2017 Fiat 124 Spider Set for November Reveal in Los Angeles

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Those really keen on the Mazda MX-5, but undeterred by reliability and resale issues are in luck. The reborn Fiat 124 Spider, built upon the fourth-generation MX-5, will be revealed in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show as expected, reports The Detroit Bureau.

Citing a source within the company, the reborn 124 Spider nameplate will be the home of two flavors — normal and Abarth — with the latter receiving the same 1.75-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine as the Alfa Romeo 4C.

While Sergio Marchionne is openly courting General Motors, the Fiat 124 Spider project with Mazda is about to bear fruit.

The “normal” Spider is expected to be powered by the same 1.4-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine found in the Fiat 500 Turbo and Abarth, 500L, 500X and Jeep Renegade. However, it’s the Abarth version that’s far more interesting.

“Abarth is all about performance, and so I’ve told my team to stop working on colors and trims. Any new version of an Abarth car should deliver some sort of a performance enhancement, otherwise it is useless,” said Fiat COO Alfredo Altavilla.

That performance is expected to come from the aforementioned 4C mill mated to a dual-clutch automated manual transmission.

With the Abarth model, Fiat could beat Mazda to the punch. Rumors of a Mazdaspeed version of the newest Miata have been weak at best.

The Fiat 124 Spider will be the first model from the company to wear the nameplate since production and marketing of the Fiat 124 Sport Spider was assumed by Pininfarina in 1983.

The addition to Fiat’s North American lineup is expected to hit dealer lots sometime during the sunny months next year.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Fordson Fordson on Sep 01, 2015

    I think this will be an excellent way to get the wonderful MX-5 platform, goodness and balance, without the fake zen-master nonsense about how 155 hp is "enough" and people "shouldn't" want more that Mazda uses to justify their using a leftover economy-car engine in the MX-5.

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Sep 02, 2015

    Tony will be busy fixing these things and will need a new set of metric tools.

    • See 4 previous
    • Maymar Maymar on Sep 02, 2015

      @Rod Panhard Damn! Maybe I need to find something with an X in the brand name, or something in the Cyrilic alphabet.

  • Chan Chan on Sep 02, 2015

    One concern I have is that since the MX-5 already looks great, the Fiat will sell primarily on Abarth power, unless it ends up looking THAT much better than the Mazda.

  • Dave M. Dave M. on Sep 03, 2015

    The 124 was IMO one of the most beautifully designed cars ever. Too bad about the typical Fiat reliability. I assume the new one will be much more reliable.

    • Vulpine Vulpine on Sep 04, 2015

      @Dave M. May I be so bold as to correct your statement to, "STEREOTYPCAL Fiat reliability"? If Fiat was really so bad, how did the company survive as a corporation for over a hundred years? If Fiat's products were really so bad, why is it there are fan clubs in the US even today--people in love with those old Fiat cars? And besides; forty years have passed and the Fiat of today is not the Fiat most people remember. The Fiat 500 has surprising performance and agility for being such a tiny car and for me at least, no suggestion of its stereotypical poor reliability. In fact, from what others have said, the Fiat 500 is reaching the mid-decades of an owner's typical usage (meaning 40-60 thousand miles) with no sign of that old "Fix It Again, Tony" creeping in. I'm quite pleased with my own and my wife absolutely loves it.

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