New Abarth 600e is the brand’s most powerful car yet, and it’s yours from £36,975
Abarth’s second EV is now on sale, and it pumps out 278bhp
The new Abarth 600e hot crossover is now on sale, with first customer deliveries expected from Spring next year. Although sharing the same underpinnings as the humble Fiat 600e, the Abarth version gets more power, a revised chassis and plenty of exterior garnishes.
Customers have two models to pick from – the entry-level 600e, which costs from £36,975 (marking a £5,780 premium over the Abarth 500e) or the fully-equipped and more powerful limited edition Scorpionissima, from £41,975.
Just 1,949 examples of the latter will be produced, as a nod to the year that the company was founded.
Both sit on Abarth’s tweaked Perfo eCMP version of Stellantis’ widely-used e-CMP architecture, and both feature an electric motor designed specifically for the brand.
The regular Abarth 600e produces up to 235bhp, and has 345Nm of torque, for a 0-62mph sprint of 6.2 seconds and 124mph top speed. The Scorpionissima, meanwhile, ups the maximum power available to 278bhp and has the same 345Nm of torque. That’s enough for 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds – matching the new Volkswagen Golf GTI – and again, a top speed of 124mph.
Both models offer a range of up to 207 miles from a 54kWh battery.
Whichever version you opt for, maximum power is available in Scorpion Track mode, which also includes an aggressive accelerator pedal calibration, a ‘sport+’ steering setting and ‘fun’ stability control tuning.
The default Turismo setting restricts power output to 148bhp in the standard model and 188bhp in the Scorpionissima, plus pegs torque to 300Nm, and is meant to offer smoother acceleration. Meanwhile Scorpion Street, which is Abarth’s equivalent of Sport mode, allows for 201bhp in the regular 600e and 223bhp in the Scorpionissima, and the full 345Nm of torque.
The front-mounted e-motor is paired with a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential. These are often used in front-wheel-drive hot hatches, and in the 600e it should improve handling and traction in corners by directing torque to the wheel with the most grip.
Abarth has also made the suspension and anti-roll bars stiffer, widened the car’s track by 30mm up front and 25mm on the rear, and developed a new brake system with specialist Alcon that uses 380mm discs and four-piston monobloc callipers for better fade resistance and heat distribution. Finally, a new cooling system is designed to help maximise performance.
Abarth isn’t one for subtle styling, so the 600e gets a very blocky front bumper, which is meant to emulate the one on the Abarth 850 TC race car from the Sixties. There’s a similarly chunky bumper at the rear too, plus a large diffuser and roof spoiler. The 600e’s 20-inch diamond-cut rims are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres, and the standard car comes in Acid Green, Antidote White, Shock Orange, and Venom Black paints, with the Scorpionissma offered in Acid Green and Hypnotic Purple.
The interior has received a subtly sporty makeover as well, including a new steering wheel wrapped in leather and Alcantara, dedicated seats from Sabelt – with the Scorpionissima getting more aggressive buckets – aluminium pedals, plenty of neon green stitching and Abarth’s own graphics for the seven-inch driver’s display and 10.25-inch touchscreen.
Finally, the 600e Scorpionissima specifically features a ‘sound generator’, like the Abarth 500e hot hatch, which uses speakers to mimic the exhaust note of the brand’s petrol-powered models. But Abarth says it now delivers a deeper sound, and drivers can switch it off using the touchscreen if they want, instead of digging around on the driver’s display menus like you have to in the 500e.
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