Fiat Planning Abarth 124 Coupe

The hotly anticipated Abarth 124 Spider from Fiat could be joined by a hard top variant within the year, according to new information out of the UK.

Autocar have reported that a coupe version of the joint venture between Mazda and Abarth is already under construction at Mazda’s Hiroshima facility. Like the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 twins, the Abarth 124 shares its underpinnings with the Mazda MX5-RF, however the report doesn’t mention whether there will be a Mazda MX5-RF hard top to follow the roadster.

While there have been no official renderings of the Fiat Abarth 124 coupe, the design is likely to mimic that of the Abarth 124 Rally Concept that was revealed earlier this year at the Geneva Motorshow.

According to the report, engine specifications for the Abarth 124 coupe are still under consideration with three likely candidates being considered. All derived from the same 1.4-litre four cylinder turbocharged engine, the Fiat 124 UK spec with 104kW, the 119kW version available in the UK and the 127kW tune that is fitted to the Abarth 124 Spider. Given the coupe will share its platform with the Abarth 124 Spider, the 127kW tuned car would seem the most likely contender.

Fiat Australia have foregone the Fiat 124 Spider, opting only to import the Abarth 124 Spider when sales kick off towards the end of this year. Powered by a 127kW/250Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo, the Abarth 124 Spider is expected to lead a local resurgence for the fabled Italian tuning division.