To create the Fiat 500 Abarth-based 695 Competizione it brought to the Frankfurt auto show, Abarth stripped an innocent 500 of its rear seat and stuck the rear bracing for a roll bar into its place. Abarth calls the 695 Competizione a street-legal race car, and a roll cage alone does not make a race car. The 695 Competizione—like the special-edition 695 Tributo Ferrari that came before it—is a 500 Abarth with additional power and performance few would expect in such a tiny, cute package.
Just like the Tributo Ferrari, the 695 Competizione’s turbocharged 1.4-liter four boasts a healthy bump in power over the standard 500 Abarth’s 133-hp mill. Abarth claims the Competizione produces over 180 hp, and that power is routed through an Abarth Competizione five-speed single-clutch automatic. The two-mode transmission, which was also used in the Tributo Ferrari, has an automatic Street and a racier full-manual Track setting. To amp up the car’s volume, Abarth installed a two-mode exhaust system it calls Record Monza that opens up when the engine spins past 3000 rpm. Abarth says the 695 Competizione will zip from 0 to 62 mph in less than seven seconds and can sprint on to a top speed of 140 mph. To help slow it down from those speeds, the speedy little Fiat packs Brembo four-piston stoppers. A set of Koni shocks beefs up the suspension.
The exterior of the 695 is pretty much standard 500 Abarth fare, with the exception of different 17-inch wheels—borrowed from the Tributo Ferrari—and Grigio Competizione Opaco livery (“Grigio Opaco” means “matte gray,” and there’s a neat checkered pattern on the roof). The 695’s interior received far more attention. As mentioned, the Competizione ditches its rear seats for the roll bar. The racing seats up front are upholstered in leather and Alcantara and are ready to accommodate racing harnesses. The driver faces a special instrument cluster made by Jaeger, a carbon-fiber dash panel, and aluminum pedals embossed with Abarth’s scorpion logo. Since the Abarth 500 has yet to make its U.S. debut, don’t expect the limited-run 695 Competizione to make it to our shores.
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