Fatto in Messico: 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth
The 2012 debut of the Fiat 500 in the US was surprising sales success for a compact front-drive hot hatch when everyone was transitioning to CUV/SUV/UtilityBlah. But here’s the twist: despite its Eye-tal-yon roots, this little fella was put together in Meh-he-co. That’s not a bad thing, though; Mexican craftsmanship probably said, “Hold my tequila!” to Italian craftsmanship for long-term quality. And this 500? It’s not your average Joe; it’s the 500C edition, juiced up with Scorpion venom to Abarth levels. We’re talking 160 horsepower and 170 ft-lbs of “let’s turn these front tires into spaghetti” torque from the 1.4-liter Multi-Air 4-banger, paired with a 5-speed, DIY transmission for some tire-squealing hilarity. Find this 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth offered for $7,200 in Danville, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
2015 fiat 500 abarth
condition: fair
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: fwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 122000
paint color: black
size: compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: hatchback
For sale is a 2015 fiat 500 abarth manual transmission with 122k miles. In the last 200 miles the vehicle was completely overhauled including a new engine, transmission, clutch, flywheel, cv axle, ac condenser , battery, and much more. This is a great fun daily driver that is ready to put the mileage on. The exterior has been repainted and is not perfect (orange peel etc). I have spent over $7000 on maintenance. Clean title with current registration and smog.
See a better way to drive something FIAT? tips@dailyturismo.com
With all the major replacement parts in the front end and a new sub-par respray, it makes me wonder if this had a recent unreported front end crunchy taco incident. But the math wouldn’t really make much sense because something that big would make for an insurance total write off. Why rebuild? There’s key information missing in this listing. I demand answers! 😉
Assuming it’s not cursed with prior poor repairs, I can wholeheartedly endorse Abarth ownership. Ours is a hoot, with a chip tune good for nearly 200hp. I wish I’d put Pilot Sports on ours instead of the ExtremeContact DWS06 which, admittedly the guy at Tire Rack tried to talk me out of. Great tires in the rain or dry but weirdly numb and twitchy at the speeds I drive.
Be prepared for a weird Italian arms-out driving position and a stereo that won’t play your music via bluetooth.