Abarth 600e to be brand’s most powerful car ever

Abarth is ready to extend its reach into the all-electric crossover market by giving the new Fiat 600e more fire power and a driver-focused set up. 

This is our first official look at the Abarth 600e, and while it’s still heavily camouflaged, we can spot a few distinct details that’ll differentiate it from the standard Fiat model. It’ll retain the Fiat 600e’s retro-inspired rounded styling, but wear a few obvious styling tweaks – like revised bumpers front and rear, a big rear spoiler and larger alloy wheels. 

Sitting on the eCMP platform that underpins many other all-electric vehicles from parent company Stellantis (such as the Vauxhall Mokka and Jeep Avenger), the Abarth 600e will see power boosted to 237bhp – likely from a single front-mounted electric motor. The 0-62mph time will drop drastically from the Fiat’s nine-second figure. To help translate the extra power into forward momentum in the bends, a limited-slip differential has been added.

Abarth says it’s made so many changes to the platform it’s been renamed to ‘Perfo-eCMP’. Despite this, we expect the hot 600e to feature the same 54kWh battery as the Fiat, which will likely mean a decrease in range over that car’s 252-mile maximum. 

Accompanying the news was a short video of the hot crossover testing on track, with the sound generator providing a similar synthesised engine noise to the one found on the smaller Abarth 500e. 

The film also demonstrates the 600e’s ability to lift a rear wheel into a corner – a sign that Abarth has done work to strengthen the crossover’s chassis. The maker has kept tight-lipped on what changes it’ll bring to the 600e’s suspension, but firmer springs, a lowered ride height and thicker anti-roll bars are likely. We can see it’ll gain an upgraded brake system too. 

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The Abarth 600e will gain “high-comfort seats with racing ergonomics” designed to provide a mix of comfort and support. Judging from Abarth’s previous creations we should see some vibrant colours for the exterior, and upgraded stitching and upholstery inside. 

We should see the Abarth 600e arrive later this year where it’ll have competition in the form of the Hyundai Kona Electric N Line, MINI Aceman and in time the all-electric Ford Puma. Pricing should easily eclipse the £36,995 figure of the current range-topping Fiat 600e La Prima; we expect the base Abarth 600e to cost £40,000 or more.

Now read our review of the Abarth 500e...