Three years ago Fiat boosted the engine and the amenities in the 500 Abarth for a special Ferrari Edition. Now Abarth is moving a little further down the Fiat food chain for some of the same special changes for the trident as it did for the prancing horse.
The Abarth 695 Maserati Edition will hit the streets of Europe before the end of the year. Just like the Ferrari inspired car, this one comes with the 1.4-liter engine boosted to an impressive 180 hp — that’s 12.5% or 20 hp more than the already hot Abarth car. Just like three years ago, the wheels are upgraded from 16-inch to 17-inch, but they are a special trident pattern to reflect Maserati’s Neptune logo.
The Brembo brakes are slightly larger than the Ferrari edition (21mm) at 305mm. Fiat says this limited edition Abarth is, “epitomising the elegance and comfort of a Gran Turismo,” which means the Koni shock absorbers are not set quite as hard as the last time. By far, the largest difference between the Ferrari and the Maserati special edition vehicles is the Ferrari one was a hard top and the Maserati is based on the 500C large soft top car.
There is only one exterior color available, Pontevecchio Bordeaux. It is a shimmering purple paint that Maserati achieves using a special three-layer process.
Inside the car gets sand beige leather upholstery and plenty of 695 badging all around. Fiat says Jaeger produced the instrument panel, but it looks quite a lot like the standard equipment in any other Abarth. For those who like to row their own gears, the disappointing news is that the 695 Maserati Edition only comes with Abarth’s Competizione five-speed gearbox with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
Fiat has not said it would bring any of the limited run of 499 cars to the U.S., but it is a safe bet that this is a case of Look But Don’t Touch. The Abarth 695 Maserati Edition cost about 80% more than the standard Abarth 500C version in Europe. Not only is that a price hike few will pay over here, but also we only recently had the regular Abarth land on our doorstep. So, Fiat is too busy selling out of those to need the boost of a special edition over here yet.
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