In very limited edition
Abarth came in May with a pleasant surprise. After an endless stream of variations on the revamped 500, the brand suddenly came up with the Abarth 1000 SP. It’s an open-top sports car bursting at the seams with racing heritage. Everyone thought it was a one-off project to keep the engineers and the marketing department busy, but apparently there are now serious plans to take the car (very limited) into production.
In short. SP stands for Sport Prototipo, which is Italian for sports prototype. The design leans heavily on that of the impossibly slim 1000 SP from the 1960s, which you also see in the photos. The new SP is actually a converted Alfa Romeo 4C. In the middle is the four-cylinder turbo engine with 240 hp. It’s hard to imagine from the size, but the new one would be more aerodynamic than the old one.
Price Abarth 1000 SP
The English Auto Italia Magazine reports that Abarth will build five copies of the Abarth 1000 SP. That’s what Head of FCA Heritage Robert Giolito is said to have said in an interview. Converted, the new sports car from Abarth should cost about 200,000 euros. And that is actually not that bad, if you look at what other rarities from Italy have to cost. This is by the way the last chance you have to buy something 4C-like, because the 4C has been out of production for a long time.
What does this say about Abarth under Stellantis?
FCA, Abarth’s parent company, did not join forces with PSA for too long to form Stellantis. With new management there is always a chance that the portfolio will be cut. Certainly a niche brand like Abarth can quickly become the Sjaak. Fortunately, the large company reported in July that there is indeed a future for Abarth, but an electric one. So the Abarth 1000 SP is not a foretaste of a new direction for the small brand, but a small splurge. In 2024, Abarth will also switch to electricity.