If there was ever a vehicle segment that needed some EV love, it is the small car. Understandably the focus to date has really been around the largest vehicle segments, but ultimately all vehicle segments need EV options. Being smaller in size, there is less space battery cells, which does limit range, but comes with the upside lower cost.
Stellantis, the parent company of Abarth, has announced a new Abarth 500e, marking the brand’s entrance into its new era. The car focuses on performance and character thanks to new design elements and sporty details.
The sporty character is certified by the new Abarth lettering in dark titanium Grey placed above the front grille. And it’s not “just a signature”, but the union of performance and innovation, fun and sustainability. It is placed higher up and, together with the headlights and the grille, gives the car a look that tells you that nuts-and-bolts mean business.
In addition to those, a new electrified Scorpion signature logo resides on the side of the car, next to the door, to alert drivers that they are entering a new electric world.
On the exterior of the New 500e several design elements make it unique and eye-catching, starting from the new dedicated front bumper which makes the car even bolder and more aggressive as it takes inspiration from the past but also provides an even more thrilling driving experience.
The 17″ alloy wheels with a new dedicated design also give the new Abarth an even more aggressive look, together with the exclusive and sporty lines of the lateral skirt, the cool white front DAM, the rear diffuser inserts and the new Matt Grey mirror caps.
Sportiness also finds its fullest expression on board: the dark ambience of the pillars and headliner, the unmissable sporty seats “tuned” with the “scorpion stripes” embossed on fabric, and the sporty double stitching and steering wheel wrapped in black vinyl make the driving environment the most sporty and comfortable in the field.
In front of the driver there are 2 big screens: a wide 10.25” touch screen infotainment system – the Uconnect radio NAV – with the new Performance Pages and a 7” TFT cluster with dedicated Abarth graphics come as standard. The Performance Pages have been specifically designed for the new electric Abarth and allow customers to keep track of their performance as they unleash the excitement of the drive.
The New Abarth 500e comes with a specific sound that reproduces a rock guitar tone inside the cabin every time the car is turned on or off. And even the AVAS gets a specific “Abarth jingle”, a recognizable sound for Abarth’s fans, that reflects the transgressive and unconventional soul inherent to the genre and the Scorpion‘s cars.
The New 500e also manages to combine Scorpion’s pure sportiness with the typical ingredients of open-air driving thanks to its Cabrio version: sun, scents and wind blend with the car’s bold sounds and design, providing a unique, exciting, and exclusive driving experience, made for those who crave the feeling of freedom and thrill that only the Cabrio version can provide.
New Abarth 500e Turismo: sportiness, style
The Turismo is at the top of the new line-up, offering – as always – great performance, a unique style and the original Abarth sound. It combines power and beauty and embodies an elegant and sporty spirit at the same time. The interior and exterior details empower the passion of real gentlemen drivers, while fulfilling the dreams of modern-lifestyle seekers.
The eye-catching exterior is enriched with dedicated 18” diamond-cut titanium grey alloy wheels which bring the driver closer to the road with their holding performance and aggressive and sharp design, combining both modern fearlessness and traditional elegance.
Inside, sportiness and style find their fullest expression with its premium Alcantara interiors, a premium racing material that provides a dark sporty look and fine touch feeling. The Alcantara and leather steering wheel and the Alcantara embossed dashboard fascia also give a touch of sportiness and a premium feel.
The sporty seats with an integrated headrest bring the Acid-Green Scorpion – lasered on the Alcantara – inside and the sporty double stitching provide visual continuity from the seats to the door panels.
Abarth’s signature, the unmistakable Abarth “roar”, thanks to the Abarth Sound Generator accompanies every trip with the 500e Turismo. This is a standard feature on the “Turismo” which highlights the engine performance, faithfully reproducing the sound of an Abarth petrol engine inspired by the famous Record Monza exhaust.
Designed to offer all the emotions that every Abarthist and sportscar enthusiast seeks when driving an Abarth by perfectly combining performance and sound, this innovative sound system enhances the Abarth driving experience. Furthermore, the New Abarth 500e Turismo comes with a full set of comfort, technological and safety features, such as heated front seats, a wireless charging pad, a rear-view camera, and a blind spot warning.
JBL Premium Audio system
To complete the 360° sound experience of the New Abarth 500e Turismo, JBL is bringing its award-winning sound to the top-of-the-line version – a partnership that gets the adrenaline pumping on every ride.
The vibrant and powerful JBL premium audio system delivers immersive and dynamic sound with clean highs, roaring bass, and well-defined mids to satisfy the most passionate and discerning music fans who love to drive. It features 7 optimally placed high-performance speakers including 2 tweeters, 2 midwoofers, 2 rear door full range speakers, and 1 trunk subwoofer, plus an 8-channel amplifier.
Extremely refined in both build and performance, the premium audio system is simple and intuitive to use and is equipped with a multitude of advanced technologies. Highlights include Virtual Center technology, an algorithm which ensures that each passenger, regardless of the position in the vehicle, enjoys a coherent sound stage, and Speed Adjusted Volume to maintain the perceived music reproduction level and low frequency balance at any vehicle speed. The volume and sound spectrum automatically adjusts as the speed increases, delivering one more thrill for the driver and passengers.
The 320-watt amplifier lets the intense JBL sound flow through customers’ veins, turning energy into emotion and power into adrenaline, just like the Abarth 500e. The JBL premium sound system is perfectly integrated into the car without any major impact on the interior or trunk space.
Abarth Performance
Combining performance, electric power, style and a new powerful sound, the new Scorpion turns advanced technology into adrenaline, and sustainability into performance. Thanks to its electric architecture, in fact, along with improved weight distribution, instant torque, and a wider wheelbase, the New Abarth 500e is faster than its petrol version and more exciting in both urban and suburban driving, ensuring the best performance.
In fact, it is 1 second faster in the urban pickup, which means 50% faster acceleration from 20 to 40 km/h than its gasoline-powered counterpart. Outside of city driving, for example on hairpin bends, from 40 to 60 km/h it can reach the target speed in just 1.5 seconds—much faster than its petrol version, which lags behind by 15 meters, reaching 60 km/h a second later.
Lastly, on the open road, it performs overtaking maneuvers faster than its petrol version, reaching a speed of 100 km/h (starting from 60km/h) when its petrol counterpart is still driving at 91 km/h, with a difference of approximately 1 second.
Furthermore, the New Abarth 500e offers great handling and driving dynamics, with a quicker response, better corner entry, and a higher cornering and exit speed. In short, it is more Abarth than ever.
Equipped with a 42-kWh battery coupled with a powerful e-motor, it combines the performance of the Scorpion with the innovation of electric mobility. It features best-in-class acceleration, and, simultaneously, ensures zero emissions. In the end, the New Abarth 500e is “exciting and fast” precisely in those conditions where you can really have fun.
With a battery range up to 265 km, and a supporting fast charging of up to 85kw in direct current (DC), the New Abarth 500e ensures plenty of driving excitement.
Customers can choose among five thrilling colours for both the 500e and the 500e Turismo: Antidote White, Venom Black, Adrenaline Red, plus the brand-new Acid Green and Poison Blue, which make the New Abarth 500e stand out from the crowd.
Driving modes
On both the New Abarth 500e and the New Abarth 500e Turismo, three exclusive driving modes are available that focus on performance – Turismo, Scorpion Street and Scorpion Track – giving customers total freedom to fully enhance the sporty set-up and unleash the power of their Abarth in every challenge on the road.
- The Turismo mode allows for smoother acceleration and lower power for an efficient yet exciting driving experience.
- The Scorpion Street mode offers top performance while maximizing the regenerative braking.
- On both Turismo or Scorpion Street Mode the one-pedal driving feature is offered for a faster and sportier driving experience. The car decelerates every time you lift your foot, making it possible to brake without even touching the brake pedal, and recovers kinetic energy which then gets converted into electricity to recharge the battery.
- Finally, the Scorpion Track mode is designed for those who are looking for top performance without the One Pedal Driving function.
A connected driving experience
The New Abarth 500e is the first vehicle of the Abarth range to offer a fully connected experience thanks to Uconnect Services, which give customers a complete driving experience with real-time information and on-board security.
All connected services can be also managed offboard through the dedicated app (Fiat app). On board, customers can enjoy the constantly connected and updated navigation system to receive real-time information on traffic, parking, and weather. Moreover, thanks to Dynamic Range Mapping, it is possible to check the map for the maximum range that could be driven with the residual charge and look for the nearest charging station.
The onboard Wi-Fi ensures safety and fun for all passengers and, thanks to Amazon Alexa, drivers can stay informed and control their smart devices at home without taking their hands off the wheel.
Offboard, the connected experience continues with the dedicated mobile app. Through the smartphone, it is possible to monitor the vehicle remotely, open and close the doors in a few taps – always knowing where the car is parked – and find public charging stations.
The app also provides direct access to the eSolutions Charging services provided by Free2Move eSolutions, where customers can pay for public charging, check their charging history, and remotely manage their private Wallbox.
Recharging
To minimize its charging time, the New Abarth 500e is equipped with the 85-kW fast-charging system to charge the car’s battery very quickly and guarantee never-ending fun. For example, all it takes is less than 5 minutes to build up a sufficient energy reserve for daily mileage requirements (around 40 km), which is less than the time it takes to choose your next destination. When in a hurry, the fast charge reaches 80% of the range in only 35 minutes to quickly go back to racing on the streets.
The official partner of the New Abarth 500e is Free2move eSolutions, a Stellantis joint venture founded to support and facilitate the transition to electric mobility, by taking an active role in achieving accessible and clean mobility. Free2move eSolutions offers innovative products and services tailored to all customers.
Starting with eSolutions Charging, the app is designed both for those who are taking their first steps into eMobility and for those who frequently use public charging stations.
eSolutions Charging provides more than 450,000 charging points throughout Europe, which can be found and used with a few simple clicks. Plus, there is the eProWallbox, the complete family of charging devices that meets the many needs of the broadest diversity of customers.
The eProWallbox offers great flexibility in terms of functionality and cost and, with adjustable charging power between 7.4 and 22 kW, is ideal for all uses. Finally, Free2move eSolutions is one of the European manufacturers of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) that pays the most attention to consumer safety.
As always, we hope Australia can secure an adequate supply of the Abarth 500e.
