Abarth 124 Spider gains Monza Special Edition
BY TUNG NGUYEN | 30th May 2018
ABARTH has released just 30 examples of its 124 Spider Monza Special Edition, priced from $47,580 before on-road costs, which adds higher levels of equipment and unique design flourishes for an additional $5590 over the standard convertible.
Created to pay homage to the brand’s founder and namesake Carlo Abarth’s success at Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale Monza, each tribute Abarth 124 Spider will wear an individually numbered plaque inside.
Monza Special Edition vehicles are available in just three colours, Turini 1975 White, Costa Brava 1972 Red and San Marino 1972 Black, while the only other exterior embellishment of note is gloss-red side-view mirror covers.
Step inside the new 124 Spider and passengers are greeted with black and red two-tone leather seats with crimson highlight stitching.
To justify the price rise over the standard car, Abarth has fitted the Visibility Pack, which retails for $2590, and a Record Monza dual-mode exhaust system as standard.
The Visibility Pack bundles together auto-levelling LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, adaptive front lighting, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring.
Equipment from the base 124 Spider also carries over and includes 17-inch gun metallic alloy wheels, four-piston front Brembo brakes, Bilstein sports suspension, LED tail-lights, leather steering wheel and mechanical limited-slip differential.
Power comes courtesy of a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine developing 125kW of power and 250Nm of torque, which is sent to the rear wheels for a zero to 100km/h sprint time in 6.8 seconds thanks to its low 1100kg kerb weight.
A six-speed automatic can also be optioned for an additional $2000 above the three-pedal version’s aforementioned $47,580 sticker price.
However, Abarth is also offering driveaway pricing in June on its latest model that will cut $630 from the pricetag in addition to the on-road cost savings.
Abarth brand Australia director Fulvio Antonelli said the 124 Spider, which is based on a Mazda MX-5 and built in Japan, is a worthy successor to the Scorpion badge.
“The legacy of Carlo Abarth has driven the production of some of the world’s most exciting motor vehicles and this Monza Special Edition continues the realisation of his passion,” he said.
“Equally at home on urban roads as well as on race tracks, the Abarth 124 Spider is attracting a new generation of enthusiasts in Australia with its performance, technology, comfort and easy of driving.
“It combines the authentic roadster experience with exemplary performance, technology, safety and distinctive Italian design.”
The special-edition variant is also expected to lift the 124 Spider’s sales, which have shrunk by 56.5 per cent year on year to 60 units to the end of April.
The result places Abarth’s rear-drive convertible at the bottom end of the sub-$80,000 sportscar market, well off the pace of the segment-leading Ford Mustang (2018), BMW 2 Series (567) its Mazda MX-5 cousin (375), Toyota 86 (352), Hyundai Veloster (323) and even the Audi A3 convertible (74).
In fact, the only cars the Abarth 124 Spider has managed to outpace in the sales race so far this year are the discontinued Holden Astra Sport (2) and Cascada (3).
2018 Abarth 124 Spider pricing*
| 124 Spider | $41,990 |
| 124 Spider (a) | $43,990 |
| 124 Spider Monza Special Edition | $47,580 |
| 124 Spider Monza Special Edition (a) | $49,580 |
*Excludes on-road costs
