New 600e is Abarth’s most powerful car yet, and will benefit from old traditional hot hatch technology.
Brace yourself, because the first official image of the new all-electric Abarth 600e has been released, and it looks like Abarth’s most powerful road car ever might also be its most outlandish.
The hot version of the newly introduced Fiat 600e is currently in the final stages of testing before it’s revealed in full later this year. But the new image previews the styling changes Abarth has made, including the blocky front bumper, enormous front splitter and large roof spoiler.
The 20-inch rims were needed to accommodate a new brake system, and have been wrapped in a set of high-performance tyres jointly developed by Formula E’s supplier Hankook.
The dramatic ‘Hypnotic Purple’ paint not only contrasts the lime green Abarth logos on the car, but is the launch colour of the Abarth 600e. The specific model you see here is the exclusive Scorpionissima launch edition, just 1949 examples of which will be produced.
The Abarth 600e sits on a new platform called ‘Perfo-eCMP’, based on Stellantis’s well-known CMP/e-CMP architecture that underpins Fiat’s 600e, plus the Jeep Avenger, Vauxhall Mokka and Peugeot 2008.
Producing exactly 177kW, this small electric SUV is Abarth’s most powerful car yet, though performance figures remain a tightly guarded secret for the moment, as do any range figures.
The Abarth 600e is probably using a single electric motor driving the front wheels like Fiat’s version, but will benefit from a mechanical limited-slip differential. These are often used by front-wheel drive hot hatches to help minimise torque steer, with Abarth claiming it “guarantees excellent driving stability, improved handling, and traction” in the 600e.
The Abarth 600e is sure to feature the same ‘Abarth Sound Generator’ as its little brother, the Abarth 500e. Using two speakers – one inside the car, the other outside – the setup is meant to mimic the burble of the company’s petrol-powered hot hatchbacks.