 mm
• TTC - Torque Transfer Control

Wheels
• 7×17" alloy rim Tyres: 205/40 R17"

Emissions
• Euro 5 EEC-F5 standard
Emissions of CO2 • 151 g/km

Consumption
• Urban consumption (l/100 km): 8.4
• Combined consumption (l/100 km): 6.5
• Extra-urban consumption (l/100 km): 5.4

Performance
• Max speed >225 km/h.
• Acceleration 0–100 km/h: <7 secs.

This article is an updated repost of the story I did on the 695 Abarth Tributo Maserati back in February.

Fiat Spin to Win Car Giveaway

Last month, Fiat USA's Facebook page hit 500,000 likes. To celebrate this accomplishment and to thank its fans, Fiat USA started a contest called 'Spin to Win' that will be giving away a new Fiat 500 Sport to one of ten lucky fans. Additionally, if you were one of the first 500,000 people to like the Fiat USA page, you are eligible for $500 off a new Fiat 500 or Fiat 500c.




The Fiat USA's Facebook page has been running fun games and contests over the past few months. These popular contests, along with attention getting TV commercials, have been successful in ramping up brand awareness and have translated to big sales gains since the beginning of the year.

Make sure you visit Fiat USA's Facebook page here to enter the contest. Good Luck!

Read more about Fiat sales

Read more about Fiat contests

US Fiat 500 Abarth Upshift Light

Here is an update on how the upshift light on the US Fiat 500 Abarth works. Previously, I posted a story on how the European Abarth 500 Turbo Boost Gauge and shift light works (read here). On the American 500 Abarth, the upshift light is implemented differently from the Euro Abarth. The upshift light on the US 500 Abarth is a “drag racer’s” shift light – it illuminates 0.3 sec before you hit fuel cutoff, regardless of being in Normal or Sport mode.

The upshift light on the European 500 Abarth operates as a “drag racer’s” shift light only in Sport mode and as a fuel economy reminder light in Normal mode. Speculation attributes the change to the traditional US driver's dislike of fuel economy reminders constantly blinking.

Below is a chart of the recommended upshift speeds for maximum fuel economy published on page 202 of the North American Fiat 500 Abarth owner’s manual.

Courtesy of Chrysler LLC

2012 Fiat 500 Abarth on TV

MotorWeek, American television's oldest running automotive news magazine, has done a first impressions review on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth and it looks like they've been stung:

"...what impressed us most about the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth is the $22,000 price tag. You don’t have to be on “The Price Is Right” to figure out that that’s a steal. We can’t think of another car packing this much performance for that low of a price."


"...Granted, embracing the Abarth tuned 500 will take a wholesale change in how an American enthusiast views performance cars. But, if you can make that jump, you’ll love every minute and every mile in the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth."




A full Road Test of the Fiat 500 Abarth will air on episode #3136 which begins airing on May 10, 2012. For a complete listing of the public television stations that broadcast MotorWeek, go to motorweek.org and click the “Find Your Station” tab at the top. MotorWeek is also seen Tuesday evenings on Velocity cable channel. Don't miss it!*


*conflicting info shows that the Fiat 500 Abarth road test may air on episode #3137 next week, so be prepared.

Fiat 500 Leads Touring Car Championship

True to its Italian heritage of building sporty cars, Fiat is the leader in the Touring Car-B Manufacturers' Championship. A Fiat 500 driven by Jonathan Start won the inaugural Touring Car -B Spec race last weekend. In fact, Start, in his No. 00 Fiat USA/SRT/Carbotech Fiat 500, won the first two races of the three races held that weekend.

The recently created B-spec racing series is an affordable way to race late model cars. The series features sub-compact cars, such as the Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda2, and Nissan Versa. Its double win means that Fiat is leading the the Championship with 22 points, followed by a tie between Mazda and Ford with 16. Honda has 15 points, while Kia has scored 3.

On the racetrack the 101 HP Fiat 500 beat; the 138 HP Chevrolet Sonic, the 120 HP Ford Fiesta, 117 HP Honda Fit, 138 HP Kia Rio, and 122 HP Nissan Versa. Remember this when someone says the Fiat 500 is slow!

Now that the Fiat 500 has proven to everyone that it is a serious contender in the series, we can hope to see more Fiat 500s racing around.  Fiat has contingency programs for would be Fiat racers. You can check them out here:

SRT Motorsports FIAT B-Spec SCCA Contingency Program

FIAT USA MOTORSPORTS 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Championships Official Contingency Program

Here is the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B-Spec Schedule of Events

• April 27–29, Miller Motorsports Park (co-headliner, NASCAR West). Tooele, Utah (Rounds 1, 2 and 3 for Touring Car B-Spec).
• June 1–3, Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, (with IndyCar). Detroit, Mich. (Rounds 4, 5 and 6 Touring Car B-Spec).
• June 22–24, Mosport International Raceway (Pirelli World Challenge Headliner).
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
 (Rounds 7, 8 and 9 Touring Car B-Spec).

Read more about Fiat's impressive start of the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Championship Series below:

Fiat 500 B-Spec Leads World Challenge Touring Car-B Standings After Inaugural Race Weekend

• Jonathan Start wins first two of three races at Miller Motorsports Park
• Start leads the Touring Car-B class after opening weekend

Tooele, Utah , Apr 30, 2012 - In the first ever Touring Car-B class races in the Pirelli World Challenge, Jonathan Start, of Caledonia, Mich., drove his specially-prepared Fiat 500 to two consecutive Touring Car-B race wins on Saturday, April 28 at the 2.2-mile Miller Motorsports Park West Course configuration.

Saturday’s event uniquely featured two 30-minute races separated by just 10-minutes.

Start completed the inaugural race weekend with a fourth place finish in race No. 3 on Sunday, April 29, just missing the podium after a race-long duel at the front of the pack.

“What a spectacular way to start the inaugural racing season with our brand new Fiat 500 B-spec car,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of FIAT Brand for North America, Chrysler Group LLC. “We’re proud of how well the team engineered the car and what a fantastic job Jonathan did behind the wheel.”

Start’s sweep on Saturday plus his fourth-place finish on Sunday gives him the points advantage early in the nine-round drivers’ championship with a 54 point lead over Honda driver Sage Marie (389-335) and 62 point lead over Ford driver Craig Capaldi. Fiat also holds the manufacturers' championship lead with 22 points, followed by a tie between Mazda and Ford with 16. Honda has 15 points, while Kia has scored 3.

Race No. 1 Summary - Saturday, April 28
In an exciting debut race for the new series, Start, in his No. 00 Fiat USA/SRT/Carbotech Fiat 500, battled with the top competitors from Ford and Mazda before taking the lead late in the 17-lap race and going on to finish out in front by 2.171 seconds.

“Race number one was exactly what this new B-Spec should be,” Start said. “Close, tight, and very similar cars all competing hard. I had the race of my life in the fun category. We were able to flip and flop, and we raced each other clean. This is what World Challenge is all about.”

Race No. 2 Summary - Saturday, April 28
With the race No. 2 grid being based on finishing order from race No. 1, Start took off from pole position at the green flag and led every lap to the finish, taking a 1.392-second victory to sweep the doubleheader.

“I raced smart, and I think that’s what it was,” Start said. “I wanted to be smooth, I wanted to be consistent, and I wanted to take care of my tires in the first race and I think I did. I watched the other guys and there were some moves where I was like, you guys are nuts. You guys are going to scrub your tires.

“At the end of the day, it’s two wins in the first round of World Challenge TCB, and I’m happy.”

Capaldi’s Ford and Bailey’s Mazda battled for the second position for most of the race, joined early on by the No. 45 Honda Fit of Sage Marie. Bailey finished second with Capaldi taking the third spot at the checkered flag.

Race No. 3 Summary - Sunday, April 29
Race 3
Jonathan Start began the finale race of the opening weekend in third spot in class and quickly became part of a four-car scrum made up of Start’s Fiat, a Honda Fit and two Ford Fiestas. The battle raged for much of the early part of the race, with Marie's No. 45 Honda Fit trading the lead with Capaldi's No. 86 Ford Fiesta every other lap for the first four.

Start drove hard in his No. 00 Fiat USA/SRT/Carbotech Fiat 500 as the second through fourth place cars battled for second spot. All the fighting for second place allowed Marie to steadily pull away, driving off to a 3.354-second margin of victory.

Conner Ford finished second in class, with Capaldi third and Start came home in fourth.

Press Release: Chrysler Media

Register Now for the Abarth Experience

The Fiat 500 Abarth. More than just a cool emblem on a fast car, the 500 Abarth is a descendant of legendary performance cars and championship racers. Now, you can drive your 500 Abarth to the grocery store and that will be fun, but you'll miss out on the considerable capabilities of this car. To keep this from happening, Fiat includes "The Abarth Experience", a full day of high performance driving instruction with every purchase of a new Fiat 500 Abarth.

Owners will learn from professional high performance driving instructors how to exploit all the performance of the Fiat 500 Abarth, in a safe and controlled race track environment.


The Abarth Experience Itinerary:

• Abarth Autocross — Horsepower. Handling. Brakes. Speed.
• Abarth Head-to-Head Challenge — Two Drivers. One Track. Who Will Triumph?
• Abarth Driving Dynamics — Learn Precision Skills from a Seasoned Professional.
• Abarth Performance Drive — Show Us What You've Got!

Registration for The Abarth Experience is now open. You need to have taken delivery of your 500 Abarth to register and have your VIN handy.

See you on the race track!

The Abarth Experience Website

New Fiat 500X Crossover Image

Images of the new Fiat 500X crossover have begun surfacing on the internet. The illustration shows curvaceous, almost coupe like body work and contrasts with the more upright Fiat 500L. The sporty styling is sure to go over well with Fiat fans, some of whom have been lukewarm at best over the 500L's practical design queues.

The Fiat 500X crossover is based on the the chassis used by the upcoming Fiat 500L. The Fiat 500L is a much larger car than the regular Fiat 500 (162.9 versus 139.6 inches) and uses the all wheel drive capable, widened chassis of the Fiat Punto and Alfa Romeo MiTo models. Preliminary info says the Fiat 500X will be even larger at approximately 165.4 inches.

Fiat 500L design sketch. The new Fiat 500X crossover seems to pick up on the sporty nature of this sketch and runs with it...

Fiat 500X was to be built at Fiat's Mirafiori factory in Torino, Italy, however later reports point to production being shifted to the Melfi plant in central Italy. Production is rumored to begin at the end of 2013 with North American introduction sometime in 2014.

Read more about the Fiat 500X here

Image: AutoExpress

Fiat 500 Breaks Sales Records - Again

The Fiat USA reports that April sales for the Fiat 500 have broken another record. A total of 3,849 Fiat 500s were sold last month, beating the previous month's record total of 3,712 units. This is the third straight month of record sales for the 500.



Fiat has continued to ramp up its marketing and promotion of the Fiat 500 with high profile, edgy ads featuring Charlie Sheen and the the beautiful Catrinel Menghia grabbing the public's attention. Fiat is also hitting social media hard with Facebook contests and events, such as "FIAT Drive for the Fans" (read here), "Abarth Wants You" (read here) and "Score a Scorpion" contest (read here). Keep an eye on Fiat USA's Facebook site this month as they have something in the works.

With the Fiat 500 Abarth hitting showrooms and the streets this month, expect to see an exciting May.

Fiat 500	Current Month	Last Year	Vol Change	Current YTD Total	Last Year YTD Total	Vol Change
April 2012	3,849	882	336%	12,699	1,382	819%
March 2012	3,712	500	642%	8,850	500	1670%
February 2012	3,227	0	New	5,138	0	New
January 2012	1,911	0	New	1,911	0	New

Link to Fiat 500 sales stories archives

Watch all the different Fiat Commercials here

Fiat 500 Abarth Tuner TMC Motorsport

In our quest to bring the very best information, vendors and dealers to Fiat owners here in America,  Fiat500USA.com is happy to announce the well known European tuner, TMC Motorsport, has come on board as a sponsor of the Fiat 500 USA Forum. 

Based in the UK, TMC Motorsport has hands on experience tuning the Fiat 500 Abarth and wants to bring its expertise here to American 500 Abarth owners. Below is a little background on TMC Motorsport to better acquaint yourself with the company.  Afterwards, make sure you check out their website and stop by their forum and say hello.

TMC Motorsport was started in 2005 by owner Daron Brown, having been involved in the tuning industry for more than 15 years. Since the conception of plug and play tuning devices in 1996 we have actively worked to advance the technology of these devices to provide very similar results to ECU remapping without making permanent changes to the vehicle. 

This type of system is now very popular amongst new car owners with concerns about losing their warranty by making permanent changes to their car.  Also, since 2009, many new cars have security locked ECU’s and can’t be remapped without breaking open the ECU to program directly to the processor inside with soldered cables. These units now account for more than 70% of our business and are sold around the world.

In 2010, after selling plug in tuning kits to many owners of the new Abarth 500, TMC bought an Abarth Punto Evo with the new 1.4 MultiAir engine.  We had visited car shows in UK and really liked the Abarth brand with its unique style and very punchy 1.4 turbo engine.  It was great looking, full of character and, more importantly, a very easy car to upgrade in many ways. The stock suspension and brakes were fine for the 135 bhp the car had, but when upgraded to over 160 bhp these were clearly inadequate.  

Abarth themselves offered the Esseesse upgrade kit, which included upgraded brakes and wheels and a power hike to 160 bhp, but the price tag was quite high and many owners could not afford to do it and were looking for cheaper but high quality alternatives.  This is where we saw a niche in the market to supply parts at an affordable price but still giving top quality brand names.

Since 2010 the Abarth market has evolved quite rapidly and spread around the world, albeit in small numbers.  Even with the world economy in recession, there was still a strong following for this iconic brand and more and more companies started to produce custom upgrades for the cars. 

Just recently the Abarth 500 has been launched in the US and Canada, initially in quite small numbers and with some minor body changes, additional safety features, and the Abarth Punto Evo 1.4 MultiAair engine, which is more powerful with just over 160 bhp in stock form, has more torque than the older 1.4 T Jet engine and produces lower emissions. This engine is a real piece of engineering genius, having won engine of the year for two years in a row, and in the Abarth 500 will make the perfect match of performance and economy.

Over the last year our range of parts for Abarth cars has grown enormously.  We can now offer performance upgrades up to 237 bhp and we are currently working on a 250 bhp and 300 bhp conversion.  We have a range of suspension and brake upgrades including the massive 10 pot Tarox brake upgrade. We also offer many body styling parts including carbon fibre and a wide choice of alloy wheels, seats and accessories to make each Abarth unique to your own taste.

We have also recently signed a one year deal to sponsor Sarah Franklin, who is one of the few women racing in the British Production Car Championships.  In a converted Abarth Assetto Corse track car, Sarah is having a very successful year so far and TMC is proud to be part of that success. Working with this race team has also given us access to buy Assetto Corse parts direct from Abarth and offer them to our customers, where they were previously not available to the public.  These include the famous rear wing, OZ racing alloys, hood air intakes, front grille, and front splitter.

Although there have been mixed reports about differences between the EU spec Abarth 500 and the US spec, there are many things that we already know for certain:  our exhausts, if fitted as cat back or turbo back systems, will fit US models perfectly (we have already fitted them) and the wheels and brakes are the same as US models.  Suspension is also fully compatible, so is our plug in tuning kit.

Some parts, however, will not fit.  The stunning Sabelt race seats will fit in the US car but as the US model has some additional safety features in the seats, like weight sensors and active head restraints besides the side airbags, there would be a lot of work involved bypassing these features, which we believe would deter most buyers.

Given the launch of Abarth in US, we started to look for a means of communicating with potential US and Canadian customers, and worked out a deal sponsoring the FIAT 500 USA FORUM to have an open arena to discuss Abarth and try to answer any questions that new or potential Abarth owners may have. 

So, to finalize, I would like to say a big hello to all of the forum members, and please feel free to ask any questions you have regarding Abarth or any of the parts we offer for them. There is a time difference of 6-8 hours between UK and US, so please allow for this in awaiting a response.

Our website address is www.tmcmotorsport.com and you will see the Abarth section in the products drop down menu. If there are any parts you would like that you don’t see, please ask as we can source almost anything Abarth.

The email address is info@tmcmotorsport.com and the same address is used for MSN and Windows Messenger.  SKYPE address is tmc-motorsport and contact number including UK dialling code is 001 44 2890 507999.

Again, thank you for allowing TMC to be part of your forum.  I know you will enjoy your Abarths as much as I enjoy my own and I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

Best Regards,
Daron

TMC Motorsport

TMC Motorsport on Fiat 500 USA Forum

TMC Motorsport website