Tuning firms Hamman and H&R have joined forces to create a monster out of the Fiat 500 Abarth with an insane power boost to 275-horsepower.

Beginning with the engine bay, Hamann’s engineers used forged pistons, enhanced connection rods, new camshafts and a modified turbocharger to increase the 1.4-liter petrol unit’s peak output to an impressive 275 hp and 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) of torque. That’s 196.4 hp/liter, more than double of what is considered to be an excellent ratio.

All that oomph is sent to the front wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission with a race clutch, as the factory version would be torn apart. There’s also a limited-slip differential (LSD) to improve traction.

It’s clear that this Abarth must be very fast, so adequate stopping power is a must. The German tuner offers a choice of sport brakes, with four-piston calipers and discs ranging from 264 to 305 mm in diameter.

It would a shame if this much grunt wouldn’t be accompanied by proper looks. Fortunately, Hamann didn’t disappoint as it fitted the 500 Abarth with an aggressive two-tone bodykit, featuring modified bumpers, extra-wide wheel arches, lowered side skirts and two- or four-pipe exhaust system, plus a large diffuser.

Oversized 18-inch alloys wrapped around in 215/35 or 225/35 high-performance tires complete the package.

With Hamann’s work done, H&R took center stage developing a new coil-over suspension and widening the car’s tracks with wheel spacers. According to the company, these changes also made the steering more accurate as the firmer suspension reduces pitching and swerving movements to a minimum.

The H&R Hamann FIAT 500 Abarth will be on display at the Essen Motor Show, starting Saturday, November 27. More information on pricing and availability should follow soon.

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In: Carscoop

The Hamann tuning firm is a well known BMW and luxury car tuner, but have now added the Fiat 500 Abarth to their list of modified cars since it is extremely popular. This new program for the Cinquecento features a new aero kit to make it much more aggressive. Hamann also offers several performance packages to the car to a new level. As for the aerodynamics, they chose to modify the Fiat with a new front skirt, integrated LED daytime running lights, wing extensions, side skirts, and a redesigned rear skirt with Ferrari-like diffuser. However, the performance gains for the small engine Fiat 500 Abarth are jaw dropping.

Hamann offers the HS I performance pack that includes a remapping of the ECU to boost the numbers to 160 hp and 285 Nm of torque. The next level, HS II, adds a new full exhaust system from the exhaust of the turbo to the tips at the muffler to raise the figures to 180 hp and 295 Nm of torque. The kit right in the middle, the HS III for the Fiat 500, increases the horsepower and torque to 210 hp and 310 Nm with the addition of a better performing turbocharger and new fuel supply.

Now here’s the good stuff. Hamann’s fourth level for the Fiat 500 Abarth is called the HS Race, and offers quite a bit of extensive tuning. Their company installed forged pistons, aftermarket connecting rods, a modified turbo charger, race clutch, and a weight optimized one-mass flywheel to give the Fiat 240 hp and 330 Nm of torque. The most powerful kit is called the HS Cinquecento 575, and it includes everything mentioned above, along with a re-engineered cylinder head with adjusted camshafts, two charge air coolers, and a self-locking differential. The power numbers from this package show 275 hp and 380 Nm of torque.

The wheels you see pictured are a newly developed design, Largo Forged Anodized available in 18×8 for the front, and 18×9 at the rear. Hamann also offers a variety of sport suspension kits for the Fiat 500 to ensure improved handling. With the power kits mentioned above, it is also recommended to have them install a high performance braking system for the very fast 500 Abarth.

In: Fancy Tuning

In celebration of the second anniversary of the UK launch of its popular 500 city car, Fiat brought a unique collection of special edition 500s from all over the world to its Marylebone showroom in London. These include the 500 Capri by Castagna, the 500 Valentino Rossi, 500 by Andy, 500 Diabolika, 500 Ron Arad, 500byDiesel, a racing Abarth 500 and the new limited-run 500 Pink, which went on sale in the UK earlier this week.

To mark the occasion, the dealership held a private preview for Fiat customers, VIPs and UK celebrities such as TV actor Angela Griffin and our personal favorite, Raef Bjayou – he’s the smiley guy with the wicked hairdo on the right.

And for those that missed the opportunity to see the 500s, no need to get uspet as from today, each of the special cars will be displayed in the Wigmore Street flagship’s showroom window, one at a time, until the end of February.

In: Carscoop

Exploiting a moniker that’s usually held for race- or rally-bred sport cars such as our beloved Delta Integrale, Fiat introduced a mildly facelifted version of the Grande Punto in Frankfurt. To be known from now on as the Punto Evo, the Italian supermini gains a restyled front-end with a new bumper design that brings it closer to the 500 along with tweaked front and rear light clusters as well as a reworked rear bumper. These changes “stretched” the car’s length to 4,060mm, while all other external dimensions remain the same.

The upgrades in the cabin are more noticeable as the dashboard, seats and instrument panel have been given a thoroughly restyled look that borrows from the C-segment Bravo hatch.

 Furthermore, the 2010 Punto Evo is the second car in the Fiat Group after the Alfa Romeo MiTo to benefit from an updated range of petrol engines equipped with the firm’s revolutionary MultiAir technology that uses a new electrohydraulic valve management system to reduce fuel consumption by controlling air directly via the inlet valves without using the throttle.

Along with the familiar diesel line-up, the supermini’s range also includes two alternative fuel engines, a methane and an LPG unit.

Prices are expected to be announced closer the Fiat Punto Evo’s sale date in the second half of October.

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In: Carscoop

The ‘evergreen’ Panda 4×4 Adventure is the latest addition to the range of Fiat’s small off-road model. Available for order across Europe, the new series that comes with an automatic four-wheel drive system is offered with a choice of a 1.2-liter petrol engine with 60 horsepower and a 1.3 Multijet16V diesel that makes 70 horsepower. Prices in Italy start from €14,100 ($19,750 US) for the petrol model and from €16,000 ($22,400 US) for the diesel – now that’s what we’d call an ‘adventurous’ price range.

Aside from the green paintjob and the color-keyed bumpers, the Panda 4×4 Adventure is distinguished by the gray central badges, the ‘bronzed’ head- and tail lights and the tinted windows plus the matt black finish for the pillars, the roof bars, the side bars and the mudguard arches.

A set of 14-inch rims painted in dark grey and wrapped in 165/70 M+S tires along with the black framing of the rear lights complete the exterior changes of the new Panda 4×4 variant.

Fiat did not release any photos of the interior but claims that the Adventure features a washable and anti-tear technical fabric in black as well as scratch-resistant floor mats.

Mechanical upgraded are limited to the reinforced suspension that allows a maximum load of 445 kg. Fiat said that it also offers buyers of the Panda 4×4 Adventure the option of ordering the vehicle with just the front seats which increased the rear compartment space to 1,000lt.

In: Carscoop

For this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Swiss tuner and concept car specialist Rinspeed has developed a modified Fiat 500 Abarth study badged “E2″ featuring a dual power mode system that affects the engine electronics. What this system does is, with the touch of a button, it reduces the output of the 500 Abarth’s 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, from 160HP to 60HP. The 60-horsepower ‘Commuting’ mode, which is more suitable for city traffic, helps the 500 Abarth achieve an average consumption of around 4.0 lt / 100 km or 58.8mpg U.S.

Outside the city, the ‘Highway’ mode frees the 1.4 Turbo engine’ 160HP. Fuel consumption in this mode is in the neighborhood of seven liters per 100 kilometers or 33.6mpg US.

“Just like the auto industry has to adjust to the demands of a new era, tuners have to look for new ways to do business as well,” said Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht.

“I don’t believe too much in eco tuning. Many drivers are not willing to miss out on driving fun and don’t want to drive a something that announces to the world that they do without. But the number of people who want to use our energy supply responsibly not in the least because they want to protect our environment will grow quickly,” he added.

Source: Carscoop