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Agile Abarth

By Ghaith Madadha - Dec 15,2014 - Last updated at Dec 15,2014

A Fiat firecracker by another name, the Abarth 595 Competizione is a fun, fast and feisty hot hatch from Fiat’s traditional tuning arm and now standalone brand. 

A skunkworks performance hatchback, the 595 Competizione is the most focused and driver-oriented Abarth iteration of Fiat’s hugely successful retro-cool 500, bar the top-of-the-range 695 Biposto. 

An agile and eagerly nippy lightweight hot hatch brimming with Italian charm, the 595 Competizione is also a practical, manoeuvrable and fuel-efficient daily driver.

Named after the 0.6-litre 2-cylinder Abarth 595 version of Fiat’s classic tiny rear-engine 1957-75 Nuova 500, the modern 595 is, however, a powerful, well-equipped and more conventional front-engine front-driver.

 

Feisty and fun

 

The Abarth scorpion badge in place of the Fiat badge adorning other 500 models is the first indiscrete clue as to the 595 Competizione’s more performance-oriented intentions. A feisty hot hatch take on Fiat’s rounded, tiny bug-eyed retro-inspired city car, the 595 Competizione has a feisty and fun sense of flair. 

Sitting lower and with a more aggressively beefy bumpers and skirts combo, the 595 Competizione has a pyramid-like road-hugging stance. Tall, narrow and compact like other 500s classic and contemporary, the 595 Competizione’s relatively large 205/40R17 tyres are pushed far out to the corners for a big footprint and road-holding stability.

Complementing its classic clamshell bonnet and slim front vent, the 595 Competizione’s bigger bumper section includes a more aggressive air intake and side vents both front and rear. A charismatic, playfully agile and brisk car, the Competizione is at its best in primary colours like the driven vehicles stark red paintjob. 

Liberally adorned with scorpion badges front, rear and next to the door handles to underline its potential and Abarth branding, the 595 Competizione’s high and curved roofline is given a more assertive treatment with a big tailgate spoiler. From rear, the Competizione gets quads tailpipes and pert bumper with a dark wire-mesh and air diffuser-like lower segment.

 

Petite and punchy

 

Petite and punchy, the 595 Competizione is powered by the second most prodigious version of the range’s Abarth-tuned Fiat 1.4-litre 16-valve 4-cylinder engines, developing 115BHP per litre of displacement. 

Turbocharged and transversely positioned to drive the front wheels, the 595’s engine develops 158BHP by 5500rpm and 170lb/ft at 3000rpm. And weighing in at a lightweight 1035kg, 595 Competizione benefits from a 152BHP/tonne power-to-weight ratio, which allows the 5-speed manual gearbox version driven to sprint through the 0-100km/h dash in 7.4-seconds and onto a 210km/h maximum.

Meanwhile, the 595 Competizione can return frugal 6.5-litre/100km fuel efficiency and 155gkm CO2 emissions on the combined cycle. 

More important than just headline figures is how the 595 Competizione delivers its’ performance, and though its’ turbocharger features fixed geometry, it nevertheless spools up quickly and with little by way of low-end turbo-lag. 

A broad high torque band provides effortlessly responsive mid-range muscle and flexibility for overtaking and underwrites its buildup to maximum power. Driven at the Fiat group’s Balocco proving grounds just north of Turin, Italy, the 595 Competizione pulled hard on long straights to close to its maximum speed. With light clutch and quick short-throw lever, one can swiftly work through the Abarth 595’s 5-speed manual intuitive and engaging gearbox.

 

Darty Dynamics

 

The most aggressive and sportily set-up abarth-tuned version of the Fiat 500, just short of the range-topping 187BHP 695 Biposto, the 595 Competizione features lowered and firmed up suspension including Koni dampers and anti-roll bars on both its MacPherson strut front and torsion bear rear suspension.

Superbly agile, the 595 diminutive 595 Competizione is eager and nippy, and with light weight and quick direct steering, turns-in and changes direction with a crisp efficiency. With its big footprint within a tiny frame, the darty 595 Competizione’s agility means it can turn on the proverbial coin and is adept through tight winding corners and chicanes on track. Meanwhile, drilled and ventilated discs provided tight and timely braking.

Defined by perky performance and darty agility the Competizione kept good pace at the rear of a convoy of more powerful Alfa Romeo 4Cs and Giulietta QVs, when driven almost flat-out on a fast and winding circuit at Balocco. 

Manoeuvrable and tidy, the Competizione features an electronic torque vectoring system, which, similar to limited-slip differential, sends more torque to the outside driven wheel while braking the inside wheel, so that it powers out of corners tidily and poised. 

Sure-footed, the 595 Competizione can be induced to playfully kick out its rear to the side to tighten a cornering line, but with stability controls on most vigilant setting, one couldn’t explore this fully.

 

Alert and airy

 

Reassuringly stable at high-speed straights and sweeping bends for a small, light and tall car the 595 Competizione also corners with terrific body and weight transfer control. However, with supportive and comfortable seats set somewhat high for a tall and heavy-set driver — even when lowered — and given its exemplary tight cornering ability, one occasionally had a more pronounced sensation of what little body roll there actually is.

On the other hand, the Abarth’s high seating suited its tall roof and low bonnet and provides excellent visibility to accurately and intuitively place it on road. For added manoeuvrability, the 595’s electric-assisted features a lighter assistance setting and rear parking sensors.

With high seating matched by a high-set short-throw gear lever falling close to hand for swift shifts, one can quickly reach back to its thick contoured leather-clad sports steering wheel. Quick and easy shifting for daily driving, perhaps a slightly stiffer shift action would suit track driving.

A three-door four-seat hatchback, the 595 provides terrific headspace and decent cabin width and a useful 185-litre minimum boot volume.

Lively and airy inside, the Competizione features metal pedals and gear lever, steering tilt adjustability and multi-function controls for its USB and Bluetooth enabled
CD/MP3 system. Clear instrumentation features a large centre speedometer, internal rev counter, and side-mounted turbo boost gauge.

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

Engine: 1.4-litre, 16-valve, turbocharged transverse
4 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 72 x 84mm

Compression ratio: 9.8:1

Gearbox: 5-speed manual, front-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 158 (160) [118] @ 5500rpm

Specific power: 115.5BHP/litre

Power -to-weight ratio: 152.6BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 170 (230) @ 3000rpm

Specific torque: 168.1Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 222.2Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 7.4 seconds

Top speed: 210km/h

Fuel economy, urban/extra-urban/combined: 8.5/5.4/6.5 litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 155g/km

Fuel capacity: 35 litres

Length: 3667mm

Width: 1627mm

Height: 1485mm

Wheelbase: 2300mm

Track, F/R: 1409/1402mm

Overhang, F/R: 776/581mm

Boot capacity: 185 litres

Weight: 1035kg

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/torsion beam, anti-roll bars

Steering: Electric assistance, rack & pinion

Brakes, F/R: Drilled, ventilated discs, 284 x 22mm/discs, 240 x 11mm

Tyres: 205/40R17

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