Abarth 695 2014 News

Fiat announces track-bred Abarth 695 Biposto superhatch for Australia.Abarth's fastest and most extreme performance model to date is coming to Australia.First revealed at the Geneva motor show in March, the Abarth 695 Biposto is in essence the road-going equivalent of the 695 Assetto Corse racer driven at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February by CarsGuide's own Joshua Dowling and Paul Gover.With a name that literally translates to two-seater, the 695 Biposto does gain an extra pew over the Dowling/Gover machines, but shuns the regular road Abarth four-seat layout in the name of weight reduction.The Biposto's tuned 1.4-litre turbocharged engine throws out 140kW and 250Nm – up from the 118kW/230Nm of the existing 595 models. The 0-100km/h time also drops from 7.4 seconds down to a claimed 5.9. This performance boost comes with a trade-off, as fuel consumption has jumped by 1.1L/100km to 6.5 combined over manual 595 models.While the idea of the hottest Abarth ever might have you chomping at the bit, a list price of $65,000 will quickly bring you back to reality.At this price, the Biposto is nearly double the price of the $33,500 595 Turismo and the $36,500 Competizione manual hardtops. It is however in the ballpark of Abarth's previous limited edition models, the $69,990 695 Tributo Ferrari from 2012 and 2013's $60,000 695 Edizione Maserati.An investment in the 695 Biposto does get you a performance car that oozes racing pedigree.In addition to a pretty serious cabin reinforcement structure behind the seats; Brembo brakes, Poggipolini rear roll bar, 18-inch OZ wheels, Akrapovic exhaust, BMC intercooler, Sabelt four-point seatbelts and Extreme Shoks suspension bring a high-performance motorsport flavour to the street-legal production car. The Biposto even has a data logger.You do get some more expected features of a road-going car as well with the Biposto having ABS and stability control.On the outside, the 695 Biposto an aluminium bonnet, fixed door windows with polycarbonate sliding openings, and lightweight 18-inch OZ wheels.Inside, the remaining seats are now carbon fibre with matching dash inserts, and front and rear panels. Titanium is also featured in the door handles, hub caps, wheel bolts and fuel cap.The 695 Biposto is being produced in limited numbers, and is available from Abarth dealers on a per order basis.

The Abarth 695 Biposto follows 50 years after the launch of the first 695. The 1964 edition 695 featured a 699.5 cc displacement to provide maximum power of 22kW helping it reach a top speed of 130 km/h.The original 695 was appreciated for its agility and versatility in town and on mixed routes. The 2014 695 Biposto features a 141kW turbocharged engine and weighs just 997kg, propelling it from 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds.Abarth engineers shed the compromises typical of road-going vehicles such as the rear seats to give the 695 its focused, racing edge. Many features are derived straight from the race track including a gearbox with dog rings, a first for a road-going car in this category plus fixed front windows with polycarbonate sliding panels.The 695 Biposto also features a front intercooler, Akrapovic exhaust system, Extreme Shox adjustable shock absorbers, MXL digital data logger, Abarth Corsa by Sabelt seats with four-point seat belts, Brembo braking system, lightened 18-inch OZ rims and rear titanium roll bar by Poggipolini. An aluminium bonnet and carbon fibre wing mirrors also help to reduce the overall weight.