Fiat Group Plans New Sports Cars For Abarth, Lancia And Alfa

Today it is reported by Autoblog that three Italian automakers that are under the Fiat Group umbrella have plans to develop three new sports cars. The Fiat Group controls most of the Italian automotive industry, including Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari.

An unique sports car has the biggest possibility. As previously reported Fiat as plans to revive the Abarth performance brand with new cars. It is highly rumored that the Abarth roadster would take an Elise-style approach, and could even borrow underpinnings from Lotus. Power could come from the turbo four in the Punto and 500 Abarth.

There are parallel reports of a new Lancia coupe-cabrio on the horizon. This in addition to the rumored Aurelia flagship, expected to be unveiled in Geneva next March. The Lancia convertible could also have an Alfa Romeo variant.

Picture above: Fulvia concept from Frankfurt 2003

Geneva 2008 Preview: Fiat 500 Abarth

Fiat has just released the first official pictures of the Abarth version of its popular 500 mini hatch. The pictures show the 500 with a full bodykit consisting of a new front spoiler, side skirts, and rear bumper with a diffuser. Black, Scorpion-emblazoned 5-spoke wheels with silver and red accents complete the hot hatch's design while the Abarth shield adorns the nose, rear quarters, and hatchback lid. Flashes of red make their way onto the rearview mirrors, brake calipers, and side stripes, too. Inside, the leaked cutaway drawing shows us read seats with matching door panel inserts.

The 1.4-liter gas engine gets a turbo to bump the power from 100 bhp to 155 bhp at 5500 rpm. That 55% increase in power pushes the 0-to-62 mph time down to 8.2 seconds.

The hot hatch will likely be one of the stars of the show when the doors are opened in Geneva.

Gallery: Fiat 500 Abarth

Geneva Preview: Fiat 500 Convertible

Fiat plans to unveil a convertible version of its popular 500 micro-car at Geneva in March. And in keeping with the city car’s retro design, it will have a similar roof mechanism to the original 500’s. The car will use a full-length fabric roof that slides back to store on top of the parcel shelf. It will retain a glass rear window, plus full-frame doors and the hatch’s roofline.

The automaker also plans unveil the 500 Abarth SS in Geneva to challenge the Cooper S. This has a 1.4-litre turbo engine which delivers 155bhp. Expect these new versions of the 500 to arrive in dealerships by the end of the year.