So 50 years later, the Fiat 124 Spider has finally returned to the market. This time it’s seeks to make some noise in the small roadster market. According to Fiat, the 124 Spider:
…is a roadster with Italian flare beautifully designed and exquisitely executed. The exterior turns heads with seductive styling. A wide, powerful stance, iconic lighting and the invitation of top-down driving excitement draw you in.
Beautiful design is only the half of the 124 Spider. There’s more under the hood.
First of all, the 124 Spider was co-developed with the Mazda MX-5, but ironically enough, the cars share nothing in common. The key differences are the Italian design and the 1.4L Turbo four in the Fiat. Despite the “nothing physically in common” part, they do share similar price points, which is incredibly affordable. The base model, Classica, starts at $26k with the 1.4 turbo four producing 160HP and 184lb-ft of torque. The next step is the Lusso which adds more luxury amenities, and then the performance version, Abarth which adds the proper upgrades to make the 124 Spider a performance beast. If you want to get the special edition 124 Spider Prima Edizione Lusso, it will set you back $35k and be a limited edition version.
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The 124 Spider is another competitor to the dominant MX-5 Miata and it’s throne. The last true competitors were the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky which were laid to rest with GM’s bankruptcy. With Fiat reemerging to be a world power in the automotive industry, the 124 Spider is the car, we all have been waiting for from Fiat. It perfectly complements the 500, and it’s seven thousand iterations, and opens the door for expansion in the Fiat model range. Fiat had the right idea however. Let’s develop our affordable roadster with the legendary MX-5 and then proceed to beat it, at it’s own game. In my honest opinion, the 124 Spider might unseat the MX-5.
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