Abarth 500e: the most radical electric city car

Abarth's first electric vehicle, the Abarth 500e, compared to the Fiat 500e from which it is derived, has new 18" alloy wheels, new bumpers, new side skirts, simulated rear diffuser with white grille, titanium gray mirror caps and specific light characteristic. It's also 60 millimeters wider, which is obvious as it looks decidedly fatter than the Fiat 500e in real life.

The Abarth 500e Scorpionissima, the top-of-the-line version of the model, features Sabelt sports seats with Alcantara upholstery and laser-etched scorpion headrests. When the car is stationary, it seems that the seats fit snugly against the body. In the interior, there are some sporty notes here: the steering wheel is trimmed with leather and Alcantara, and the mark at 12 o'clock is blue. The pedals are made of steel, the same material as the door sills, which also bear the Abarth lettering. Alcantara fabric is also used to trim the dashboard, giving it a look that feels high quality and sporty at the same time.

The Abarth 500e has a 24mm wider track, front and rear disc brakes (the Fiat 500e has drum brakes at the rear) and includes three driving modes: Touring, Scorpion Street and Scorpion Track. The first of them is the equivalent of the eco-mode, the most gentle. Scorpion Street mode boosts performance and supports regenerative braking, while Scorpion Track is a sportier mode that disables regenerative braking for a cleaner feel.

All this is accompanied by a 155 hp electric motor. (113 kW) and a torque of 235 Nm in maximum performance mode, which allows you to reach speeds of 0-100 km / h in 7 seconds. The battery has a capacity of 42 kWh and allows you to extend battery life by 250 kilometers. Abarth did not announce the weight of the car, although the weight distribution was 57% on the front axle and 43% on the rear axle. These are numbers, but there is another curious fact about its mechanics: the Abarth 500e makes a lot of noise despite being electric.

The Abarth 500e Scorpionissima comes standard with a huge speaker, which is located at the bottom of the car, at the rear. To find it (visible to the naked eye), you need to lean in as if you were about to look at the last section of the exhaust pipe in a petrol Abarth or a spare tire in an older car. "Fake Exhaust" mimics the sound of a gasoline Abarth.

It's not an artificial, sci-fi spaceship-like sound like other electric vehicles, but rather an attempt to sound like a gas car. For those who don't like this idea, it will be easy to find a solution: in other versions of Abarth, this artificial sound generator will be optional.